Tested: The Best Vintage-Inspired Dive Watches For Retro Style

Dive watches have remained consistently popular since they first appeared in the 1950s. But as dive watches have grown more and more modern, there’s been a real desire among watch collectors to get back to the basics of dive watch designs that were popular in the mid-twentieth century. And as a result, we’ve been in the middle of a massive vintage-style dive watch boom over the past few years. The watches we’ve tested below perfectly capture the vintage dive watch look of the ‘50s and ‘60s but in a modern package that avoids the headaches and maintenance that come with owning a real vintage timepiece. Some of these watches are reissues from legacy watchmakers digging through their archives, while others are romanticized modern-day reimaginings of vintage styles from upstart brands. What they all have in common is a love and respect for the dive watches of yesteryear. So take a look below to see our picks for the best vintage-style dive watches on the market today.

How We Tested

Vintage reissues are cropping up seemingly every week, but a lot of watchmakers either don’t have the heritage or simply want to amalgamate their older pieces into newer models. The number of vintage-style divers on the market today makes it more difficult to decipher which ones are worth your hard-earned money. For this guide, we’ve utilized our wealth of experience and knowledge in the dive watch category and looked to our favorite makers of vintage-styled timepieces. From there, we got hands-on with each pair, spending time with them to see how they looked and felt up close. The results are detailed below.

Wrist Size: We should also mention that our tester has a wrist diameter of around 8″, so keep that in mind when comparing it to your own wrist.

What Is A Dive Watch?

The style of watch that we think of as a dive watch first came about in 1953 with the introduction of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and Zodiac Sea Wolf, followed by the Rolex Submariner the following year. While submergible watches had existed since the ‘30s, these were the first purpose-built dive watches, with high (for the time) water resistance, large luminous indexes, and uni-directional bezels for timing dives. Today, these are still the hallmarks of the dive watch. A unidirectional dive time bezel is a must, as are high-contrast dials and hands with great lume. Modern dive watches also have greater water resistance — typically at least 200m — as well as a screw-down crown, which aids in the watches’ water resistance.

What to Look For

Box or Domed Crystals: Modern divers, like most other modern watches, favor flat sapphire for their crystals. But vintage divers had much larger and more prominent crystals that were either in a raised flat-top box style or domed like a big bubble. Vintage-style dive watches like to recreate these crystal styles, sometimes in period-appropriate acrylic, but more often in scratch-resistant sapphire.

Thin Bezels: Another hallmark of modern dive watches is their wide, usually flat bezels that are often crafted in ceramic with prominent markings. Vintage dive watches had narrow aluminum or domed acrylic/bakelite bezels with smaller markings. These bezel styles also appear in vintage-style dive watches, but like the crystals, they are also sometimes updated with modern materials like ceramic or sapphire.

Smaller or Unique Cases: It is rare to find a modern dive watch that is below 40mm, but they were the norm in the mid-century. Some vintage-style dive watches stay true to the past by making cases that are 36-39mm, but just as many size up the cases above 40mm to suit modern expectations. Dive watch cases were also a lot less standardized in the past, with cushion cases, dual-crown super compressor cases, and bare-bones skindiver cases appearing as often as more traditionally-styled cases.

Flamboyant Styling: Although many modern divers can be flashy, they mostly remain conservative in their coloring and styling. That was not the case in the mid-century, when bright colors, funky numerals, and other bizarre design cues ruled the day. Thankfully, the fun is being reinjected into the dive watch segment thanks to vintage-style divers.

“Fauxtina”: Perhaps the most controversial styling cue you’ll find in vintage-style divers is lume that is designed to look aged. Rather than appearing bright white or slightly green-tinged like fresh Super-LumiNova, “Fauxtina” shows up as yellow or orange in daylight, giving it a faux patinaed look — hence the name. A lot of vintage-style divers use this type of lume that replicates the look of aged radium or tritium lume, but not all watch collectors are fans of the practice.

Crown Shenanigans: Modern divers almost always have a conservatively-sized crown protected on either side by crown guards. But back in the day, dive watch crowns were another area where brands could show off. Sometimes they’d go with a huge crown, often there would be no crown guards, and some watches used a two crown system — one for winding and setting the time, and another for adjusting an inner-rotating bezel. These old crown styles are now finding newfound popularity thanks to vintage-style dive watches.

Water Resistance: Obviously a dive watch much have significant water resistance. 100m is the absolute minimum, but as you’ll see below, some of these watches can go waaaay lower than that. It should also be good to mention that, typically, the deeper the water resistance, the larger/bulkier the case will be. Most recreational diving won’t need anything larger than 200m.

