Prs82
Next year I'll be getting a mid range diver watch, I was thinking of a Longines Hydroconquest or a Certina DS Action or possibly a Steinhart. But a couple of others have appeared on my radar the Review Thommen Professional 17030.2137 which is £500+ from Amazon, the Roamer Searock £700+, the Davosa Submariner and the Glycine Combat Sub.
Has anyone got or used one of these? any recommendations or warnings?
Thanks
Prs82
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Any from Timefactors - PRS82 or PRS18.
Otherwise a CWC, if they are still under £750.
I second the PRS and CWC recommendations above.
Going slightly more niche, I recently serviced an Archimede Sporttaucher, which I thought was very nice and well made.
Buy a used PRS21 Dreadnought Voyager, you also get a GMT function thrown in.
F.T.F.A.
I had the Hydroconquest, a very nice watch. Had trouble getting a comfortable fit on the bracelet due to it not having a half link. Replacement straps and natos are limited for choice due to the 21 & 19mm lug widths. Recently obtained a PRS82 and I love it. For the money I'd chose the Precista.
Cheers
Can’t remember what link it was now but a chap doing YouTube reviews really plugged the Certina DS Action. It is properly ISO certified as well. The history of Certina is also rich. A proper watch company imho. Otherwise Seiko always has to be in with a shout. Just think with Certina ETA / swatch group links you’ve always got easy serving available.
With luck and a few more pennies in the pocket a used mm300 is attainable. Just sayin'.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I have a Certina DS with the sunburst blue dial, for the money it’s a stunning watch, amazing accuracy as well, gains 3 secs a week!!!! It’s got my vote for under £750
Or an SKX781 - the original orange monster, if you can find one.
Maybe not “mid range” but a classic nonetheless
Dave
Thanks, I must add that since I left the Army Reserve I've gone right off military watches, so stylistically the PRS isn't for me, I've kept my CWC G10 and diver for old time sake. So far as Seiko go I have a nice SKX 009 and have had some others but 009 apart Seiko don't really float my boat even given their undoubted quality and value for money.
I'm rather looking for something Swiss, I'm a big Longines fan but they are at the top end of my budget, Certina and Roamer really arouse my interest. I've heard good things about Steinhart, conflicting information about Glycine and Review Thommen have come up on my radar.
There are others of course Jaques Lemans, Davosa, Chris Ward etc. I'm not a label snob, the fact that Glycine is now owned by Invicta or that Chris Ward sell's direct and not through shops doesn't bother me at all unless quality is affected.
Any discussion, photos, warnings and recommendations welcome. But £750 is my upper limit and can include used watches but £500'ish is more comfortable
Last edited by James K; 13th December 2017 at 18:50.
Squale 50 Atmos.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Scurfa bell diver has a real diver designing it and lots of good reviews and only around £350 .Deep blue make good diver watches as well
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The Omega f300 diver on SC is comfortably within your budget and is a very cool vintage diver!
I am sure I’ll get tar and feathered for saying this but after trying loads of watches in this price bracket including multiple Christopher Ward, Steinhart, Longines HC Chrono, CWC, Seiko, PRS18 etc etc the one that’s stayed with me is a used Tag Heuer Aquaracer calibre 5.
It works from a looks and durability / quality prospective.
PRS68 if you can get one. A mate had one - really impressed with it.
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I posted a similar thread earlier in the year, lots of info on there so it may be worth a search.
In the end I went with the Steinhart Ocean One, absolutely love everything about it. Build quality is fantastic for the money and +2 secs per day. Steinhart would get my vote
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I have about 20 divers in the 300-1500 range. Ginault gets my vote. You should be able to haggle the manufacturer down to £7-800 on most models (from about £1100). Plus they now post from Edinburgh, so potential import costs are eliminated. I have two models: the no date maxi dial with black bezel and the maxi date with blue gold bezel. I can't fault either. Gorgeous dial, esp the sand lume indices, perfect size (40mm), elegant and refined tapering bracelet with v well engineered clasp and accurate to 2 secs per day.
I've owned a couple of Longines Hydroconquests (and my son has just bought one too). They are decent for the money as long as you can get a nice fit with the bracelet. I preferred the mkII model which they seem to have stopped making, as the bracelet tapered and was brushed. The crown on the Hydroconquest is a bit fiddly tho, and the crown guards could be a bit more elegant.
You are almost at used Longines Legend Diver money at the top of your budget.. just saying.
Also owned a Glycine Combat Sub.. again, decent enough. It is quite slim/light, but seemed well built. Not sure I like the new winged Logo used since Invicta bought them (and that's nothing to do with being snobby over Invicta.. as I own one of theirs.. in fact, check out the Pro-Diver 9937 model as another alternative).
If it was my money... I'd be trying to hunt down a Tag Aquagraph and haggling to get it in your budget. Always had a hankering for one of those.
In that £500-£600 bracket I would be flipping a coin between an Oris TT1 and Longines Hydro-Conquest.
However, I still rate my Victorinox Dive-Master 500 as the best "mid range" dive watch I've ever owned.
ETA 2824 base, rock solid case, it feels utterly bulletproof. I think these days the auto retails around £1200 but the UK market was really hard on these, pick up a mint second hand one around £400 (IF you can find one - they didn't sell well over here).
I have an Oris TT1 and rate it highly
What about a Seiko Sumo / Blumo?
