Horological Meandering

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Diving watches with depth meter ...

Since a few years dive watches are very popular and quite common, even fashion brands like Chanel, Gucci … have some in the collection. Waterproof up to 100m, 200m, 300m, 500m, 1.000m … - not that special anymore. So how can one differ? We have seen chronographs, GMTs, alarms … and even tourbillons inside diving watches. By the way, the first diving watch with perpetual calendar came from Ulysse Nardin (Marine Perpetual; 200m) and was introduced in 2001. Do all these features make sense for serious diving? Later I will come back to that question.

One of the more uncommon features, but at least related with diving, is the depth meter. Professional divers will probably claim that they don´t trust in something like this and only do deep diving with diving computers. No one asked for it back in 1953, the early days of diving watches. But hey, it is a cool gadget nonetheless.

Depth meter – the first one (to the best of my knowledge) came from Favre-Leuba, in 1966, and was called Bathy 50 (meter) or 160 (feet). There have been 45 and 140 versions as well, but I don´t know when they have been introduced. Was the depth meter reliable these days? Honestly, I don´t know.

1999 - IWC introduced the (today) highly collectible (even with known problems) GST Deep One which was produced until 2002. Automatic movement –caliber IWC 8914 was inside. The case was 43mm, it was made in titanium, water resistant up to 100m and the depth meter worked up to 45m – safe amateur diving is between 30 and 40m and therefore 45m is more than enough.

I think it was in 2004 when Swatch introduced a watch called Fun Scuba. It was a quartz watch, water resistant up to 200m, with a depth meter up to 40m, the case was 47mm and made in plastic and rubber. Available in several variations and for only € 70,- in the beginning. It was never meant to be a real tool and so the name Fun Scuba was program.

2008 – Panerai introduced the Luminor 1950 Submersible Depth Gauge, JLC introduced the Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic and Favre-Leuba a known brand for diving watches, from the past, came back to light with their Bathy V2. The one from Panerai (500 pieces) came with an automatic movement (Valjoux 7750), but the depth meter needed a battery, did the job up to 120m and the 47mm case was made out of titanium and stainless steel.

The JLC came with the automatic caliber JLC 979, a 46,3mm titanium case, is water resistant up to 300m.  and the depth meter is up to 80m. On top a second time zone and the city of reference was shown.

The Bathy V2 looks somehow inconspicuous, even with the 46mm/18mm case. Their copper beryllium membrane depth-meter was able to show the exact depth up to 45m and is water resistant up to 300m.

2011 – Blancpain introduces the latest watch with a depth meter, the X Fathoms. It is rated for 300m WR and a depth meter for 90m that not simply measures the minimum point of your descent. The gauge is also capable of storing the point in its mechanical memory. There are much more details shown on the dial (e.g. separate indication on the 0-15m scale with an exceptional +/- 30 cm precision; retrograde 5-minute counter for decompression stops …) in that big 56mm/24mm case, but at the end Blancpain declares it is only a companion for a professional diving computer. The name Fun Scuba wasn´t available anymore (see above)

 Nonetheless, it is a testament to micro-engineering and clearly one of the most advanced dive watches on the market.

Still there is the question: Do all these features make sense for serious diving?

Probably not, but it helps to be different

"More People have visited the moon than the deepest part of the ocean" (National Geographic Magazin) and therefore diving watches are maybe good for (day) dreaming as well

...

This film from 1988 ...

still is one of my favorites

Oliver