For the exterior, Nivada opts for satin-brushed steel with a 38mm diameter. Completing its moderate footprint, the watch wears 12.9mm high on the wrist. The unidirectional bezel is a black ceramic insert with bold contrasting white minute markers and tick marks. On the reverse, the caseback is engraved with an image of a penguin along with the brand and collection names. With its screw-down crown at 3 o’clock, the case offers water resistance up to 200 meters. 

For the dial, Nivada opts for a crisp black hue as the backdrop for the recreation of the original layout. The hands and indexes are a patinated “cream latte” shade that contrast the dark dial quite well. Honoring the previous dial design even further, the newcomer includes discrete cross hairs marking the four quadrants of the dial. The date window is located at 3 o’clock and is topped with a magnifier to increase its legibility. Completing the retro-inspired aesthetic, the Nivada Automatic logo is situated proudly at 12 o’clock, while the Antarctic-Diver name is written in script at 6 o’clock. 

Ticking inside of the Antarctic Diver is the caliber SOPROD P024, a three-hand self-winding mechanism. Capable of displaying hours, minutes, and seconds, the movement has a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. 

The new Nivada Antarctic Diver retails for $900. It is available with five strap variations and five bracelet variations, all available on the brand’s website. 

To learn more, visit Nivada here.

This robust mission timepiece was originally developed together with the German Sea Battalion to stand the tests of high waters. Thus, the crystal protecting the highly legible blue dial with Superluminova coated hands and indices is 2.5mm thick.

The titanium case is water resistant to 300 meters thanks to a screw-in crown and has a prominent diameter of 45mm. Inside ticks a self-winding movement based on Sellita SW 330, which is equipped with the brand’s genuine, highly shock-resistant woodpecker neck regulation and own rotor.

The movement is assembled and regulated in Glashütte and offers a stop-second function, quick-date correction, and a power reserve of 56 hours. Its high-quality finishes and decorations can be admired through the sapphire crystal case back.

Pricing for the Mühle-Glashütte Seebattaillon GMT is marked at approximately $3,300 when converted to USD.

To learn more, visit Mühle-Glashütte, here.

The Tudor label has been trendy in recent years and can look back on a steadily growing fan base. Rolex’s second brand was stagnant for many years, but since 2009, Tudor has begun accelerating again. Tudor’s history, which is rich in characteristic design, is being emphasized in the brand’s newly launched retro models. The Heritage Black Bay, which looks back to Tudor’s early dive watches, was released in 2012. Its debut was followed by the premiere of the smaller Black Bay Fifty-Eight in 2018. The blue version, which we are testing here, was unveiled in 2020.

The name “Fifty-Eight” refers to 1958, the year in which Tudor introduced its first divers’ watch, Reference 7924, known as the “Big Crown.” The new watch’s diameter of 39 mm corresponds to the dimensions of the case of the historical model. In other respects, too, this new version, at first glance, actually looks like a vintage watch, an antique model. It even looks somewhat delicate, thanks to the rotating bezel and the smaller dial.
The vintage impression is further underscored by the domed scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, which is highly curved along its rim like the acrylic crystals of models from previous decades. The dial, too, is slightly convex like the faces of classic antique watches. The narrow strap lugs and the typography on the rotatable bezel also allude to Tudor’s history. The designers even opted to omit a date display, thus completing the historical impression.

Old Tudor dive watches with so-called “snowflake” hands have become famous and are eagerly sought after at auctions. The nickname derives from the squares at the tips of the hour hand and seconds hand: each is rotated 45 degrees and somewhat resembles a stylized snowflake. This detail first appeared on the tips of the hands toward the end of the 1960s and was retained thereafter.

In 1956, French naval divers turned to Tudor to find the ideal divers’ watch for their purposes. Tudor subsequently became the official supplier to French military frogmen. The combat divers opted for blue rather than black dials in the mid-1970s. Our test watch with blue dial and blue aluminum dive-time scale recalls these timepieces. The aluminum scale is not as scratch-resistant as its ceramic counterparts, but its matte surface goes better with this model’s vintage styling.

