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Dive Watches

Created for diving professionals, dive watches boast high water resistance, highly legible dials and help tell divers how long they’ve been submerged for via a rotational bezel. They’re loved for their distinctive and robust design, making them one of the most popular watch genres around.

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Popular Brands
  1. Rolex Rolex
  2. Omega Omega
  3. Breitling Breitling
  4. Panerai Panerai
  5. Tag Heuer Tag Heuer
  6. IWC IWC
  7. Tudor Tudor
  8. Cartier Cartier
  9. Hublot Hublot
  10. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  11. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  12. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
  13. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
All Brands
  1. A. Lange and Sohne A. Lange and Sohne
  2. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  3. Ball Ball
  4. Baume et Mercier Baume et Mercier
  5. Bell and Ross Bell and Ross
  6. Blancpain Blancpain
  7. Breguet Breguet
  8. Breitling Breitling
  9. Bremont Bremont
  10. Bvlgari Bvlgari
  11. Carl F. Bucherer Carl F. Bucherer
  12. Cartier Cartier
  13. Chanel Chanel
  14. Chopard Chopard
  15. Christian Dior Christian Dior
  16. Corum Corum
  17. Eterna Eterna
  18. F.P. Journe F.P. Journe
  19. Franck Muller Franck Muller
  20. Frederique Constant Frederique Constant
  21. Girard Perregaux Girard Perregaux
  22. Glashutte Original Glashutte Original
  23. Graham Graham
  24. Grand Seiko Grand Seiko
  25. H. Moser and Cie H. Moser and Cie
  26. Hamilton Hamilton
  27. Hermes Hermes
  28. Hublot Hublot
  29. IWC IWC
  30. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  31. Jaquet Droz Jaquet Droz
  32. JeanRichard JeanRichard
  33. Laurent Ferrier Laurent Ferrier
  34. Longines Longines
  35. Maurice Lacroix Maurice Lacroix
  36. Montblanc Montblanc
  37. Nomos Glashutte Nomos Glashutte
  38. Omega Omega
  39. Oris Oris
  40. Panerai Panerai
  41. Parmigiani Parmigiani
  42. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  43. Perrelet Perrelet
  44. Piaget Piaget
  45. Porsche Design Porsche Design
  46. Rado Rado
  47. Raymond Weil Raymond Weil
  48. Richard Mille Richard Mille
  49. Roger Dubuis Roger Dubuis
  50. Rolex Rolex
  51. Romain Jerome Romain Jerome
  52. Tag Heuer Tag Heuer
  53. Tissot Tissot
  54. Tudor Tudor
  55. U-Boat U-Boat
  56. Ulysse Nardin Ulysse Nardin
  57. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
  58. Zenith Zenith
Series
Case Size
The size of a watch is very important for style and comfort. If you prefer an oversized watch like a Panerai Luminor, you’ll probably want Large. If you’re looking for something more discreet like a Rolex Lady Datejust, you’ll want Small. For everything in between, Medium.
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  1. Stock Stock
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  1. Aluminium Aluminium
  2. Bronze Bronze
  3. Carbon Carbon
  4. Ceramic Ceramic
  5. Platinum Platinum
  6. Rose Gold Rose Gold
  7. Rose Gold Plated Rose Gold Plated
  8. Silver Silver
  9. Steel Steel
  10. Steel & Rose Gold Steel & Rose Gold
  11. Steel & Rose Gold Plated Steel & Rose Gold Plated
  12. Steel & White Gold Steel & White Gold
  13. Steel & Yellow Gold Steel & Yellow Gold
  14. Steel & Yellow Gold Plated Steel & Yellow Gold Plated
  15. Titanium Titanium
  16. White Gold White Gold
  17. Yellow Gold Yellow Gold
  18. Yellow Gold Plated Yellow Gold Plated
Dial Colour
Black
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  1. Bracelet Bracelet
  2. Fabric Fabric
  3. Leather Leather
  4. Rubber Rubber
Box and Papers
  1. Original box Original box
  1. Original papers Original papers
Movement
A mechanical watch is powered by a spring. Manual mechanical watches must be hand wound. Automatic watches are also mechanical, and are wound by a weight that spins with the wearer's movements. A quartz watch is battery powered and extremely accurate.
  1. Automatic Automatic
  2. Manual Manual
  3. Quartz Quartz
Promotion
Limited Edition
  1. Limited Edition Limited Edition
Reset Results (2127)
Results (2,127)
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Tudor Black Bay 58 M79010SG-0002 243085

