Who else doesn’t favor diver’s?
I think that I’m an oddity because diver’s are a minority in my collection. It’s more due to me being attracted to other types of watches rather than an active dislike of the diver’s watch genre. For a diver’s to catch my attention it has to be a bit different or eye catching to distinct itself from the mass of generic diver’s which to be honest I find quite boring.
The paradox that I experienced with diver’s is that while they are the most popular type of watch, or at least the most popular type here on WC, they are also the one lacking the most in diversity. I know that I’m making a very wide and possibly unjust generalization here, however each one of my diver’s was bought because it had a characteristic of its own that appealed to me and this characteristic wasn’t its ability to dive undersea.
The Marathon MSAR, which is the only other ISO compliant diver’s watch that I own beside the SPB147, came to my possession mainly due to its brutal shape, extraordinary dial, and the tritium illumination. The two Superman are with me because I liked how Yema kept the elegant thin case design from the 60’s, the use of bronze – either partial or full; and the curiously anachronistic but completely unnecessary bezel lock mechanism. The same can be said about my Vostoks: I don’t care about their impressing diving abilities at all. I simply like their living fossil nature and their quirky clunky look.
The SPB147 that I’m wearing today is an outlier because I did buy it as a diver’s, or more specifically as a modern re-creation of Seiko 1965 62MAS. It was a complete and utter failure in this role and I already made several posts here on WC explaining why it disappointed me as a 62MAS. However it didn’t disappoint me with its dial, which I still find stunning, and the way it contrast yet complement the look of the Roma strap from ColaReb and this is why I kept it despite finding a better 62MAS with the 37mm San Martin SN007-G-X.
Given a choice of getting a new watch, I think that I would rather have one of @Aurelian fantastic thin gold vintage dress watches or one of @Whitesalmon extraordinary vintage SEIKO pieces instead of another boring (to me) watch of the rotating bezel and WR rating persuasion. It’s also why I like browsing the WRUW section since there’s plenty of opportunities there to experience by proxy the look of unusual watches that I doubt I’ll ever have the chance to see in the flesh.
I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
Bought my first diver last year, Steeldive 1970, and it's on my desk right now to sell. Just not for me. I'm much more a field/sports/dress watch person..
I got a Casio Duro and it's a fine watch, but it's likely to be my only dive watch. The style just does not appeal to me, thus far.
I own 1 dive watch now, the newly released Phoibos Leviathan 40mm. I guess I also find them rather generic and uninteresting for the most part. The watches i have the highest number of are chronographs, of which I have 5 (3 quartz, 1 automatic and 1 fully mechanical), I love the diversity in design and functionality that can be found in this catagory.
They don't do anything for me either. I have a few Vostoks, they're colourful, different from the standard western design language, and cheap as chips. And a Tandorio SKX based diver which I bought because I liked the dial but didn't like the bezel on the non-dive equivalent. The thought of spending more than a couple of hundred in a diver doesn't work for me.
Only 4 of my 10 watches are divers.... So I guess I'm with you? I actually never thought about this until now
I own 1 dive watch now, the newly released Phoibos Leviathan 40mm. I guess I also find them rather generic and uninteresting for the most part. The watches i have the highest number of are chronographs, of which I have 5 (3 quartz, 1 automatic and 1 fully mechanical), I love the diversity in design and functionality that can be found in this catagory.
I also went through a chrono period but TBH they are not as appealing to me as I thought they will be. Most likely I looked at them through rose colored lenses because when I grew up they were not very common and looked interesting and pricey, so I thought that owning them will be cool - which they are, but not enough (for me) to account for more than 4.
They don't do anything for me either. I have a few Vostoks, they're colourful, different from the standard western design language, and cheap as chips. And a Tandorio SKX based diver which I bought because I liked the dial but didn't like the bezel on the non-dive equivalent. The thought of spending more than a couple of hundred in a diver doesn't work for me.
Vostoks are cool. It's the horological equivalent of buying an East German Trabant and use it once a month to get to work.
Only 4 of my 10 watches are divers.... So I guess I'm with you? I actually never thought about this until now
For me it's more like 6 out of 30.
I am with you. Only 1 out of my 20 watches is a diver, and I did not buy it for diving but rather that it has certain features that interest me.
I just looked at your gallery and you have quite an eclectic collection. Bravo!
For me it's more like 6 out of 30.
I have 5 other watches with 100m wr or more though, so while specifically not divers I think maybe I should count my moon phase Na Hoku surfing watch in your question?
I have a few divers and while I appreciate them I don’t wear them often. Would rather wear a simple 3 hander or a chronograph personally.
I have three divers in a 12 watch collection and one is on the chopping block, so I’m kinda right there with you. Not because I don’t like divers but because I like the clean look of bezel-less watch better.
One dive watch is good to have with a screw down crown but I prefer the smaller 36mm cases with no clicky things and a screw down crown. Now i have a few larger cases i no longer use since I started converting them. The hassle is going to be getting fresh seals for it that are not old and have been sitting around a long time.
Seems like a lot of dive and dive style watches in your group, was that 5-6 u listed? That's a good group of diver's watches - even though u say its a minority of your collection, congrats. I think a big list compared to mine. Its probably my least favorite style in watches although I have a couple.
I have 5 other watches with 100m wr or more though, so while specifically not divers I think maybe I should count my moon phase Na Hoku surfing watch in your question?
It's up to you to decide which is a diver and which isn't. It's your collection after all.
Seems like a lot of dive and dive style watches in your group, was that 5-6 u listed? That's a good group of diver's watches - even though u say its a minority of your collection, congrats. I think a big list compared to mine. Its probably my least favorite style in watches although I have a couple.
Not all my watches that have a rotating bezel are divers: One is a skin diver and the rest are GMT.
I think divers are more diverse than other types. All field watches look the same, dress watches have similar constraints, and pretty much anything can call itself a sports watch.
I had a great journey with divers, but sold them all. Focusing on elegant sportswatches, three handers with gada ability on all type of dial colors.
I used to love chronos but found the diver rotating bezel more useful in my daily life for timing things like my commute, cooking etc. I use it all the time.
I have 3 divers don’t need another one. I once had 4 but I gave alway one and now it’s that person personal favorite. I guess I did a good deed.