All in all, Tudor has succeeded in creating a very handsome and harmonious retro watch that looks even more timeless thanks to its blue color and the fact that it forgoes the golden hands and hour indexes that are usually installed on the dials of other Fifty-Eight models. Fortunately, functionality was not allowed to fall by the wayside: large luminous indexes and plenty of luminous material on the hands guarantee outstanding legibility by day and by night. The easily grasped crown decouples from the winding mechanism when screwed shut, thus protecting the latter. The time is easy to set thanks to the stop-seconds function and the absence of a date display, which accordingly eliminates the crown’s first extracted position.

The unidirectional rotatable bezel clicks into place in single-minute increments. It, too, is easy to grasp and to turn thanks to its finely serrated rim. The bezels of early models had some play and sounded tinny when they clicked into place, but Tudor has made significant improvements: this watch’s bezel clicks almost as authoritatively into place as do its counterparts on watches made by Tudor’s big sister, Rolex. A luminous triangular index enables the wearer to read the dive time even in dark conditions or murky water. This Black Bay is also fully suitable for diving thanks to its case, which is water resistant to 200 meters, and its water-resistant textile strap.

The watch’s blue fabric strap is lightweight and durable and has a gray stripe along its midline. It is sewn using a traditional method that relies on historical machines. The handsome pin buckle is styled to resemble the shield shape of Tudor’s coat-of-arms logo. Like the case, the clasp juxtaposes polished and satin-finished surfaces.

The textile strap is permeable to air, which contributes to its comfort on the wrist. Flat textile straps often look out of place on watches with tall cases, but that is not an issue here: the strap suits the Black Bay well and enhances its overall vintage appearance.

The strap runs across the back of the case and therefore largely covers it, but that’s not a problem here because, unfortunately, this Tudor watch doesn’t have a glass back, so manufacture Caliber MT5402 won’t be seen by the buyer and can only be admired by the watchmaker who unscrews the fully threaded steel back and opens the case for maintenance or repairs. The movement is particularly impressive because it upholds Tudor’s traditional virtues of precision and robustness. The brand fulfills the former claim by having each movement tested by the official Swiss chronometer-testing authority, COSC. This exam certifies, among other criteria, that the average daily rate deviation remains in a narrow range between –4 and +6 seconds.

Our electronic timing machine confirmed this accuracy. Deviations in the various positions remained in a tight cluster. The average deviation was a minor loss of –1.3 seconds per day. The watch kept nearly perfect time on the wrist, where we measured a minimal gain of just +0.5 seconds per day.
Caliber MT5402 (the MT stands for “Mouvement Tudor”) relies on various technical features to fulfill the second part of the brand’s philosophy: robustness. First, the movement is quite tall (4.99 mm), so any small tolerance fluctuations in the production process will be unlikely to result in malfunctions. Second, the balance is not held on only one side by a cock but is installed in a stable and completely horizontal position under a bridge. And third, the hairspring is made of silicon, thus minimizing the likelihood of rate deviations caused by decentering or deformation of this tiny spring after the movement has suffered an impact.

Further high-quality features of the manufacture movement are its long power reserve of 70 hours and its freely oscillating balance with four regulating screws. These screws mean that the rate is not finely adjusted by changing the active length of the hairspring, as is the case with ETA calibers.

The fact that Tudor does not invest much effort or expense in finely decorating the movement fits with the brand’s philosophy of offering reliable watchmaking technology at an affordable price. Nonetheless, the rotor is attractively openworked and adorned with both a sunburst pattern and the engraved brand name.

The Black Bay inspires with its design in much the same way as did Tudor’s historical dive watches. And like its ancestors, functionality is given equal priority. Apart from the missing date display and the scratch-sensitive aluminum bezel, you don’t have to make any compromises here. This newcomer has a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, plenty of luminous material, high water resistance, good wearing comfort and easy operation. The price is right, too. So Tudor has done everything right. But this success is also shown by the long waiting lists for this model. In this way, too, Tudor is following in the footsteps of its big sister, Rolex.