Tudor
Black Bay 58
M79010SG-0002

Box
Papers
Year 2022
£2,670
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 26202AU.OO.D002CA.01 241012
Limited Edition

Audemars Piguet
Royal Oak Offshore
26202AU.OO.D002CA.01

Box
Papers
Year 2011
£25,450
Tudor Black Bay 58 M79010SG-0002 242517

Tudor
Black Bay 58
M79010SG-0002

Box
Papers
Year 2021
£2,590
Tudor Black Bay 58 M79010SG-0002 241674
Limited Edition

Tudor
Black Bay 58
M79010SG-0002

Box
Papers
Year 2021
£2,590
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 26202AU.OO.D002CA.01 258024
Limited Edition

Audemars Piguet
Royal Oak Offshore
26202AU.OO.D002CA.01

Box
Papers
Year 2011
£25,450
Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT PAM00323 254695

Panerai
Radiomir 10 Days GMT
PAM00323

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,145
Panerai Radiomir Venti PAM02020 247343
Limited Edition

Panerai
Radiomir Venti
PAM02020

Box
Papers
Year 2021
£4,400
Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT PAM00323 246297

Panerai
Radiomir 10 Days GMT
PAM00323

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,145
Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT PAM00323 254697

Panerai
Radiomir 10 Days GMT
PAM00323

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,145
Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT PAM00323 246270

Panerai
Radiomir 10 Days GMT
PAM00323

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,145
Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT PAM00323 246268

Panerai
Radiomir 10 Days GMT
PAM00323

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,145
Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT PAM00323 254717

Panerai
Radiomir 10 Days GMT
PAM00323

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,145
Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT PAM00323 254701

Panerai
Radiomir 10 Days GMT
PAM00323

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,145
Panerai Radiomir 10 Days GMT PAM00323 246272

Panerai
Radiomir 10 Days GMT
PAM00323

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,145
Zenith Elite 03.2270.4069/26.C493 252503

Zenith
Elite
03.2270.4069/26.C493

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£3,495
Rolex GMT Master 16700 265876
Vintage

Rolex
GMT Master
16700

Box
Papers
Year 1993
£10,670
Rolex Datejust 16220 265292
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16220

Box
Papers
Year 1991
£4,730
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 77080 275333

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
77080

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£4,510
Rolex Datejust 41 126334 278697
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Datejust 41
126334

Box
Papers
Year 2021
£9,635
Rolex Daytona 116520 233361

Rolex
Daytona
116520

Box
Papers
Year 2009
£28,380
Rolex Daytona 116520 246210

Rolex
Daytona
116520

Box
Papers
Year 2004
£25,875
Rolex Daytona 116520 256653

Rolex
Daytona
116520

Box
Papers
Year 2014
£18,025
Panerai Radiomir 1940 PAM00627 254278

Panerai
Radiomir 1940
PAM00627

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,785
Panerai Radiomir 1940 PAM00627 245544

Panerai
Radiomir 1940
PAM00627

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,785
Panerai Radiomir 1940 PAM00627 254263

Panerai
Radiomir 1940
PAM00627

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,785
Panerai Radiomir 1940 PAM00627 245541

Panerai
Radiomir 1940
PAM00627

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,785
Panerai Radiomir 1940 PAM00627 245551

Panerai
Radiomir 1940
PAM00627

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,785
Panerai Radiomir 1940 PAM00627 245552

Panerai
Radiomir 1940
PAM00627

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,785
Panerai Radiomir 1940 PAM00627 254275

Panerai
Radiomir 1940
PAM00627

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,785
Rolex Submariner 14060 276070
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
14060

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£8,565
Rolex Submariner 14060 263112

Rolex
Submariner
14060

Box
Papers
Year 2011
£8,680
Rolex Submariner 1680 261648
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
1680

Box
Papers
Year 1979
£13,860
Rolex Submariner 14060 259469
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
14060

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£8,680
Rolex Submariner 14060 256761

Rolex
Submariner
14060

Box
Papers
Year 2000
£8,680
Rolex Submariner 14060 255859
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
14060

Box
Papers
Year 1993
£8,205
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116689 276163

Rolex
Yacht-Master II
116689

Box
Papers
Year 2007
£25,170
Rolex Yacht-Master II 116689 246161

Rolex
Yacht-Master II
116689

Box
Papers
Year 2010
£25,170
Rolex Sky-Dweller 326135 276249

Rolex
Sky-Dweller
326135

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£30,020
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 78240 250388

