Dive Watches · Page 77

Sherpa Partners with a Popular Watch Podcast for their Latest Release

While recovering from COVID, I recently watched a documentary I had heard about while listening to The Grey NATO Podcast. 14 Peaks: Nothing is impossible is the story of Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja, who summited all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in only seven months. The previous record was 7 years! Nims’ goal was to highlight the Nepalese climbing community. To this day, climbing these peaks cannot be done without the incredible endurance, courage, strength, and sheer determination of the Sherpas.  It is these Sherpas that inspired Enicar in the 1950s to create dive watches that could not only withstand the depths at sea but get even more water-resistant the deeper you dove. Thus, the super-compressor was born. Sadly, Enicar did not survive the 1970s quartz crisis. Thankfully, all was not lost, as in 2019 Martin Klocke of Germany revived the Sherpa and created a brand around this model. Just like its namesake, these are proper super-compressors. Featuring many of the original features combined with modern technology and know-how across two models, the Ultradive and OPS. Now, a new version of the latter is available thanks to a collaboration with a popular watch podcast.  Sherpa has teamed up with The Real Time Show podcast, hosted by industry insiders Alon Ben Joseph and Rob Nubbs, to create a sandblasted stainless-steel version of the OPS model (it was available only in polished steel or a black DLC finish previously). The result is a beautiful satin fin...

Jason Momoa Stars as ‘Aquaman’ Alongside Edgy New IWC Aquatimer Watches

New IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month to be featured in Aquaman sequel

IWC reveals they created and delivered prop watches to be featured in the upcoming film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Inspired by these prop watches, IWC have launched two new Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month watches limited to 25 pcs. for each configuration. Black 49mm Ceratanium® cases, one with red accents and another with blue … ContinuedThe post New IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month to be featured in Aquaman sequel appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Reference Points: The Omega Seamaster 300

From Hodinkee Magazine Vol. 12: The Seamaster dive watch with a rich, fascinating, and complex history.

Seiko Prospex 1968 Diver’s Modern Re-Interpretation Save the Ocean Limited Edition SLA055 and SLA057: Diving Deep! – Reprise

Japanese watch giant Seiko once again draws upon its many years of experience in the discipline of diver’s watches to reboot a timepiece from 1968 for a new generation. The two Seiko Prospex 1968 Diver’s Modern Re-Interpretation Save the Ocean limited edition timepieces are real dive watches made for professional divers and pioneering adventurers, manufactured to weather the most extreme situations under water.

Opinion – Our take on the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms

A few months ago, Swatch and Blancpain introduced the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms. Yup, quite a mouthful. It’s effectively the follow-up of the Moonswatch, which can be seen as Swatch’s take on the Omega Speedmaster. We didn’t cover it on MONOCHROME for obvious reasons (it’s a quartz watch…) despite being a huge […]

REVIEW: Hands On With The Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M “Summer Blue”

The 75th Anniversary Seamaster Professional Diver 300M “Summer Blue” may just be the perfect watch for Summer and we’ve taken it out to see if it really is. What We Love The gradient blue dialComfort factor of the rubber strapWears smaller than stats suggest What We Don’t Colourway could limit it’s versatility across the yearThis version on the bracelet, get the rubber!No display caseback on this version Overall Rating: 9/10 Value for money: 8.5/10Wearability: 9.5/10Design: 9/10Build quality: 9/10 This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Omega Seamaster, and to celebrate, the brand released the “Summer Blue” Collection in one of the most iconic locations, Mykonos Greece. In a unique move, Omega released a Summer Blue variant of each watch in the Seamaster lineup (which you can read our coverage of here) designed to mimic the Aegean Sea, and the deeper the watch’s depth rating, the darker the blue. It’s a cool concept. The Omega 75th Anniversary Summer Blue Seamaster Collection Now it’s Summer here in Australia, it felt timely to take possibly the best-known, and most popular of the Seamster collection, the Diver 300M on rubber strap out and about to see if this is “THE” watch for the Summer. Initial Thoughts The Omega Seamaster Diver isn’t an unfamiliar watch for me. I’ve now owned two of them: an original Seamaster Diver James Bond Quartz, and then more recently, the current SMP300 with the black dial and bezel. You can read my Owners Perspe...

