05-10-2014, 04:13 PM
Real diver Tool watches are virtually extinct just like the Dinosaurs . I am getting a real laugh reading watch nerds discussing what is the best diver . Why do they not wake up to the fact that all dive watches today are not made to be used by Pro divers , they are made with a design that can sell them to the non diving public . It is complete and utter bullshit to try to compair these divers with the watches that were made before the invention of the dive computer .
We can take the most iconic watch on the planet , the Rolex Submariner . This was the watch i and other military personal used for the most in the sixties . We used it because it was the most reliable dive watch at this time . In the Far East Seiko was the favorite diver at this time , like the Rolex reliable and strong . It was the military use of these watches and the reputation they gained there , that spread to civil diving use and a world wide reputation with the general public . JLC - Vulcain - Omega- Blancpain - Omega - IWC were just some of the brands who used all of their resources and technical know how to construct reliable dive watches . Shiny cases and design elements for the great public were just a byproduct . The essential at this time was to make something that could be the difference between life and death for a diver .
The Rolex Comex divers were used by Top Professional divers , and Rolex developed them for use in saturation diving by using a Helium valve . The most technically advanced divers ever made , and this still applys to the present day . Were made by IWC ! The Aquatimer 2000m models and the Porsche German navy models were so techniaclly advanced that even Rolex were left standing . IWC lost money on every one of these models they made . And were forced to compromise on future models . The work on a 2000m Aquatimer is so precise that the watch is still waterproof at 200meters without the seals . Just try to find any past or present diver that can do this .
Rolex and IWC today no longer make their dive watches in the same way . Both brands realized that to survive in todays marketplace , you must cater to the people who buy your watches . So less emphasis on the proffesional use , but more on the design and finish . A modern Rolex or IWC has still got DNA from time past . But the era where they achieved legend status is gone . Rolex and IWC and all the other pretenders to the throne can forget about making anything that will make diving safer or easier in the future . This race has already been run , and you cannot repeat it .
And a wake up call to all the brands like Oris - Helison - UPS - Sinn etc etc etc . You can try as hard as you like with your hockey puck divers that bring nothing that as not been done before . All you can make is a back up mechanical diver with a 10 dollar caliber stuck in it . Building a 50mm case and sticking a basic cheap caliber in it , brings nothing new or special to watchmaking . And time will put them all in the big scrapmetal junkyard . Designing a diver to look Tool is a joke . Just take a good look at the Porsche design IWC 2000 m diver . It does more than any hockey puck diver at half the size . These divers remind me of all the four wheel drive Range Rovers parked outside the luxury areas of London . People just have to have one because of the feeling it gives them , but they will never see a muddy field in their lives .
There are today thousands of dive watch brands still making and selling their watches by using the most ridiculous sales arguments ever invented . Its like something close to mass hysteria . 1000 meters 20000 meters 50000 meters , what on earth are they trying to achieve ? You could say technical achievment . But lets be honest any half way good brand could stuff a little 10 dollar caliber in a massive 2 kilogram case and make a new world record . And i bet some watch nerd would buy it , so that he could impress his friends with his new WR diver .
Many of the brands i have named here make OK watches for the money . I am in no way a watch snob . And i could see myself buying any of these watches if i liked the design . But believe me it would only be because of the design , and absolutly nothing else .
Last but not least if you know about any modern dive watch that really does something new or better . Please let me know .
We can take the most iconic watch on the planet , the Rolex Submariner . This was the watch i and other military personal used for the most in the sixties . We used it because it was the most reliable dive watch at this time . In the Far East Seiko was the favorite diver at this time , like the Rolex reliable and strong . It was the military use of these watches and the reputation they gained there , that spread to civil diving use and a world wide reputation with the general public . JLC - Vulcain - Omega- Blancpain - Omega - IWC were just some of the brands who used all of their resources and technical know how to construct reliable dive watches . Shiny cases and design elements for the great public were just a byproduct . The essential at this time was to make something that could be the difference between life and death for a diver .
The Rolex Comex divers were used by Top Professional divers , and Rolex developed them for use in saturation diving by using a Helium valve . The most technically advanced divers ever made , and this still applys to the present day . Were made by IWC ! The Aquatimer 2000m models and the Porsche German navy models were so techniaclly advanced that even Rolex were left standing . IWC lost money on every one of these models they made . And were forced to compromise on future models . The work on a 2000m Aquatimer is so precise that the watch is still waterproof at 200meters without the seals . Just try to find any past or present diver that can do this .
Rolex and IWC today no longer make their dive watches in the same way . Both brands realized that to survive in todays marketplace , you must cater to the people who buy your watches . So less emphasis on the proffesional use , but more on the design and finish . A modern Rolex or IWC has still got DNA from time past . But the era where they achieved legend status is gone . Rolex and IWC and all the other pretenders to the throne can forget about making anything that will make diving safer or easier in the future . This race has already been run , and you cannot repeat it .
And a wake up call to all the brands like Oris - Helison - UPS - Sinn etc etc etc . You can try as hard as you like with your hockey puck divers that bring nothing that as not been done before . All you can make is a back up mechanical diver with a 10 dollar caliber stuck in it . Building a 50mm case and sticking a basic cheap caliber in it , brings nothing new or special to watchmaking . And time will put them all in the big scrapmetal junkyard . Designing a diver to look Tool is a joke . Just take a good look at the Porsche design IWC 2000 m diver . It does more than any hockey puck diver at half the size . These divers remind me of all the four wheel drive Range Rovers parked outside the luxury areas of London . People just have to have one because of the feeling it gives them , but they will never see a muddy field in their lives .
There are today thousands of dive watch brands still making and selling their watches by using the most ridiculous sales arguments ever invented . Its like something close to mass hysteria . 1000 meters 20000 meters 50000 meters , what on earth are they trying to achieve ? You could say technical achievment . But lets be honest any half way good brand could stuff a little 10 dollar caliber in a massive 2 kilogram case and make a new world record . And i bet some watch nerd would buy it , so that he could impress his friends with his new WR diver .
Many of the brands i have named here make OK watches for the money . I am in no way a watch snob . And i could see myself buying any of these watches if i liked the design . But believe me it would only be because of the design , and absolutly nothing else .
Last but not least if you know about any modern dive watch that really does something new or better . Please let me know .
- Jeg er engelsk - bor i Danmark, forstår dansk - men foretrækker at skrive på engelsk