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
78240

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£4,745
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 78240 262207

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
78240

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£4,585
Rolex Submariner 5513 243196
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
5513

Box
Papers
Year 1967
£9,995
Rolex Submariner 5513 264222
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
5513

Box
Papers
Year 1964
£9,995

Dive Watches

History

The dive watch, a symbol of adventure and resilience, has a rich and exciting history that stretches back to 1927 when Rolex launched its Oyster model. This innovative watch, with its screw-down case and crown, is considered the first fully water-resistant wristwatch.

Famously, it was worn that year by a young swimmer called Mercedes Gleitz who was the first woman to swim the English Channel. To advertise the feat—and the capabilities of its latest watch—Rolex bought the front page of the most widely read British newspaper of the time, the Daily Mail.

Rolex went on to supply movements to Panerai, who developed the dive watch further with the specialist timepieces they made for the frogmen of the Italian navy in the late 1930s. These early dive watches had a water resistance of 30 metres—unimpressive by today’s standards which requires a dive watch to have a minimum water resistance of 100 metres.

By the mid-1950s, scuba-diving was a popular worldwide pastime due to the invention of the aqualung a decade earlier. This led to a spate of similar-looking dive watches like Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, which featured the first rotating bezel—enabling divers to accurately measure immersion time—and the Rolex Submariner. Both these watches were water-resistant to 100 metres, while the Zodiac Sea Wolf, released shortly afterwards, doubled this to 200 metres.

In the decades since, dive watches have become more and more capable of withstanding extreme water pressure. In 2012, Rolex launched its Deepsea Challenge model which boasted an incredible 12,000 metres water resistance. In the same year it was attached to a submersible that Hollywood director James Cameron piloted to the deepest part of the world’s oceans—the Marianas Trench—to a depth of 10,898 metres, surviving the ordeal unscathed.

Key features

Today, dive watches continue to push boundaries, incorporating advanced technologies and materials such as helium escape valves, luminescent dials, and enhanced water resistance.

What sets dive watches apart from other timepieces? Let's look at what makes a dive watch unique, designed specifically for the rigours of underwater exploration.

Firstly, their exceptional water resistance is critical. Unlike standard watches, dive watches can withstand the extreme conditions of deep-sea diving, with a water resistance rating of at least 100 metres and many capable of depths up to 300 metres or much more.

Additional features of a dive watch include a unidirectional rotating bezel for tracking immersion time, bold luminous markers and hands for good visibility in murky conditions, and a helium escape valve to prevent damage during decompression. Most dive watches don’t have the latter as they are only of use in saturation diving when a diver spends time in a decompression chamber.

Some diving watches even incorporate helium-filled cases and built-in depth gauges, allowing divers to monitor their current depth without the need for additional equipment. These features make dive watches a useful tool for underwater exploration, although in an age of wearable dive computers they are more often now used as a back-up option.

One thing every mechanical dive watch must have is a constantly running seconds hand, or some kind of display indicating the watch is running that can be viewed in total darkness.

The science of water Resistance in dive watches

Water resistance is a vital feature of a dive watch. Special seals and gaskets prevent water infiltration, while robust materials like stainless steel or titanium ensure durability and resistance to corrosion. Rigorous testing verifies a dive watch's ability to withstand different pressures and temperatures, simulating the conditions encountered underwater.

Water resistance is measured in metres or bar units, indicating the depth to which the watch can be submerged safely. It's worth noting that factors such as water temperature and movement can affect a diving watch's performance underwater.

Popular dive watch models

The Rolex Submariner is a classic choice, renowned for its robustness and precision, and capable of withstanding depths of up to 300 metres. It was famously worn by James Bond until the 1990s when he swapped one dive watch for another: the equally iconic Omega Seamaster.

Other enduring models that are as timeless as they are stylish include the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Breitling Superocean, Panerai Luminor and IWC Aquatimer. Fellow Swiss brands Tudor and TAG Heuer offer more affordable choices like the Black Bay and Aquaracer, respectively.

At Watchfinder, we offer a vast selection of pre-owned luxury dive watches from all of the aforementioned brands, from Rolex to IWC, catering to every budget and taste. Explore our collection and discover the exceptional craftsmanship and performance of these remarkable watches.

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