Article: Is the Dive Watch Dead?

[beester]

Have an Omega planet ocean and an oris master regulator. The regulator was my toolwatch and I used to have it on whenever I dived in wetsuit (before basically all my non tropical dives became drysuit), and was doing a 50m wreck dive in France. After coming up I noticed that there were tiny water droplets on the inside of the glass. Apparently the screw had unscrewed getting my wetsuit on. I fully unscrewed the screw, and put it in a plastic box with rice to attempt to get the moisture out. A day or 2 later I checked it and it was totally rusted up on the inside...

It has emotional value so I had to replace basically everything, cost a good penny. Since then I no longer take watches underwater... no use... a cheap bottom timer (or 2) is all I need.

 

[Stoo]

I don't wear a watch at home, simply because I don't have a watch with a strap that fits around my drysuit wrist. When I am south, I wear a crappy Timex Ironman kinda deal, mostly so I know how long it is until Happy Hour. ;-) I use a Petral, plus a puck bottom timer, so no need for a watch, but it's easy to do.

I do own a nice Tag-Heuer dive watch, but honestly, it's now my "dress watch" since I can't read it without my "readers" on.

But, ya, the dive watch is pretty much dead I think.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I still have and wear my dive watch everywhere. I do take it off each evening, but wear it always. It is now a part of me. If for some reason I don't have it on, I find myself looking at my wrist a lot. I am on my fifth generation Seiko, and this last one is their "Solar" model, rather than a self-winding model. I use it diving (most of my diving now is shallow, River diving), where sometimes I also have a computer (I like the profile graph of the computer, but have no potential for decompression due to my usual depth of about 30 feel--10 meters). I have also used it to time industrial hygiene sampling for dusts and chemicals,photo developing when I was developing my own film, and dozens of little things in every day life.

SeaRat

 

[USMC CPL.]

Rolexes are the real deal, and should be worn diving. I've seen a guy diving with a $10,000 Rolex Daytona, and a few wearing submariners / seadwellers.

I'm convinced there are two type of Rolex (Sub / sea dweller) owners: those that buy it because it's a tough watch with a real diving pedigree, and those that buy it to show off. If I ever buy one, it'll be for the former reasons. And I'll dive with it.

I am hoping to get my dads submariner rolex that he wore in Navy Dive School. Don't know if I would wrar it diving. I do dive with a computer, watch and additional depth gauge for safety.

 

[doctormike]

I am hoping to get my dads submariner rolex that he wore in Navy Dive School. Don't know if I would wrar it diving. I do dive with a computer, watch and additional depth gauge for safety.

It's not only valuable, but it's also a family heirloom. I wouldn't dive with it just because I wouldn't want to lose it. I can't imagine it adding anything to the dive itself from an operational point of view. But of course, you might want to dive with it for sentimental reasons, up to you! So nice that you have that...

 

[sealark]

I am hoping to get my dads submariner rolex that he wore in Navy Dive School. Don't know if I would wrar it diving. I do dive with a computer, watch and additional depth gauge for safety.

Check your dads watch to see if on front it says Tudor, I am a retired navy diver. We were issued Rolex watches. The Tudors on the back say case by Rolex. They are a much cheaper watch and the ones I had were problems. If the front says submariner it is the real all Rolex. I hope for your sake it's the real one. I was a diver from 1966-1980 post dads last name if he was a diver in those years or pm me.

 

[Stoo]

I had a business acquaintance years ago who owned a high-end jewellery shop. He was constantly trying to sell me a Submariner for some ridiculous amount of money. He assured me that he sold lots of them. (Mostly to real-estate agents I would guess.) He seemed puzzled then I explained to him that a $350 computer would do everything that his $25,000 (CDN) Rolex would, plus a whole lot of other things to boot.

Unless a Rolex has some sentimental value, it has just become a gaudy display of wealth. I have a nice Tag-Heuer which I wear on dress-up days, but the reality is, I prefer wearing my $40 Timex Ironman... which I also wear diving. I'd hate to miss happy hour.

 

[USMC CPL.]

Check your dads watch to see if on front it says Tudor, I am a retired navy diver. We were issued Rolex watches. The Tudors on the back say case by Rolex. They are a much cheaper watch and the ones I had were problems. If the front says submariner it is the real all Rolex. I hope for your sake it's the real one. I was a diver from 1966-1980 post dads last name if he was a diver in those years or pm me.

It is a Rolex he had saved the money u and bought it himself. He told me that it is a submariner. He never completed the course he was coming up from a dive and slipped on the ladder and instead of letting go he tried to catch himself and destroyed his right shoulder. His name is Larry Luchene. He started as a corpsman with the 3rd MarDiv and after the war is when he went for diver.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Now 60 years later a dive watch is considered obsolete ?

I have been wearing a dive watch for over 60 years-I have used it as a tool as well as a normal watch. I am not changing at this late date

SDM

 

[BDSC]

I had a business acquaintance years ago who owned a high-end jewellery shop. He was constantly trying to sell me a Submariner for some ridiculous amount of money. He assured me that he sold lots of them. (Mostly to real-estate agents I would guess.) He seemed puzzled then I explained to him that a $350 computer would do everything that his $25,000 (CDN) Rolex would, plus a whole lot of other things to boot.

Unless a Rolex has some sentimental value, it has just become a gaudy display of wealth. I have a nice Tag-Heuer which I wear on dress-up days, but the reality is, I prefer wearing my $40 Timex Ironman... which I also wear diving. I'd hate to miss happy hour.

I have a very close friend who owns and has worked in the jewelry business for over 30 years. About two weeks ago I went in to look at watches because I don't have a nice "dress watch" and wanted to see what he had to offer in high end watches. He showed me what he carried and I asked why he didn't carry any Rolex watches. So he asked me if that was the first name that comes to mind when I think about "high end" watches and I said yes. He smiled and said that's because Rolex has the best marketing scheme of any brand of watch period. He told me if I wanted one he could get me one with no problem and that Rolex had tried many times over the years to get him to carry their brand. So I asked him why he didn't. He told me that he could sell me a $400 to $500 watch that was actually superior to a Rolex in craftsmanship. He said as far as actual quality goes, Rolex isn't even in the top 10 but because of great marketing, folks think they are one of the best.