Deep Dive watches

UTS 4000M Deep Dive Watch

The new UTS deep dive watch, the UTS 4000m professional has been released .

UTS watches are the brainchild of Nicolaus Spinner and are personally assembled and tested by him in his small workshop in Munchen, Germany.

It features a massive 17.5mm thick case and a 6mm crystal, which are needed to enable it to endure the kinds of pressures associated with 4000m depths. While you may not need a watch that can descend to such depths, one that is built to withstand these kind of depths is sure to be an extremely tough.

Rolex Deepsea Challenge

On January 23rd 1960 the “deep boat” Trieste made an historic descent to 10,916 meters. On that occasion it was accompanied by a Rolex watch.

Corum Admiral’s Cup Seafender

Water-resistant to an impressive 1,000 meters, the new Admiral’s Cup Seafender 48 Deep Dive is the latest newcomer to the Extreme line. Its helium valve, its secure rotating bezel and its hyper-luminescent hour-markers make this imposing and sophisticated watch a genuine instrument for professionals.

Created in 1960, the Admiral’s Cup watch by Corum is an authentic icon for all devotees of nautical sports and diving. Its twelve-sided bezel and its nautical pennants have been forging a legend for over 50 years.

Aquadive Bathyscaphe 300

Aquadive, well known for the classic dive watches they produced during the 60`s and 70`s recently relaunched themselves after a period of inactivity.

Pictured is their new Bathyscaphe 300 model, a substantial piece that takes design cues from their original 70`s models and uses the exact same case from the 1970s Model 50 Depth gauge Aquadive with identical dimensions. Rated to 3000m (10000 feet) Aquadive recently successfully tested it to a depth of 5000m.

The internal workings have been updated and the 300 uses an ETA automatic movement( ETA 2824-2) with a special movement supsension system that employs an iron cage. This not only serves to isolate the movement from the case but also functions as an antimagnetic shield and provides shock protection. Providing added safety for extreme diving conditions is a Helium Release valve (HRV) .

Model 50 Electronic from 1970 - the ancestor of the Bathyscaphe 300

The substantial 47mm by 20mm stainless steel case is machined with satin brushed and polished surfaces,has a ceramic bezel and sports a 24mm wide Isofrane strap.

Preorder pricing is $1990 and full retail is $2990. Shipping starts mid December 2011.
More information at Aquadive.

Hublot Oceanographic 4000

Tested to a depth of 5000m in a Roxer tank the Oceanographic 4000 by Hublot has a 6.5mm thick sapphire crystal in order to withstand the pressure of these kind of depths and is certified to 4000m ( 13,120 feet).

The grade 2 titanium case back is screw down and a helium valve positioned at 10 o`clock allows gases that have entered the watch to safely escape during ascent. In order to ensure water resistance both crowns are screwdown and fitted with o-ring seals.

The elapsed time gauge uses a rack driven internal flange which is unidirectional to make it as safe as possible and in order to help avoid accident adjustment the dive time indicator has been set as close to the dial as possible.

Dive time is set using the unidirectional flange crown at the 2 o`clock position which features an oversized crown and bayonett fitting. For winding and setting the time a second crown is positioned at the 4 o`clock position. Both crowns are screwdown and fitted with O-ring seals to ensure water resistance.

Hublot Oceanographic 4000 Crown

Hublot Oceanographic 4000

In order to comply to dive watch iso standards the elapsed time needs to be legible from 25cm away in darkness. With this in mind the surface areas of the dial, flange and hands have been maximised and coated with SuperLuminova.

CX Swiss Military Watch 6,000m (20,000 Feet)

The CX Swiss Military watch currently holds the world record as the only mechanical dive watch that is certified water resistant to a depth of 20,000 Feet.

Emphasis on mechanical since other deep dive watches are certified to go deeper but they are oil filled quartz watches. Since silicone oil is non-compressible it protects the watch against the pressures from these kinds of depths.

Having been tested to a depth equivalent of 20,000 Feet, you can be sure that it can take a beating, and it literally has! Not only was the CX Swiss Military watch subjected to laboratory testing but also some rather unconventional tests too..

Its first round of punishment was to be blasted with 6,000 liters of water from the powerful water hose of a 40 ton fire engine. (click to watch)

Bell and Ross Hydromax 11,100m (36,500 feet)

The Hydromax is equipped with some impressive technical features.

Bell and Ross use a watch case completely filled with a special type of transparent silicone oil called Hydroil to protect the watch from the huge pressures.

Since temperature fluctuations cause this oil to expand and compress, Bell and Ross developed a special patented watch case designed to compensate for this by using a rubber section in the case back that automatically adjusts (see image below)

A nice added benefit of using an oil filled design is that the refractive index of the oil makes the watch viewable from any angle underwater.

Sinn UX 12,000 meters (39,600 feet)

This deep dive watch vying for supremacy is the Sinn UX.

This one, like the Bell and Ross Hydromax is a quartz driven oil filled watch.

Sinn points out some of the advantages of using an oil filled case:

“the watch is absolutely free of fogging, because there is no air inside the case, its pressure-resistant at any accessible diving depth and has perfect readability from any angle under water…Functionally reliable at temperatures from -20 °C to + 60 °C ”

The Sinn’s aesthetics have a sober sense of purpose and utility to them, it usesSubmarine Steel for the watch case and to further toughen this it is hardened using a special process called “Tegimenting”.

Rolex Deepsea 3,900 meters (12,795 Feet)

Rolex has a long diving heritage, reaching back to when it was credited with making the first “waterproof” watch in 1927. Rolex were also involved with development of the record breaking Deep dive in the Bathyscaphe Trieste, which, with the Rolex Deep Sea Special strapped to the outside of the vessel descended to 3,700 metres in 1956. Still more recently in 1990, Comex diver Theo Mavrostomos made a record 2300ft dive wearing a Rolex Sea-Dweller.

Rolex draws on this wealth of dive experience and involvement creating deep dive watches for the development of the Deepsea.

Nivrel Shark Sea 3000m (9,000 Feet)

At first glance the Shark Sea is a bit of an anomaly for a deep dive watch since it features a tourbillon, something more associated with luxury watches.

Its an interesting and intriguing combination, including such a meticulously crafted function in such a robust setting as a dive watch.

The tourbillon is held in place with a substantial looking bridge, and the movement itself is a Swiss hand winding one with 120 hour power reserve indicated by a gauge. The retrograde date indicator rounds off the face nicely.