Dive watches have risen in popularity over the years through its functionality, practicality, reputation, and prestige. Many people who have an active lifestyle and prefer the allure of large-sized watches find them heaven-sent and the perfect fit for their personalities.
In this article we’ll discuss the top 5 most popular Swiss-made luxury dive watches of all time. They all come from different brands that have grown in reputation throughout the years, making them more prestigious, expensive, and still very much sought after.
Rolex Submariner
Brief History of Rolex
It all started with the idea and creativity of Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf. At 1905 when he was just 24, he started his own watchmaking company that wanted to specialize in timepieces, specifically wristwatches. The problem was at that time, they were not very popular nor efficient at telling time. With this, he created several small timepieces equipped with Swiss made movements as his first steps.
In 1910, Rolex made success in receiving the first ever distinction for chronometric precision on a wristwatch, the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision. This helped pave the way for future wristwatches developed under the company that has since then stood the test of time with continuous research and development.
The Submariner
In 1953, Rolex developed the Submariner, the first diving watch that is waterproof to a depth of 100m. This rose in popularity for its ruggedness that was fitting for outdoor sports. Now, six decades past, the Submariner has been subtly redesigned: improving the quality of the timepiece with recent innovations yet retaining with faithful accuracy the design and feeling it evokes as the original Submariner.
There are a lot of noticeable qualities of the Rolex Submariner. Its rotating bezel is easily recognizable to watch enthusiasts. Divers use these to monitor diving time and decompression stops. It is engraved with 60-minute marks to accurately monitor dives. Currently its latest generation timepieces are sought after for their innovation, prestige, and overall design. It can be noted that a lot of diver’s watches with varying price ranges take inspiration from the classic Submariner.
Omega Seamaster
Brief History of Omega
This famous brand has its beginnings with La Generale Watch Co., a company founded by Louis Brandt in 1848. This company specialized in pocket watches sold in England. In 1894, his two sons Louis Paul and Cesar developed an in-house manufacturing and production system that allowed watch parts to be interchangeable. In 1903, these timepieces were sold under the Omega brand, before becoming its own company, the Omega Watch Co.
During the same year, both brothers died, leaving Omega’s fate to 23-year old Paul-Emile Brandt. Under his leadership, Omega grew tremendously, acquiring and creating several more companies to further reinforce the brand. It overcame a lot of difficulties including the recession in 1975-1980. Now, the company has become stronger and more revolutionary, rivaling other popular watchmaking brands.
The Seamaster
Omega developed the Seamaster line in 1948, loosely based on watches made by Omega during World War 2. In 1957, its professional range the Omega Seamaster 300 was born. It filled the shoes that the original Seamaster could not fill. With all the overall improvements and innovation added, the Seamaster 300 became the greatest competitor of the Rolex Submariner up until now.
It released another version during the 1960s. This new Seamaster Diver 300 version was much sturdier than the original. It dropped the coin-edged case to a stronger and bulkier one. The broad-arrow handset was replaced with sword hands. It also became larger, at 42mm, considerably large at that time.
Breitling Superocean
Brief History of Breitling
The creation of Breitling began on 1884 when Leon Breitling opened up his first shop that specialized in making chronographs and precision counters. With the growth of the company, they relocated to La Chaux-de-Fonds, then the center of Swiss watchmaking. As time passed, in 1914, the passing of Leon passed the torch to his son Gaston Breitling.
Through the years, Gaston and his son Willy Breitling helped steer the direction of the company to greater heights. Breitling was sold to Ernest Schneider, a pilot, in 1979. Through his direction, the watch company increased its influence towards aviation timepieces and moved forward with modern innovations at that time.
The Superocean
This timepiece is a humble nod to the original Superocean. Built in 1957, the watch was meant to guide divers on their dives and help them see time under the dark ocean. This history gives the Superocean Heritage 46 a clear foot to stand with.
Fast forward to 6 decades and we have this improved heritage. The watch has a uni-directional bezel, with its color matching the dial. What makes the timepiece stand out besides its features is the steel mesh bracelet that comes with it. The combination of the case, bezel, dial, and the bracelet completes the look of the Superocean Heritage 46. Marked with 200m resistance, it can be used for light dives.
Panerai Luminor Submersible
Brief History of Panerai
The story of Panerai began in 1860 when Giovanni Panerai opened up his watchmaking shop in Florence, Italy. Through the years they have been supplying high precision instruments to the Royal Italian Navy. When the need for dive watches came, they patented Radiomir, a radium-based powder which gave the watches an extreme glow and underwater adhesive qualities.
