5 Best Dive Watches

What are the f5 best dive watches? Since most lists of bests are based upon personal opinion it is often the best idea to try and include something which will appeal to as many people as possible. We can but hope that most people will find something in the list which will satisfy them. For our purposes we are going to limit our list to watches in current production, even though some will have a long storied past.  

1. Rolex Submariner. Why not start out with what is perhaps one of the most recognizable and copied watches in the world. First introduced in 1953 and the first watch rate waterproof to 100 meters the Submariner has been a choice of discriminating divers ever since. It is easily recognizable as the watch Sean Connery wore in the first James Bond movie. One of the first, and easily one of the best is always a good choice.
2.  Omega Seamaster. The Omega Seamaster series is a superb series of dive watches from a company which has a history of fine dive watches. They have been used by some of the most famous names in diving, and have been associated with water sports in the Olympics for decades.  A classic rugged timepiece like the Omega Seamaster deserves a spot on any best divers list.
3.  Doxa Sub. This watch is perhaps most famous to the average person as being worn by the hero Dirk Pitt in a series of books written Clive Cussler. It has in fact been used by many professional divers, including some of those who dove off the storied Calypso and some of those in the U.S. Navy. The Doxa is a superb choice for the diver who wants a rugged, accurate and vintage look in a divers watch.  Its introduction brought about several important "firsts". The first was the no-decompression table embossed on the rotating bezel, and the second was the use of a bright orange dial which aided in low light visibility.
4. Seiko SKX series. This is actually a series of automatic dive watches which come in a variety of case sizes, bezel configurations and dial type.  When we first became acquainted with the Internet's exploding watch communities the SKX779 Monster was a runaway superstar. It was the latest and greatest in Seiko's long history with diving watches. Seiko's are known for rugged dependability, good looks, excellent ergonomics, and best buy status because of their reasonable price since the 1960's. We consider the entire SKX line a best buy and have two in our personal collection of divers watches because you can wear them anywhere, even places you would not wear your $1000 dive watch.
5. Casio G-Shock.  Tough, plain and simple. These watches are no nonsense working watches. They are worn world wide by serious divers and adventurers, including a huge segment of military men, for one reason, they work and will take almost anything thrown at them. They have almost become so popular that they tend to be used to describe a whole branch of armored watches rather like Kleenex is used for any type of tissue, not long ago we had someone describe their  brand X armored tank of a watch a G-shock, and it was not a Casio. If you want a watch that is practically bulletproof, you might want to look at a G-Shock.