I have the newer version of the Certina Action Diver. Released at Basel this year with the Powermatic movement with 80 hours of power reserve. Timekeeping is excellent, mine gains 3 seconds per week. Great bracelet with diver’s extension and just a great looking watch IMO. Well within your budget.
Ginault too, far better quality than the Steinharts. Great value. Easily within budget and quality worth over twice the price.
At that price, Seiko pretty much owns the category, and it’s impossible to beat them at their own game. I’d much prefer one of their watches to an off-brand Sub-a-like.
CWC for me. Owned a few myself and they are great value
Helson Sharkdiver. Very tough with immense lume with bracelet and isofrane strap options.
Marcello C Nettuno. Less than £500 if you can do without the ceramic bezel. The blue dial is particularly nice
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f8/kemm...t-3719146.html
I have one, fantastic quality case, way above the price point.
In my opinion they were once great value. Now I’m not so sure. Their astronomic price increases have put them in a place where there is some healthy competition from the new and used market.
- - - Updated - - -
Nowt wrong with a Tag at the right price.
Last edited by Bobbyf; 14th December 2017 at 18:13.
From a place of complete ignorance and I'd rather hear from someone who has owned both and can comment. To my eye though the finishing looks rougher on the Steinharts but perhaps they just photograph worse. Apologies if my comment came across as inflammatory, I have just been very impressed by the Ginault's quality when compared to divers I have owned like the MM300 and the Tudor Black Bay. I'd consider the Ginault to be the equal of the former and the better of the latter.
Naming a watch brand after a dexys midnight runner track is hardly an auspicious start. Maybe their new daytonalike will be called 'come on eileen'
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Orient sat diver 300m, nuff said!
My vote goes for a Tutima DI 300, because of its outstanding build quality and beautifully crafted titanium. Tough too. What’s more, Tutima watches aren’t ten a penny.
I’ve had a Hydroconquest, Steinhart, Orient, several TAG Heuers and Tutima. By far the best quality was the Tutima - head and shoulders above the others.
£750 should net you a used DI 300 in first class condition.
Last edited by Dougal; 15th December 2017 at 00:45.
For me the field is narrowing a little. I'll explain why, CWC are fine but I already have two that I was issued with and I'm no longer serving so military watches no longer float my boat so that also discounts some of the Precista's. I have a nice Seiko 009 which I love and some others that I don't, I simply don't wish to own another Seiko at the moment. I'm not a fan of watches that look like industrial machinery, fine though they are for some the look does not do it for me.
I own a beautiful 5513 that's been my friend and companion for the last 36 years so watches that keep their own look and spirit but are reminiscent of older, Rolex do have an appeal for me PROVIDING that they don't try to pass themselves off as Rolex. I wouldn't get a modern Rolex styled watch with chunky case and gold applied indices for the same reason that I wouldn't purchase a new Rolex (unless it was a stunning deal). All that means that Steinhart and Davosa are still very much in the running whilst Marcello don't make it.
I'm also a bit odd, the chap who preferred Daimler to Jaguar, Bristol to Bentley and sometimes in some cases Tudor to Rolex. Which means that good, solid and established brands like Longines and Certina have the edge over possibly more desirable and better known ones like Tag Heuer or Omega (of which the latter is out of my range anyway).
As for micro brands I like them but if I were going to get another it'd be a MKII by Bill Yao, I've had some of his both of which my son managed to have stolen when he's been away with the army, I like his workmanship, designs and since he was so very kind to me some years ago I have loyalty to him. But for the moment a Micro Brand watch hovers just outside my choices.
I cannot stand orange hands, I hate them with a passion, so that discounts a few others. But the thing I hate the most is Plongeur (that isn't spelled right is it?) hands, I can't abide them and wouldn't even consider a watch with them unless it were free or dirt cheap.
Still looking, still interested BUT the field is standing pretty much where it started
Longines Hydroconquest (preferably the short lived model with Arabic numerals at each hour)
Certina DS Action
Steinhart Ocean One or Ocean One Vintage
Davosa Ternos Vintage
I'd gladly consider any others which fit into my broad description, but cost is important as is ease of purchase, so any photos, experience or comments welcome.
Thanks
I picked up a Turtle a couple of weeks ago, and I'm amazed that it comes in under £200, used, rubber and bracelet. I think it makes most dive watches up to about a monkey pretty redundant. The rubber strap is wonderful - the first rubber in 15 years of WIS that I've actually enjoyed wearing.
Seiko Sumo I. The blue for around £400 , can’t go wrong
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Last edited by marcus.furius; 15th December 2017 at 18:36.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MIDO-OCEA...m/173030876272 – like Certina and Hamilton, being part of Swatch Group gives them access to the same ETA Powermatic 80 movement
Paul Picot Paul Mariner 3 – £796
Eterna Kontiki Ref. 1580.4140.176 – £805
Eterna Diver 500M - Pininfarina - Ref. 1407.41
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ETERNA-MO...M/182943092798 – may need to tweak your max budget
Maurice Lacroix Miros Diver Limited Edition MI6028-SS042 – £761
Balticus Helmet Diver – £318
JeanRichard Diverscope – £821 – VAT to be added
Ebel Discovery – £761
Mido All Dial Diver – £446
Jacques Lemans Geneve Charcoal 44mm – for £300
Gerlach Submarine (brass) - £315
Michel Herbelin Newport Trophy Grand Sport (300 pieces LE) – £800 – from 2012, in blue and green, so any still at full price should be negotiated on that basis
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Movado-Sp...0/232594832998 – fancy a niftyquartz?