SPECS:
Manufacturer: Tudor, Rue François Dussaud 3–5, 1211 Geneva 26, Switzerland
Reference number: M79030B-0003
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Movement: Manufacture Caliber MT5402, automatic, COSC certified, 28,800 vph, 27 jewels, stop-seconds function, silicon hairspring, fine adjustment via four regulating screws on the rim of the freely oscillating balance, Incabloc shock absorption, 70-hour power reserve, diameter = 26 mm, height = 4.99 mm
Case: Stainless-steel case with curved sapphire crystal that has been anti-reflectively treated on both sides, screwed-down crown, fully threaded screw-in back made of stainless steel, water resistant to 200 meters
Strap and cla­­sp: Textile strap with stainless-steel pin buckle
Rate results (deviation in seconds per 24 hours):
Dial up -2
Dial down +1
Crown up -1
Crown down -3
Crown left -1
Crown right -2
Greatest deviation 4
Average deviation -1.3
Average amplitude:
Flat positions 291°
Hanging positions 260°
Dimensions: Diameter = 39 mm, height = 12 mm, weight = 77 grams
Variations: With blue “soft touch” strap (Ref. M79030B-0002; $3,375); with steel bracelet (Ref. M79030B-0001, $3,700)
Price: $3,375

SCORES:
Strap and clasp (max. 10 points): The textile strap is robust and
permeable by air. The pin buckle is practical. 8
­­­Operation (5): The screw-down crown is simple to operate and a stop-seconds function facilitates to-the-second time setting. The easily grasped bezel is easy to rotate. 5
Case (10): The well-crafted case has good water resistance. Also good: the crown disconnects from the winding mechanism when the former is screwed shut. 8
Design (15): The very successful retro design has characteristic Tudor elements from several decades. 14
Legibility (5): Ample luminous material on the hands and indexes, combined with high contrast between the hands and the dial, make this watch easy to read by day and by night. 5
Wearing comfort (10): The watch is comfortable on the wrist and not top-heavy. 9
Movement (20): The manufacture caliber is engineered for robustness and
offers a long power reserve. The decorations are subtle. 15
Rate results (10): The greatest rate deviation among the several positions is low. The average rate deviation is moderate, but strays into the minus column. 8
Overall value (15): The price is appropriate. Demand exceeds supply, which leads to good value retention. 12
Total: 84 POINTS

This article originally appeared in the January-February 2021 issue of WatchTime.

The exterior silhouette is characteristically asymmetrical, with each side of the case featuring different pushers and capabilities. With dimensions of 52mm by 50.3mm by 18 mm, it occupies a bold presence of the wrist, but remains comfortable via its construction in lightweight resin. It is made from an eco-friendly bio-based resin with a vivid red hue that continues throughout the entirety of the integrated strap. The Frogman name is printed along the left hand side of the bezel, while the diving frog logo has a home on the strap just below where it meets the bezel. On the reverse, the diving frog logo is also engraved on the case back, along with the word “30th” to commemorate the anniversary of the Frogman. 

The digital dial layout is similar to that of its predecessors, featuring three distinct sections each indicating different functions. Using the pushers on the sides of the case, the user can scroll through each of the functions and they will be displayed on the screen. Ensuring legibility, the dial has a Super-Illuminator, which is a high-brightness LED light that illuminates the surface in any light condition. Maintaining past technology, the dial also facilitates Tough Solar charging technology that uses external light sources to collect energy and reduces the need for battery replacements. 

Keeping with G-Shock standards, the new Frogman is shock resistant and water resistant to 200 meters. The complete list of features includes tough solar power technology, a double LED light, a 60 minute countdown timer, a 1/100 Stopwatch (24 Hr), dual time, a daily alarm, a day/date display, dive functions (dive time and surface interval), log data (dive start date and time, dive time), a tide graph, and smartphone linking capabilities.

Pricing for the G-Shock Frogman GW8230NT-4 is marked at $620. 

