Extreme Diving - Which Watch is the Best?

Most watches today have a pretty good water resistance. 50m or 100m is considered a standard, and many sports watches will go for the 300m mark.

 

For day-to-day situations, this is more than sufficient, but there are those, who are much more demanding when it comes to their choice of a diving watch.

 

Aspects like durability, extreme watch resistance, and additional diver-focused functions are what often make or break the deal.

 

So today, let’s have a look at 3 of our favorite diving watches and what we love about them.

 

Photo source: A Blog To Watch

 

Omega Planet Ocean Ultra Deep 6000m

 

As you can see from the title, it is more than obvious that this watch is for real diving. Made from titanium and with a comfortable diving strap, this watch is considered one of the best on the market.

 

This timepiece (or rather its prototype) gained fame when it reached a depth of 10,928 metres, the deepest point ever explored by mankind, strapped to the mechanical arm of DSV Limiting Factor piloted by Victor Vescove down Challenger Deep.

 

The very complex conception of this prototype, which used technical solutions and materials from the deepsea vehicle, was used to create a barely downgraded version, the Planet Ocean Ultra Deep.

 

The watch is reliably waterproof to 6000m, but Omegae being the reputable brand they are, tested this timepiece with a 25% safety margin.

 

We call that some good engineering!

 

Photo source: Hodinkee

 

Rolex Deepsea Challenge RLX Titanium

 

With this one, we think Rolex may have gone for an overkill. Not that it's bad, because this watch is just crazy.

 

With a 50mm x 23mm case, this watch is an absolute giant among its peers. It is also the first ever Rolex to be made entirely from titanium. And there is a good reason for it.

 

Because ladies and gentlemen - this watch can go to 11000m, making it the timepiece with the highest water resistance in the world.

 

As an interesting fact, this model was designed for James Cameron when he dived into the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

 

And while you can easily imagine this to be a prototype made for James Cameron, it actually is sort of available to the wider public.

 

We think that Rolex did a great job with this one. Obviously, a 50mm x 23mm watch is not your standard daily beater, but at this point, it’s more about showing what they can do.

 

Photo source: Monochrome Watches 

 

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms x Fathoms

 

Blancpain is the forefather of diving watches. Thanks to them, we have such beautiful inventions as the ring bezel or the escape valve for decreasing pressure.

 

So, some may say that this is just an honorable pick…

 

Well, that cannot be further from the truth.

 

The Fifty Fathoms x Fathoms is a watch that you will literally not find a counterpart for. It is pure madness - and we love it.

 

First - the ridiculous size. This model has a diameter of 56 mm, and is a whopping 24mm thick! Who does that? It is closer to wearing a plate on a strap rather than a timepiece. But of course, all of that is functional.

 

Blancpain has inserted a lot of breathtaking complications into this timepiece (for reference, read our Blancpain Fifty Fathoms x Fathoms post), focusing on making this an actual tool watch, not just an expensive and quite frankly unusable replacement for diving computers.

 

Indeed, you will probably not take this watch on a gala evening or for a morning run, but it will always put a smile on your face whenever you see it. It is probably the craziest watch we have seen in a long time, but we think Blancpain really nailed it.

 

So those are our 3 favorite diving watches. Do you agree with us or have your won list… Let us know in the comment section!