From James Bond to Prince William, David Beckham, Ellen DeGeneres, Sylvester Stallone and Ed Sheeran, no watch lover’s collection is complete without the obligatory dive watch.
But with deep-sea diving, SCUBA and even snorkeling taken up by only a few – and then usually only for a couple of weeks a year – how can the ubiquitous fascination with the water-bound tool timepiece be explained?
Made by the majority of brands and at almost every price level, dive really is a category that provides something for everyone, as Tracey Llewellyn discovers in her round up of the best of 2022’s sub-$2,000 choices.
Alpina Seastrong Diver 300 Heritage, 42mm steel, $1895, alpinawatches.com.
Citizen Promaster Mechanical Divers 200M, 41mm titanium, $795, citizenwatch.com.
Bulova Mil-Ships-W-2181 Submersible Reissue (non-limited edition), 41mm steel, $895, bulova.com.
Elliot Brown Bloxworth Heritage Diver, 40mm steel, $659, elliotbrownwatches.com.
Christopher Ward C65 Aquitaine GMT, from $1,525, 41mm steel, christopherward.com.
Tissot Seastar 2000 Professional Powermatic 80 Blue, 46mm steel, $1,075, tissotwatches.com.
Certina DS Super PH500M Sea Turtle Conservancy, 43mm steel, $980, certina.com.
Hamilton Khaki Navy Frogman Automatic, 46mm steel, $1,195, hamiltonwatch.com.
Raymond Weil Tango 300, 42mm steel, $1,250, raymond-weil.com.
Seiko Prospex Glacier ‘Save the Ocean’ 1970, 42.65mm steel, $1,350, seikowatches.com.
Timex Waterbury Dive Automatic, 40mm steel, from $299, timex.com.
Spinnaker Spence 300 Automatic, 40mm steel, $650, spinnaker-watches.com.