To learn more, visit G-Shock here.

l-r:  Rolex Submariner, Sea-Dweller, and Deepsea models

Rolex currently produces four different dive watch models: the Submariner and Submariner Date, the Sea-Dweller and the Deepsea (listed here in order from lowest to highest in both size and price). The Submariner and Submariner Date share the same case size. Almost all watches in this collection offer versions with different materials, dial and bezel colors. The Submariner without a date indication is the entry-level piece and is priced at $7,500. Introduced in 1953, it was the first dive watch from Rolex. At that time, it had a bidirectional rotating bezel for measuring dive time. Initially, the Submariner was water resistant to 100 meters, but by 1954 Rolex had already increased this level to 200 meters. In 1955, the English Royal Navy began using the Submariner as its official dive watch and the Royal Canadian Navy followed suit the following year.

Rolex first became famous in 1927 for its water-resistant watches with their patented screw-down crown, and the ingenious Oyster name was an effective marketing tool. During her more than 15-hour attempt to swim the English Channel, Mercedes Gleitze wore a water-resistant Rolex that withstood the ordeal. Rolex took out a front-page ad in the London Daily Mail to publicize the event that won the watch great acclaim.

The Submariner with no date indication is the most economically priced Rolex dive watch ($7,500).

Rolex also developed the Deep-Sea Special watch to explore the ocean depths. Between 1953 and 1960 it participated in several maritime expeditions, attached to the outer hull of submarines. The high point (or low point) was reached in 1960 when Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh maneuvered their Trieste submersible vessel down into the Mariana Trench to a depth of 10,916 meters, just a few meters short of the deepest point in the sea. The Deep-Sea Special survived unscathed. Although several pieces of this model were built, it never went into serial production. With a semi-spherical crystal and an overall height of 35 mm, it would still be too large to be considered wearable.

The first Submariner was introduced in 1953.

Submariner
Today’s Submariner measures 40 mm in diameter and 12.5 mm in height, which is slim for a dive watch. The watch without a date indication is powered by the self-winding in-house 3130 movement and with a date, by the 3135. Both calibers boast a power reserve of 48 hours. Chronometer certification from the independent testing agency COSC guarantees accuracy, alongside the company’s own stricter standards, which specify that every Rolex watch may not gain or lose more than 2 seconds per day. The Glidelock system can extend the bracelet for a precise fit and allows the Submariner to be worn over a wet suit. Like all Rolex dive watches, it has a metal bracelet and a unidirectional rotating bezel with a ceramic inlay.

Sea-Dweller
Saturation diving was developed in the early 1960s. When working at deep-sea locations, professional diving companies took advantage of the fact that after 24 hours under pressure, the human body will not absorb additional nitrogen, thereby limiting the time required for decompression. So to prepare themselves for working for extended periods at deep locations, professional divers would spend several days inside a pressure chamber filled with a helium-nitrogen-oxygen mixture. Once their underwater task had been completed, the pressure in the chamber was gradually reduced to normal levels. During this process, crystals from the divers’ watches would often pop out of their cases due to the helium trapped inside the watches. Divers in the Sealab program experienced this problem while helping the U.S. Marines carry out research on the effects of high pressure and various breathing gases on the human body.

The 2017 Sea-Dweller with helium escape valve and Cyclops date ($11,350)

A Sealab diver reported the problem to Rolex and suggested adding a pressure relief valve to safely release the helium that had penetrated the watch. Rolex then developed its helium escape valve, which would be adopted by many other brands.

Rolex began working with the French diving specialist Comex in the early 1970s and supplied watches to all Comex divers, who then shared their experiences and helped with the ongoing development of the watches. Comex laid underwater cables, took care of diving work on oil rigs and salvaged shipwrecks. While doing so, they developed their own special tools and experimented with breathing gas mixtures. Comex set a number of depth records and a Sea-Dweller was on the wrists of their divers as they subjected themselves to each torturous trial. In 1972, two divers withstood 50 hours in a pressurized chamber measured at 610 meters deep. Later, Comex employees worked in the ocean at more than 500 meters, and in 1992, a Comex diver achieved a depth of 701 meters inside a pressure chamber. What Comex really needed was the Sea-Dweller with its three times higher water resistance and a helium escape valve.