Omega Ploprof Summer Blue – the return of the beast

Omega's brawniest diver makes a blue-tinged comeback with vintage sizing.The post Omega Ploprof Summer Blue – the return of the beast appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Tusenö Shellback V2 is a stylish Swedish dive watch that’s a cut above most independent offerings

A tasteful sandwich dial, enormous amount of lume and on-the-fly micro-adjustment helps this Swedish watch stand out from the pack.The post The Tusenö Shellback V2 is a stylish Swedish dive watch that’s a cut above most independent offerings appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Experts and Collectors Weigh in on the Return of Universal Genève

Early yesterday morning, news broke in the watch world that was both surprising, and felt inevitable. Universal Genève, the highly regarded and historic Swiss brand that has been effectively dormant for years, will be revived and relaunched by the same ownership team currently steering the ship at Breitling. While the news of Universal finally getting a high profile relaunch isn’t exactly shocking (reviving heritage brands shuttered during the Quartz Crisis has been a favorite pastime in the watch industry over the last decade), we weren’t expecting the Breitling connection. The news (and reaction to it) speaks both to the great affection the community feels for the Universal Genève brand, and to the strength and financial turnaround of Breitling under Georges Kern’s tenure.  Universal Genève has a long and rich history, and has grown significantly in esteem in recent years. They were part of an explosion of interest in vintage watches that began more than ten years ago, but unlike other brands that benefited from increased attention on historic vintage pieces (Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet among them), Universal Genève doesn’t exist as a modern watchmaker in a meaningful way. For that reason, there’s always been a mystique to the brand that can’t really be replicated. We can, and do, compare vintage versions of Submariners, Daytonas, and Royal Oaks to their modern equivalents, and can thus relate to these watches through a modern context or l...

Missed Review: The IWC Mark XVII

I’ve had an admiration for IWC’s watches for a long time, and have owned multiple Pilot’s Chronographs and an Aquatimer over the years, but until recently I’d never spent a significant amount of time with a watch in their storied Mark series. These simple pilot’s watches are core to IWC’s history and the perception of the brand, and historically represent an entry point into the catalog for collectors. Die hard IWC fans have long debated the “best” of the Mark watches. Head over to any internet forum or comments section where watches are discussed amongst enthusiasts, and you’re certain to find people debating the finer points of date window placement, case thickness, and diameter across the breadth of Mark watches over the years.  I acquired a Mark XVII from a local collector friend recently. This is a watch I’ve experienced on a nearly monthly basis at watch meetups over the last few years, and I’ve always said to this friend: Let me know if you ever decide to sell it. We all have a watch like this in our orbit, right? There might be an actual commandment against coveting, but in this hobby it’s fairly normal to stake a claim for something you want that a friend has in their possession. Well, we reap what we sow. Said friend decided to let his Mark go, and after some (internal) deliberation, a deal was struck, and I quite unexpectedly owned one of the objectively strangest watches IWC has made in the last few decades.  The thing is, the Mark wat...

Nodus Teams with Watch Clicker and the 40&20 Podcast for a Limited Sector Dive GMT

Worn & Wound is built on community, so we love it when the people and brands we like decide to get together to make something cool. The latest release from Los Angeles based Nodus is a fun version of their Sector Dive GMT made in partnership with Watch Clicker and the 40&20 podcast. The Sector line has really become a signature product for Nodus, proving to be amenable to wide range of colors and tweaks in functionality, so it’s a great canvas for a limited edition. The fun thing about this LE though is how organic it feels. Many limited editions come to us via press releases that take on an almost solemn tone. It’s clear, though, that this watch is simply the product of friends who wanted to make something cool together, and the unpretentious nature of it all is a huge part of the appeal.  For this limited edition, Nodus has effectively combined features of their Sector Dive and Sector GMT. The basic “sector” dial format remains, of course, with an inner 24 hour scale and an outer ring where you’ll find big Arabic numerals at 12, 3, and 9 (with a date at 6) and big lumed markers elsewhere. Unlike the standard Sector GMT, however, this edition features a 120 click unidirectional bezel (in either black DLC or standard steel) for some additional functionality as a diver. In true skin diver fashion (a dive watch format that was a key point of inspiration for all involved) the water resistance here is a respectable but not over the top 150 meters, which keeps case s...

Pre-Owned Picks: An IWC Ingenieur Ref. IW3506 From The ‘80s, A Solid Gold Blue Dial Rolex Submariner Ref. 16618, And An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Ref. 15510ST

Plus a killer complicated JLC Master Control and a read-to-dive Omega Ploprof.

