The Allure of the Unconventional Dive Watch

For many of us, dive watches scratch a certain undefinable itch. There’s an inherent character to a great diver that makes them not only great day-to-day tool watches, but also undeniably interesting, if not attractive, to enthusiasts. The somewhat unusual-use case for many of the features prized in dive watches impart a lot of that character, and make their popularity as everyday wearers all the more perplexing. When’s the last time you met a dive-watch owner who knows what a helium-release valve is, let alone been in a position which necessitated its presence? So why are so many of us drawn to unique implementations, designs, and features of dive watches? Well, I’m not entirely sure, but I am certainly one of those people, and in many cases, the stranger, the better. In fact, there is even a subset of unconventional dive watches that serve as cornerstones of the genre.

In truth, the best dive watches that break from convention each do so for a specific, often utilitarian purpose — form following function to often unpredictable ends. The prime example of this is, of course, the Omega Seamaster PloProf (above and below). A highly unusual hunk of metal that’s difficult to make any sense of at a glance, but when properly understood, it begins to look quite reasonable, if not entirely practical in a traditional sense. The PloProf was developed for a very specific subset of professional divers, and it’s a wonder how the very technical concept, which first took shape in the late ‘60s, is a flagship model for Omega to this day, available at boutiques around the world to a consumer base for whom the watch should be a complete nonstarter. 

But it isn’t. In fact, it’s quite popular with enthusiasts, if not as easily marketable as something like the Seamaster Diver 300M. The PloProf measures 55mm at its widest point, 48mm from top to bottom, and 18.5mm in thickness. It has a depth rating of 1200 meters, and features a massive apparatus along the 3 o’clock side of the case that hosts a button to release the bezel. It’s weird. However, it is precisely this unique approach that has made it an icon of deep divers, and arguably why enthusiasts celebrate it at all. The fact that it didn’t follow conventional archetypes in achieving its goals makes it interesting, both mechanically and aesthetically. 

The PloProf is an experience in its own right. It’s not a great everyday companion, and it’s perfectly fine with that. It’s a bit like the Supra you see in the window of a Toyota dealership, knowing full well that you’ll end up leaving with a Camry. 

In a similar vein, though on the other end of that spectrum, is the Ressence Type 5 dive watch. This is not a watch developed for a specialized dive team, or to handle specific underwater maneuvers. It’s a dive watch born of the broader Ressence vision, which does not make use of any hands, but rather of a system called ROCS, or Ressence Orbital Convex System, that keeps the dial itself in a constant state of motion as time passes. The organic shape of the case and sapphire are reminiscent of a pebble-like object, and the oil that fills the dial cavity pushes the information directly to the dial’s surface. 

This is a dive watch that pushes the boundaries of the brand’s unconventional methods into a new and challenging genre. The result is a watch that forces a confrontation of our expectations. It’s also just really effing cool. The latest variation uses a fully lumed dial to push the effect into more legible territory. Just how this will manifest at depth is unclear, but there’s no doubt that it would be a unique experience compared to more conventional divers. With the advent of the dive computer, divers can focus on the experience they may be looking for in a more traditional watch, as it is no longer a necessity, but a redundancy. If we’re being completely honest, it’s the same on land. 

Both the PloProf and the Type 5 (above) are at the pinnacle of what I recognize as unconventional divers, but there are far more approachable, usable watches that qualify. These are the watches that offer a unique experience in a slightly more practical package, making them appealing in smaller collections. There are many watches in this category, and while they may not be defined by oddball cases or proprietary mechanics, they offer something special nonetheless — most notably, character.

Dive watches follow a relatively predictable formula these days, and for good reason. It works. Small variations on the theme exist, surely, but generally these involve a rotating bezel, highly legible dial with blocky hour markers, not much in the way of complications, and a robust case that can handle a few hundred meters of depth. So what do deviations on this formula look like?

The case is a great place to start. Looking at watches from the likes of Doxa (SUB 200 T-Graph pictured above) and Citizen, we find a plethora of odd or unusual case shapes. They have come to define these brands in many ways, particular when it comes to Doxa. Citizen is another story entirely, as you’ll find a wide range of strange cases in its back catalog, though one that I find particularly compelling is commonly nicknamed the “ashtray,” with a wide, flat shape that sits well on the wrist, but provides no shortage of drama in the process. 

A scroll through the Promaster dive watch collection will yield a shocking variety of case designs, from the classic ‘Fujitsubo’ to the fan favorite Aqualand, to the modern ashtray-style case seen on the reference BN0227-25X featured above (catchy name, I know, but each of these are classified as simply Promaster Dive watches). What I love here is Citizen’s propensity to embrace the more creative ends of its portfolio, and to produce watches that don’t follow the rules when it comes to shapes, materials, and proportions. Sure, Citizen makes some nice divers that would go toe to toe with their Seiko counterparts, but if you ask me, Citizen dive watches are at their best when they are at their weirdest. 

Seiko has its own unique expressions, of course, from the original 6215-7000 (above), which used a monobloc case, to the more modern “Monster” references, which have set the template for what a full-tilt dive watch can be to many of us. Seiko has largely been more consistent in this practice, however, meaning the watches don’t necessarily feel strange, even if they are somewhat unconventional in nature. 

There exists another kind of unconventional dive watch that breaks the mold in terms of its complication set. Here I look to watches like the original Doxa T-Graph, the Vulcain Nautical Cricket and Mido Oceanstar, and the Oris Aquis Depth Gauge. A chronograph and a depth gauge aren’t exactly common features on dive watches, but they do make a good amount of sense, so aren’t entirely unconventional. When it comes to the Vulcain and the Mido, however, we enter different territory altogether.

Both of these watches place a decompression chart on the dial, and in the case of the Vulcain (above), it can be used alongside an audible chirping complication that can be heard underwater. These watches may look a bit convoluted and difficult to understand at a glance, and perhaps they are in use as well, but they dial that madness up to 11 with their approach to offering a practical complication. 

The idea of these watches is that a diver would be equipped to calculate their decompression stops using the scales on the dial. To do this accurately, a diver would need to know their maximum depth, and the time spent there. Using the dial would provide the stops needed at certain depths, and the amount of time a diver would need to spend at each stop. These aren’t exactly straightforward calculations, and making them on something as small as a watch in real time sounds, well, rather unpleasant. Hopefully they’d only ever need to be used as a handy reference for double-checking your dive plan. 

That’s a situation that not many of us find ourselves in all that often, and when we do, a more reliable dive computer is doing the heavy lifting on the calculations. But these watches persist, and — like the PloProf, and the Mido Oceanstar Decompression above — they are all about the experience of celebrating the unusual characteristics of a wholly dive-focused execution. Perhaps just as importantly, they look visually distinctive, which is likely what drives much of the continued interest in their existence. 

At the end of the day, an interesting aesthetic is responsible for driving the bulk of our curiosity when it comes to unconventional divers. The preservation of unnecessary tools and complications is important to enthusiasts, and will hopefully drive interest for a future generation, but the unconventional experiences and designs that these watches offer are truly worth celebrating. We are spoiled for choice when it comes to great everyday tool-watch and dive-watch options, making the unconventional of both yesterday and today all the more compelling, and all the more important.