A look back at the most memorable dive watches of 2018

Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight

There’s nothing wrong with re-issuing a heritage timepiece as long as you do it right and the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight is a pretty damn good example of doing it right. As the name implies, this watch takes its inspiration from a dive watch Tudor made and launched in 1958. Looking at the photos of the original, Tudor pretty much made a 1:1 reproduction except for the change in name (sadly Oyster Price is no longer in use) and of course the addition of their, now iconic, snowflake hands.

What’s not to like about this piece? They maintained a smaller mid-size case of 39mm which sits beautifully on the wrist. And where many brands would think to add on a date window, Tudor made the bold move to keep the original three-hand function. In order to do this, they had to develop a second family of in-house movements – Calibre MT5402 – that comes with modern innovations like the silicon balance spring, a power reserve of 70 hours and all of this are Chronometer certified by the COSC.

Omega Seamaster Diver 300M

The Seamaster is indeed one of the oldest line of watches Omega still makes (even beating the famed Speedmaster) and this watch for 2018 is quite an important milestone in its history. Although the Seamaster was originally created in 1948, this Seamaster Professional – launched in 1993 – represented the first Omega watch to be worn by James Bond, a partnership that still lasts until today.

The new Omega Seamaster Diver 300M has been updated with a larger 42mm case and now comes in several combinations of steel and/or 18k gold with bracelets or rubber straps depending on the purpose that the wearer wants the watch to serve. The new watch has also been given plenty of ceramic parts including the bezel and more surprisingly a dial in the same material.

Bell & Ross BR03-92 Diver

Of course when Bell & Ross made a dive watch it had to be square. When they launched the world’s first (and possibly only) square dive watch last year I thought they were mad. But after putting it on the wrist, I could definitely see the appeal of a square diver’s watch.

This year they have updated the collection to include two more iterations of the watch which bring it closer to the sea. The BR03-92 Diver Blue comes in a pretty gorgeous blue dial and bezel while the BR03-92 Diver Bronze cast the entire 42mm case in bronze, a material that will age gracefully over time.

Oris Carl Brashear Chronograph Limited Edition

Even if you have no idea who Carl Brashear was (we suggest you watch the film Men of Honour) I’m pretty sure you can appreciate how incredible this watch is. Okay, sure a chronograph may not be practical for a dive watch but the combination of the bronze case, the dark blue, curved dial, with rose gold-plated indices and hands all come together in one stunning package.

If the watch floats your boat, you better move quick because there are only 2,000 pieces available worldwide.

Longines Legend Diver

Digging into their vast history for inspiration is nothing new for Longines. And this year they have dug up a stunning dive watch from the 1960s to recreate. The Longines Legend Diver brings back the internal bezel that can be controlled via a separate crown and even the styling of the 1960s era; however for the 2018 re-iteration they have decided to pair that with a modern black PVD coating. Its great to have a vintage looking watch with all the conveniences of today like the 30 Bar water resistance and reliable L888 caliber movement. The one thing we wished they did was maintain a smaller case size instead of this 42mm one.