Dan Henry 1970

The entire product line of renowned watch collector Dan Henry’s eponymous brand was inspired by vintage pieces from his own collection, but none were done more tastefully than this diver. Based on the look of watches from around — you guessed it — 1970, this 200m automatic diver boasts dual cross-hatched crowns for a supercompressor look, comes on a retro tropic-style rubber strap, and is available in several funky colors.

The most affordable on this list, the 1970 looks like it would cost two or three times more than its sticker price. Housed in either a 40mm or 44mm stainless steel case is the reliable Seiko Caliber NH35 automatic, the timepiece boasts a clean, iconic styling with a beautiful vintage style evoking the likes of the IWC Aquatimer, Longines Legend Diver, and even the Wittnauer Vintage Super Compressor. We love the period-correct Tropic strap and interior rotating bezel but admittedly wish the numerals on the bezel were lumed.

Lorier Hydra

A relative newcomer on the microbrand scene, NYC-based Lorier has quickly established a signature design language that’s seen across their entire line of watches. And this, their Hydra model, is emblematic of what makes them such a fan favorite. By looking at retro dive watch icons, Lorier crafted a unique design that became an instant classic. With a generously-domed Hesalite crystal, a 120-click timing, and a GMT movement, the Neptune looks like it dove right out of the ‘60s.

Coming in under $600, the Hydra is powered by a Miyota automatic movement with a practical GMT function to add some utility to the dive watch. It’s housed in the 41mm 316L marine-grade stainless steel case with 200m of water resistance, which is plenty capable for most serious divers. We love the lume on the dial here, glowing extra bright thanks to the Super-LumiNova BGW9 and C1, each of which give a separate color (blue or green) to the two separate time zones, which is a nice touch. The dial mixes styles as well with three different designs for the handset: arrow, dauphine, and a unique diamond shape. We honestly have nothing to complain about here.

Baltic Aquascaphe Dual Crown

Another newer microbrand that wasted no time in finding its niche as a purveyor of vintage-inspired watches is Baltic. The French watchmaker’s Aquascaphe has been an enormous hit, with its good looks seeming to charm everyone who lays eyes on it. A domed sapphire crystal and bezel add a modern twist to its vintage style, as does the sandwich dial featuring old radium lume. Even the case size of 39mm is appropriate for the time period, balancing its reasonable size with a 47mm lug-to-lug and modest 10mm thickness, achieved by eliminating the 1.9mm domed crystal of the non-compression Aquascaphe.

Treated with black PVD this time around and killing it with its subtle directional brushing, the watch wisely keeps all the major edges uncoated yet highly polished, as if each piece were hand-finished itself. We admittedly have mixed feelings about the freely rotating fixed crown used to adjust the timing bezel. On the one hand, the effect is striking. However, on the other hand, practical diving scenarios might risk accidentally hitting the crown and messing up your timing since it doesn’t lock into place. Water resistant to 200m, the watch is powered by a highly accurate Miyota 9039 automatic movement, which is great for the price.

Bulova Devil Diver

As a brand that’s been around since 1875, Bulova has its fair share of iconic models in its archives. And one of the most favored is the colloquially-named Devil Diver of the 1960s, which sported a mischievous “666 feet” on the dial, bragging about its at-the-time industry-leading depth-rating. Stretching 41mm across the case, this new modern take of that watch is a faithful reissue that keeps all of the main style cues of the popular original — including, of course, the mark of the beast.

A solid alternative to Doxa’s iconic divers, the Bulova has a stunning aesthetic with black and orange competing for your attention on the bezel, while a full orange dial adds tons of wrist presence. Relatively affordable, the diver is powered by a Miyota 821D automatic movement that helps it punch well above its weight in terms of price. It’s also visible through the exhibition caseback –– another rarity at this price point. Lastly, the watch is adorned with a polyurethane strap that feels great on the wrist.

Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Compression

The historic Swiss brand Zodiac has gone all-in with vintage dive watch designs. In fact, they’re one of the few legacy Swiss watchmakers that don’t make a modern-style diver. But when your vintage-style diver looks as good as the Super Sea Wolf, there’s no need. As the follow-up to the Sea Wolf, one of the very first divers ever released in 1953, the Super Sea Wolf has a storied history, one that’s continued with this modern Compression version featuring a domed mineral crystal bezel insert, chronometer certification, and a number of fun available colorways.