Omega’s Seamaster 300M Paris is clad in medal gold

With nods to the winners' medals and revolutionary icon Marianne, Omega pays tribute to the Paris Olympics.The post Omega’s Seamaster 300M Paris is clad in medal gold appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Bausele’s Sydney Diver is a three-way collaboration between Australia, Switzerland and the United States

This US-assembled, Swiss-made, Australian watch is Bausele's most interesting creation yet.The post Bausele’s Sydney Diver is a three-way collaboration between Australia, Switzerland and the United States appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

A Conversation with Jack Carlson About His Latest Rowing Blazers Collaboration with Zodiac, and His Watch Collecting Evolution

Jack Carlson is ending 2023 how he started it: With a Zodiac collaboration.  The new Rowing Blazers x Zodiac “Rouchefoucauld” Super Sea Wolf World Timer follows January’s Rowing Blazers x Zodiac Harry’s Bar Super Sea Wolf, and is just the latest in a line of playful watch collaborations from Carlson’s clothing brand-this one with a subtle nod to Trading Places, the the 1983 classic comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. In the film, Akroyd’s WASPy Louis Winthorpe III tries to pawn his (fictional) watch, the Rochefoucauld, which he describes as “the sports watch of the 80s,” with the notable detail that it tells time in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad. “It’s not a real watch of course-but for a long time, I’ve thought: this should exist,” said Carlson. The Rouchefoucauld nod is peak Rowing Blazers: preppy and fun, with a touch of whimsy. It’s a sensibility that is found not just in RB’s watches, but in Carlson’s personal watch collection as well. He owns some of the classics, of course, like a Seiko SKX, and a no-date Rolex Submariner and Rolex GMT-Master from the 1980s, but Carlson has a taste for the colorful and unique. Take, for example, the digital Pac-Man watch, Mickey Mouse Timex, and Tin-Tin watch that can be found in his watch box. Or the Domino’s-branded Rolexes, which the pizza brand used to give to franchisees who hit certain sales goals and which Carlson now collects. Carlson called the wat...

Hands-on – Discovering The Retro-Cool Sherpa Ultradive & OPS Compressor Dive Watches

The 1950s and 1960s have been a groundbreaking era for watches when it comes to water resistance. Although the concept of a watertight case wasn’t new at that point, technological and material advancements allowed for great strides to be made in creating waterproof watches. Names such as Submariner, Fifty Fathoms, SUB 300, Seamaster and many […]

REVIEW: Hands On With The Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT Travel Time

We’ve gone hands on with the new Riviera GMT launched at the start of the year, and we must say that it’s been a bit of a surprise package! What We Love Wave motif silver dialQuick change strap systemComfortable bracelet What We Don’t No secondary strap to utilise the quick change systemNo GMT bezel, limiting true GMT functionalityLack of a screw-down crown Overall Rating: 8/10 Value for money: 8/10Wearability: 8/10Design: 7.5/10Build quality: 8.5/10 Baume & Mercier has had its ups and downs over the years, and more recently, I feel they’ve been relegated to the bottom of the Richemont stable of brands. However, this year, with the 50th Anniversary of the Riviera, Baume & Mercier have breathed some new life into their steel sports diver and designed it for a new wave of watch lovers. For those not very familiar with Baume & Mercier, first a very quick history lesson… The new Baume & Mercier Riviera GMT Travel Time Launched in 1973, the Riviera immediately made a splash with its dodecagonal case and its slimline metal strap. At this time, very few brands had really ventured into the luxury integrated steel bracelet models, with maybe the exception of Rolex and Audemars Piguet, making the Baume & Mercier Riviera one of the first brands to do this. Interestingly, the original design was done by Jean-Claude Gueit, the father of Emmanuel Gueit who designed the Royal Oak Offshore, so the Riviera has some design provenance and links back to that era as well. The Riviera...