In 1993, Panerai became publicly available with their three models, the Luminor, Luminor Marina, and the Mare Nostrum. Through the years the company has become more accessible to the public with their timepieces integrating modern innovations while staying true to their craft. In 2005, Panerai introduces its first in-house movement, the P.2002, which would be soon followed by more in-house productions.
The Luminor Submersible
One of the most distinguishable pieces from Panerai, the Luminor Submersible is a unique watch on its own. Coming from the company famous for the Radiomir, Luminor has grown into its own innovations and design. Because of this timepiece’s distinctive look, variations have appeared but the original design remains to its core.
It can be described as a classic tool-watch offering from Panerai. It’s most distinctive qualities lie on the lever crown, its case, and the dial. The lever crown is a unique feature that can be quite interesting to turn. The case is inevitable different and has its own charming personality. The dial color can be played with depending on the lighting conditions it gets.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer
Brief History of TAG Heuer
This large company traces its roots with 20 year old Edouard Heuer, who opened up a watchmaking shop in 1860 in Switzerland. He patented his first chronograph in 1882 and then patented the oscillating pinion in 1887.
During the 1950s to 1970s, TAG Heuer became very popular with automobile racers. This has earned them the reputation towards this field. They have been the leading manufacturer of stopwatches and timing watches. Since then the company has been famous for its lines of timepieces both to automobile racers and to the general public. Their push for avant-garde makes them a leading watchmaker in modern times.
The Aquaracer
The Aquaracer is TAG Heuer’s offering to lovers of the sea. It is capable of being bought to a lot of dives whether for recreation or for professional observations underwater. The timepiece is also an attractive craft, featuring a black bezel and chronographs for the different times of the day.
Despite being an automatic timepiece, it has a chronograph feature. This makes quite the timepiece. With additional functions, it is inevitably meant for a lot of activities requiring perfect timing. High tech pressure resistant casing makes it capable of surviving strong waves for surfing or underwater voyages.
Luxury Dive Watches – What make them worth your money?
Brand Recognition
All of these timepieces come from the most prestigious brands. Besides the warranty of quality, the “Swiss made” term says much more than it looks. A luxury, Swiss-made timepiece is a show of power, financial stability, personal style, taste for quality, and says a lot about the personality of someone wearing a specific style of these different watches.
Dive Watches are Versatile
The great thing about diving timepieces is that you can wear them to most social occasions you may come to and mix it with a lot of outfit combinations. The borderline between dress watches and these luxury dive watches are vague. These dive timepieces are from prestigious manufacturers, so their designs match that of dress watches, sometimes rank even higher. Still, being a dive watch, it still has its limits on where it’ll be useful to wear and impractical to bring.
High-end Quality Materials
There are a lot of reasons why these timepieces have a high price tag. Quality is usually proportional to the materials used in creating a single watch. Ceramic bezel, high quality stainless steel, strong and long-lasting luminous paint for the markers at the dial, a strong crystal and case to cover the interiors, and a lot more make up the complex machinations of luxury dive timepieces.
Craftsmanship
With very limited number of watches produced per year, and with the high quality of all these timepieces are meticulously made, these luxury watches definitely have impressive and admirable craftsmanship. Those who work on each and every luxury timepiece sold has put a lot of effort into creating those watches, so it is evident at the very first touch of the timepiece.
The Movement is an Art
Not just at the exterior, but the value of a luxury dive watch also lies on the movement inside of the timepiece. The biggest value for the term “Swiss-made” is about the accuracy and complexity of all the movements inside the watch, providing accuracy and durability for your everyday use.
Find them all at Chrono24
Ever since its creation in 2003, Chrono24 has been the global online marketplace for a lot of luxury timepieces. They are the number 1 address for luxury watches that come from commercial watch dealers and private sellers from all over the world. You can be assured of trustworthy processing, secure transactions, and transparent services, making Chrono24 well-loved all around.
You and other watch lovers alike are assured to find every luxury timepiece you need in this site. On Chrono24, more than 10,000 professional dealers and sellers come from over 90 countries offering a variety of about 250,000 unique watches. There is also little to no language barriers as you can choose from 22 different languages to communicate with the sellers.
The website attracts more than 350,000 visitors on a daily basis, and over 2 million have already downloaded the Chrono24 app on iOS and Android for convenient browsing and easier transactions.
To see more about the luxury dive timepieces listed above, and to check out their online catalogue for the best timepieces available for you, come visit Chrono24.com for more information.
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