We got hands-on with the green option with aqua-blue inserts and a steel bracelet, which is perfect for summertime or poolside wear. Stretching 40mm across, with a 47mm lug-to-lug, the diver produces an excellent wearing experience that feels modern while still looking vintage. People with smaller wrists won’t have a problem either, and you still get 200m of water resistance with a screw-down crown for protection. We did notice, however, that the crown was admittedly difficult to grip and turn if you’re in a hurry. As for the handset, it’s more squared off like the ’60s and ’70s models –– not the sharper Dauphine design of the ’50s Sea Wolfs. They’re powered by the STP1-21 caliber automatic that gives you a smooth second hand sweep despite just 40 hours of power reserve.

Doxa Sub 300 Sharkhunter

Doxa’s status as a dive watch brand is nothing short of legendary, thanks largely to their revolutionary Sub 300. First released in 1967, the watch took publicly-available dive watches to new heights with its 300m water resistance, highly-visible orange dial, and world-first dual scale for depth and dive time unidirectional bezel. Swapping the orange for black, this modern Sharkhunter version keeps many features of the original but updates them. The crystal is the same shape as the 1967 original, but now it’s in sapphire. The lume has seen an upgrade to Super-LumiNova, and the automatic movement has been COSC-certified. Meanwhile, you’ll still get a flexible, vintage-style beads-of-rice steel bracelet, which we love.

Using a distinctly old-school barrel-shaped case with a 42.5mm diameter, the timepiece is a solid everyday-wear option with a balanced lug-to-lug of 45mm and a thickness of 13.4mm. Unlike some dive watches which have mere placeholders for bezels, the one on the Sub 300 is incredibly functional, with a unidirectional timing function and depth indicators for your safety underwater. While Doxa employs generous amounts of lume on the hands and hour markers, it doesn’t lean too heavily on the glow for legibility. Expectedly, this watch taps the reliable, durable ETA 2824-2 automatic movement used with other Doxa pieces. However, note that you’ll only get around 38 hours of power reserve.

For a deeper dive, read our review of the Doxa Sub 300 watch.

Nivada Grenchen Chronomaster Broad Arrow manual

Perhaps the most faithful recreation of a vintage dive watch on the market today, recently-resurrected Nivada Grenchen’s reissue of their 1960s Chronomaster looks indistinguishable from vintage models, right down to the 38mm case size. And it’s highly wearable with 47mm lug-to-lug and 13.75mm thickness rounding out the dimensions. The multi-use chronograph diver is as much of a novelty today as it was back then with its combined 12-hour/dive-time bezel, inner-tachymeter scale, and yachting scale subdial, all powered by a manually-wound movement.

While the Swiss watchmaker became a watch supplier that recognized the value of automatic movements upon their debut in the 1920s, this hand-wound version of the Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver is considered by most to be the eminent embodiment of the brand. And when this watch originally came out in the early ’60s, it did in fact tick by with a Valjoux manual caliber. This time around, that’s been substituted for a Sellita SW510 M BH B (though an automatic version does exist too). Not quite as versatile for a hybrid dive watch as, say, the Doxa Sub 300, the Chronomaster only has 100m of water resistance, making it more of a skin diver. Nevertheless, we love its well-rounded feature set and old-school style: the timing pushers at the 2 and 4, the tachymeter, the bidirectional timing bezel, and the nine different timing features, including stopwatches, an aviation timer, and a yachting timer. We’re really glad they brought this one back to market, and for under $2,000.

Rado Captain Cook

Rado has been on a tear lately, rightfully putting their name where it belongs among the pantheon of Swiss luxury watchmakers. Leading the charge is this wildly-popular diver. Based on the original Captain Cook diver from 1962, the update keeps the original’s vintage looks, albeit with a larger 42mm case size, while upgrading the bezel to the brand’s signature high-tech ceramic and the crystal to anti-reflective sapphire. There are also plenty of other sizes, colors, and materials available, including a bronze version.

Compared to the 37mm of the original Captain Cook, the reissue is quite larger, which might detract some potential buyers. However, a 37mm version does exist in the brand’s current lineup. Despite the size of the 42mm, it still only has a 48mm lug-to-lug and 12mm thickness, which allows it to wear really well, especially since the thickness is largly attributed to the domed crystal on top rather than the caseback. The bezel here is Rado’s famous high-tech ceramic insert, helping shed some weight as well. Struggling with legibility on the dial due to the dark color, the watch still sports an anti-reflective coating on the sapphire. Paired with a beautiful beads-of-rice bracelet, it’s powered by the Powermatic 80 movement, giving you a whopping 80 hours of power reserve.

For a deeper dive, read our review of the Rado Captain Cook watch.