The Formex Baby Reef is smaller, but just as mighty

The spec-monster microbrand introduces a new mid-size diver with their signature stamp of excellent quality.The post The Formex Baby Reef is smaller, but just as mighty appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Universal Genève Polerouter Gets the Reference Treatment in a Gorgeous New Book Covering the Enormous Breadth of the Collection

Over the last several years, something has happened to the humble Universal Geneve Polerouter. This watch, once a go-to recommendation for collector’s looking to get their feet wet in the world of vintage, has risen in stature, value, and overall name recognition as the watch market has expanded. As with any niche hobby that, over time, approaches the mainstream, hidden gems become less hidden. The Polerouter, while not a household name like the Speedmaster or Submariner, is not nearly as under the radar as it used to be.  While those of us who have been around this stuff for years might mourn the availability of great examples of the Polerouter on the cheap, it’s hard not to be happy that people are discovering and appreciating the watch. As a gateway to the hobby, and vintage specifically, it’s a collection that could lead a curious collector down any number of paths, each one rewarding in a different way. That’s because there are so many ways to approach the Polerouter: as a creation from the mind of the biggest name in the history of watch design, as an elegant sports watch that helped set a template for some of the most popular watches of the current era, and as an uncommon mechanical triumph. And, of course, it’s still a relatively accessible piece of a key part of watch history, and a great representation of Universal Geneve, a brand that exists today as a time capsule.  Perhaps one of the clearest signals that the Polerouter has crossed a threshold of s...

Introducing – The Squale 1521 “Watch Your Hand” with Seconde/Seconde/

A highly respected yet niche name in the field of dive watches, Squale is a brand that should not be overlooked thanks to its historical impact, the coolness of its watches and the accessible price at which these are offered. Typical no-nonsense aquatic instruments, the brand combines vintage designs with robust construction and reliable movements, […]

Hands On: the Jack Mason Strat-o-timer and Hydrotimer

I have long believed and said before, on this site and elsewhere, that we are living in the golden age of being a watch enthusiast. As time has passed, the quantity and quality of selection at accessible price points is remarkable. Alongside the influx of collectors are new brands catering to every taste and budget, and therein lies the challenge: how do watch companies stand out and make lasting names for themselves with tool watches in the crowded sub-thousand dollar segment? Texas-based (Dallas represent!) Jack Mason claims to have answers with two of its most prominent models, the travel-ready Strat-o-timer GMT and more recently-released Hydrotimer dive watch. A closer look and hands on provide clues to how these references can set themselves apart from one another and their competition today. Cases and Bracelets In a clever move, Jack Mason has decided to utilize the original Strat-o-timer case as the foundation for the Hydrotimer. The turtle-esque cushion style cases measure 40mm wide, 47mm lug-to-lug, and 13mm thick with screw-down crowns. Beyond the obvious economic and manufacturing benefits of sharing a case, this allows the brand to have a recognizable and consistent silhouette across its product lines. Initial impressions of the cases and bracelets are that they are substantial and are of high and obvious quality, especially for the price. In particular, the edges between the brushed and polished surfaces of the case are well-defined and well done. The toleranc...

DOXA Adds Some Elegant Touches to their Iconic Dive Watch with the Sub 300β

DOXA has recently announced the release of the all new Sub 300β, a reimagining of their classic dive watch. Coming in five colorways, the latest iteration of the Sub 300β will catch the eye of those unfamiliar with the brand, while reiterating why DOXA has sustained a cult-like following for nearly the entirety of its 130-year history. To understand the 300β, let’s first look back at the history of the Sub line. In 1967, DOXA revolutionized professional diving watches with the introduction of the SUB concept, the first mainstream model of its kind. Water-resistant to 300 meters, it featured a groundbreaking unidirectional rotating bezel with dual dive time and depth indications, incorporating the US Navy’s no-decompression dive tables. The iconic orange dial set it apart and became synonymous with underwater exploration, even catching the attention of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who secured exclusive distribution rights for the SUB 300 in the USA. In 1969, DOXA continued its innovation with the SUB 300T Conquistador, introducing the helium release valve (HRV). Designed for saturation diving, the HRV allows trapped helium to escape during decompression, preventing pressure build-up and potential damage to the watch. This marked another pioneering move by DOXA in ensuring the durability and functionality of their timepieces in the most challenging underwater environments. Now, available today, the new 300β has taken this history as a jumping-off point for the brand to rei...

Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Full Lum: The Little Details are Lit! – Reprise

Diver’s watches are meant to be rough, tough tool watches, and limited editions are made to cash in on a model’s popularity. The Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver Full Lum is both, yet disproves these paradox presumptions as Martin Green discovered after wearing this watch for a while. What did he think? "It's lit!"