The newest Sea-Dweller has been available in a steel-and-gold version since 2019 ($16,050).

In the mid-1960s, Rolex supplied Comex with specially equipped Submariner models to test the helium escape valve. Today, these “Rolex Comex” watches (Ref. 5514) are as expensive as they are rare. The Sea-Dweller went into mass production in 1967, equipped with a helium escape valve. The new model was able to withstand pressure to a depth of 610 meters. It remained similar in design to the Submariner. In 1980, Rolex doubled the Sea-Dweller’s water resistance to 1,220 meters. And to mark the 50th anniversary of the Sea-Dweller in 2017, Rolex issued a new model that replaced the previous model introduced in 2014. With a current diameter of 43 mm and a height of 15 mm, and with the iconic Rolex Cyclops date magnifier, the watch looks much like an enlarged Submariner but with continuous 60-minute markers on the divers’ bezel and red lettering on the dial.

Thanks to a special case, the Deepsea can reach an underwater depth of 3,900 meters (with D-blue dial, $12,550).

Deepsea
The maximum depth limit remained unchanged until 2008, when the Deepsea model was introduced with a water resistance of 3,900 meters. Rolex developed a completely new case design to ensure that the watch would not be too large despite its tremendous water resistance. Its patented “Ringlock” system consists of three elements that can take the pressure: a 5.5-mm-thick sapphire crystal, a 3.28-mm grade 5 titan-ium caseback and an inner ring made of BioDur 108 steel. The system is surrounded by the 904L steel that Rolex uses for the case. The titanium caseback is pressure-fit to the inner ring by a threaded 904L steel caseback ring.

Right: In 1960, the Deep-Sea Special prototype reached a depth of 10,916 meters.

The materials are carefully selected; they exhibit both strength and resilience and do not easily deform or break under pressure. The complicated design permits a 44-mm-by-18-mm case that is both striking and 10-percent thinner than other cases with a similar construction. The Deepsea is designed to withstand depths of up to 4,900 meters. Each individual watch undergoes rigorous underwater testing at this 25-percent higher pressure. The Deepsea was updated in 2018 and now has a more balanced case and a new in-house movement with a power reserve of 70 hours. Like the Sea-Dweller, the Deepsea has a Fliplock extension piece that permits fine incremental extension of the bracelet up to an additional 26 mm.

The year 2012 marked another important underwater project, the “Deepsea Challenge.” And Rolex was a partner once again. The filmmaker James Cameron was the first person to successfully reach what was at that time the deepest point below sea level after the first famous expedition in 1960. Attached to the outside of his submersible vehicle was another specially designed concept watch by Rolex: the Deepsea Challenge, which was water resistant to a depth of 12,000 meters. It relied on the Ringlock system and achieved wearable dimensions of 51.4 mm in diameter and 28.5 mm in height.

Below: In 2012, this prototype reached the deepest point in the ocean at that time.

Variations
With the exception of the Submariner with no date, every Rolex dive watch offers different options. The Deepsea is available with a black dial or with one that transitions from black to blue. As of 2019, the Sea-Dweller is available in both steel and steel-and-gold versions. The steel Submariner is offered with a black or green dial and matching bezel. It is also available in yellow gold and in steel and gold, and with either option the customer can choose a black or blue dial and bezel. A white-gold version is offered with a blue dial and bezel only. All in all, the dive watch collection consists of 12 different versions.

The Submariner with a green bezel and black dial (known as the “Kermit”) and the all-green Submariner (the “Hulk”), priced at $9,050, are highly sought after.

Prices begin at $7,500 for the no-date Submariner, followed by the Submariner Date at $9,050. Models with a helium escape valve are considerably more expensive – the Sea-Dweller is offered at $11,350 and the Deepsea at $12,250. The most expensive model is the white-gold Submariner at $36,850. Despite the limited optical variety of these offerings, there is a suitable divers’ watch from Rolex for every size wrist and almost every wallet.

The most expensive Rolex dive watch is the Submariner Date in white gold ($36,850)..