Longines Legend Diver

One of the most historically-lauded Swiss watchmakers, Longines today finds themselves representing the mid-level luxury rung in the Swatch Group’s brand ladder. But the brand’s rich history means they have plenty of inspiration from which to draw, as is the case with this dual-crowned beauty. With its streamlined long lugs, black lacquered dial, 300m water resistance, and impeccably printed markers, it’s quite the vintage-style bargain — even at a price point that’s above two grand.

As one of the most revered vintage-style divers on the market, the aptly named Legend Diver is inspired by ’50s-era divers and has seen quite a fe different variations on the theme. Powered by the L888 automatic caliber (ETA-base) one above is the most recent, sporting a lovely matte gray dial rather than the classic black-and-white color scheme. With 300m of water resistance, it’s still highly wearable at 39mm across, 47mm lug-to-lug, and 12.7mm in thickness. And with an overall design that’s less tool-ish than previous iterations, this watch could also easily be dressed up. Admittedly, for the price tag, we wish the movement were a bit better instead of a modified ETA but at least it does come COSC-certified.

For a deeper dive, read our review of the Longines Legend Diver watch.

Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight

Rolex doesn’t make any vintage-style dive watches, unfortunately, but their junior brand makes a great one. The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight is based on a Tudor diver from its eponymous year, and it’s arguably the closest approximation to a vintage Submariner you can get in a new watch. The watch features a gilt dial, oversized crown, coin-edge bezel with a matte black aluminum insert, box sapphire crystal, and 39mm case size. This is vintage styling done right.

Debuting in 2018 to much acclaim, the Black Bay 58 has helped define Tudor as a modern-day dive watch legend. Typical modern divers can be rather chunky but the Black Bay 58 really paved the way for a trend back downward. As such, it’s more period-accurate at 39mm across with a 47mm lug-to-lug and 11.9mm thickness. It’s quite wearable even if you have a smaller wrist. While this watch certainly isn’t a 1:1 revival of the Oyster Prince Submariner Ref. 7924 from Rolex, the ethos of that timepiece is still intact but with a bit more elegance. As for the movement, it’s a manufacturer MT5402 automatic with 70 hours of power reserve and COSC certification. While the riveted bracelet is somewhat divisive, we’re fans of the styling.

For a deeper dive, read our review of the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight watch.

Omega Seamaster 300 Chronometer 41mm

The Seamaster line is best-known for the modern Professional Diver 300m, thanks to its association with James Bond. But Seamasters have been around in multiple iterations since the 1940s, with the Seamaster 300 that debuted in 1957 being among the most beloved. This modern reissue of that watch is a true luxury timepiece, boasting a ceramic bezel with Liquidmetal dive scale, rhodium-plated hands, and Omega’s fully-decorated Co-Axial calibre 8912 Master Chronometer automatic movement visible through the display caseback. Oh, and for good measure, Bond wore a limited edition version of this watch in Spectre.

Considering its prestige as one of the world’s most formidable Swiss luxury watchmakers, it’s almost difficult to imagine that Omega used to make rugged watches for the military. However, that’s what the Seamaster was born from. Not to be confused with Omega’s more modern-looking Seamaster Diver 300m, the Seamaster 300 is the distinctly old-school member of the family, featuring plenty of utility but with a more vintage-like toolish style, unlike the overtly toolish watches of today. It measures 41mm across with a 48mm lug-to-lug, but it looks much smaller in photographs; the on-wrist experience feels admittedly larger than we expected. Nevertheless, you get one of the best movements in the Swiss horological world with the Co-Axial Caliber 8912 automatic. We did notice that the steel bracelet, while comfortable, isn’t particularly noteworthy.

For a deeper dive, read our review of the Omega Seamaster 300.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique

Blancpain invented what we think of as a dive watch in 1953 with the Fifty Fathoms, and they still produce them to this day. This version is a modern version with a titanium case, yet not removed from vintage styling by any means, in part thanks to its navy blue colorway with matching textile strap and yellow accents. But since Blancpain is very much a haute horology brand now, the new version also houses the ultra-thin Caliber 1315 movement that boasts a very healthy 120-hour power reserve. It’s admittedly large at 45mm across but the titanium case helps mitigate that weight well.

If you’re looking for the Platonian ideal of dive watch craftsmanship, you literally can’t beat the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, as long as you can afford it, that is. It’s the most expensive diver on this list, but for good reason. While this is decidedly “more” modern than others on this list, it’s also the perfect representation of why the brand is so fantastic at blending the past with the present. This is an incredible timepiece and we can’t think of a better grail watch among vintage-style divers.

For a deeper dive, read our review of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms.

Tested: The Best Dive Watches Under $1,000

If you love dive watches but don’t have as much to spend, check out our guide to the best divers under $1,000.