The Best Dive Watches of 2024
Once upon a time, a solid, reliable, highly legible wrist watch was an important part of a scuba diver’s tool kit. It told undersea explorers and recreational enthusiasts how long they had been under water, so they could gauge how much oxygen was left in the tank. They were also used to time decompression stops, preventing “the bends” en route to the surface. This is why decades of divers have relied on quality watches for their underwater adventures.
Watches like the Rolex Submariner—our top overall pick for best dive watch—Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, and the Zodiac Super Seawolf pioneered the commercial diver category more than 70 years ago. To be sure, they weren’t the first watches designed for life under the sea, but the trio helped usher in the dawn of the dive watch and made them more accessible to the public.
Today there are many more options and we’ve updated this collection with some new offerings including a chronograph, a skeleton and a limited edition that likely won’t be available for long. So, If you’re an actual scuba diver looking for a mechanical backup, or you’re the kind of person who just doesn’t want to take off their watch when they go for a swim or wash the dishes, here are 10 of the finest divers you can buy now.
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Best Overall Dive Watch: Rolex Submariner
The watch that launched a thousand imitators, the Rolex Submariner is probably the most iconic wrist watch of all time. Even people who know nothing about watches can easily recognize the Sub. It hasn’t changed all that much since it launched in 1953, but Rolex has made a few tweaks along the way. Today’s reference 124060 is larger, 41mm up from the original’s 37mm. But it still features a 120 click unidirectional bezel, now in a nearly impossible to scratch ceramic, a flawlessly designed dial and 300 meters of water resistance, up from 100.
The hands and indexes are filled with Rolex’s proprietary, stunningly blue Chromalight lume. Inside the corrosion-resistant Oystersteel (904L stainless) case beats the modernized 3230 caliber, which is accurate to -2 to +2 seconds per day and offers 70-hour power reserve. There’s no such thing as perfect, but the Submariner is impossibly close.
CASE: Oystersteel stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Rolex 3230; perpetual, mechanical, self-winding
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 41mm
STRAP: Oystersteel stainless-steel bracelet
Best Chronograph Dive Watch: Glashuette Sea Q Chronograph
Anyone looking for a luxury timepiece that flies under the radar should consider Glashuette’s Sea Q Chronograph. The German brand’s automatic caliber 37-23 movement, which can be seen through a sapphire caseback, features a column wheel, flyback chronograph, for timing events in quick succession. Applied indexes and a pair of sub-dials adorn the radiant blue face. There’s also a large date window at six o’clock and a 70-hour power reserve. Anti-magnetic and good for 300 meters of water resistance, it’s a heavy-hitting dive watch few outside of the watch community will recognize.
CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Caliber 37-32
DIAL: Blue
SIZE: 43mm
STRAP: Stainless steel, synthetic, rubber
Best Limited-Edition Dive Watch: Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Laser Tag Ultraviolet
Historically Zodiac has been a brand known for its use of bold colors. But this Laser Tag collaboration with Worn and Wound takes chromatic daring to the next level. The specs mirror the rest of the brand’s Super Sea Wolf Compression line with a 40mm case, 200 meters of water resistance and an in-house STP 1-11 automatic movement. But for this limited edition piece, Zodiac has deleted the date function and beneath the scratch-resistant domed sapphire crystal the purple dial is set off with a contrasting mint green seconds ring and pink hour markers. But the real magic unfolds under the UVA rays of a blacklight (like you’d find in a Laser Tag battlefield). A criss crossing pattern on the dial glows as does the chapter ring. Even lumed elements on the case and leather strap come to life. It’s a sweet bit of ‘90s nostalgia that will still pop thirty years from now.
CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: STP 1-11
DIAL: Purple
SIZE: 40mm
STRAP: Leather
Best First Dive Watch: Seiko Prospex “Turtle”
Seiko is often the first stop on any watch collecting journey (or a list like this one). The brand makes a number of rugged, versatile, cool watches for those who are not quite ready to empty their checking accounts. Even bona fide watch snobs love and respect the brand, especially its diver models like the iconic “Turtle.” Nicknamed for its 45mm cushion-case, the piece runs a 24-jewel automatic movement with a 41-hour power reserve and day-date complications. Water-resistant to 200 meters, the watch's LumiBrite hands and markers are a cinch to read in low light. The tri-fold clasp features a locking push button release and a wetsuit extension in case you actually want to take it diving.
CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Caliber 4R36 automatic
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 45mm
STRAP: Stainless-steel bracelet
Best Serious Dive Watch: Oris Aquis Depth Gauge
Oris probably didn’t consider the average office desk diver when they ginned this Aquis up. It’s a beefy piece at 46mm wide and 15mm thick. So, it won’t easily slide under your monogrammed shirt cuffs. But the added size allows for 500 meters of water resistance, which is more than enough for a serious saturation dive. But what truly sets this piece apart is its 100-meter mechanical depth gauge complication for clocking just how far below you’ve gone.
CASE: Stainless steel
MOVEMENT: Automatic
DIAL: Black
SIZE: 46mm
STRAP: Rubber
More Dive Watches We Love
Why Buy a Dive Watch?
Today, vital scuba info when diving is best provided through a modern, digital, dive computer—and the only real reason to wear a watch under the sea is as a backup. But for watch lovers, they are still an alluring way to tell the time. Their simple designs look cool and are instantly legible. Plus, divers are mechanically over-engineered to take a beating, so you can knock them around a fair bit without much worry.
Why You Should Trust Me
I’ve been collecting watches for nearly as long as I’ve been able to tell time. Around the age of 10, I started disassembling pocket watches to see what makes them tick. Today, I feel naked if I accidentally leave the house without a watch on my wrist—so I’ll go back and get one. (Is it horology or is it OCD, only my shrink knows for sure.) Currently my cache includes a variety of vintage and contemporary pieces from micro brands to G-Shock. Most days I wear an Explorer II (Ref. 226570), but my grandmother’s Mickey Mouse watch will always be my favorite.
