One of the obvious contenders is probably the SKX013 - 37mm
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/se...e-propositionn
Looking to consolidate my small(ish) collection and as I like divers I'm looking for an everyday diver but at a smaller size. I recently got the Everest 36 and really like the size, also have a 36mm DJ , these seem to make my existing divers feel huge, even my Steinhart 39 feels big! So what is out there in the 36-38mm range? any suggestions? Cheers, John B4
One of the obvious contenders is probably the SKX013 - 37mm
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/se...e-propositionn
Been looking at this myself recently - my DJ has also brought me round to smaller and smaller watches. A range of prices:
Seiko SKX013
Christopher Ward 38mm tridents
Oris 65 36mm
Rado Captain Cook 37.3mm. I especially like the ghost special edition.
Omega Seamaster 36.25mm in various models
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 38mm
I’m going to try a CW bronze trident, I think.
Black Bay 58 comes close at 39mm - it wears small-ish I'd say and most seem to be happy with it?
Precista PRS-18 - bezel diameter of 39mm and wears small.
I don't know the dimensions but a Citizen BN0000 is small and tidy diver.
Rado Captain Cook Ghost Bezel LE is one I can highly recommend. Wears beautifully but with debatable logic the fact that the crown is not screw-down made me sell up. I do miss it since it was absolutely lovely!
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I don't have one but the Baltic Aquascaphe especially in blue gilt looks lovely, 39 mm x 47 mm.
I recently bought one of their 3 hander HMS 001, it's a lovely thing, feels good quality and so far hasn't lost/gained a second, amazingly. So may treat myself to their diver later this year.
OOPs sorry if that's a mm too big, but just checked and the bezels 39 mm, case is 38 mm.
Last edited by Passenger; 28th January 2020 at 13:55.
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Yes the PRS18 does wear nice and small. I use an auto version for nearly 10 years. Before that I had a 36mm Tudor midi Sub and I am currently waiting for the mechanical version of the 36mm Marathon Arctic as I like white dials.
I suggest you have a look at the 36mm MARATHON SEARCH & RESCUE MEDIUM DIVER’S AUTOMATIC with the black dial.
Longines Legend Diver 36mm
Much as I’m a fan of smaller watches, I find divers below 38mm wear a bit small, its all to do with the bezel and size of the dial. The pre-Bond Seamaster full size pro a good example, its slim and approx 39mm, ideal diver size for me and v. comfortable. Finding a good one isn’t easy thesedays!
Of course the new Dreadnought is going to be 38mm.
The Rado Captain Cook is on sale at Jura if you’re so inclined..
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How about this. Breitling Superocean at 38mm. Other dial colours are available if you don’t fancy yellow. Think you can pick these up for c£1k second hand
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Don’t. I’m still mourning mine!
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I know it’s been done before but could anybody explain the reliability of 100m water resistance for non-screw down crowns on divers/skin divers, please?
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Thank you all for your suggestions, plenty of food for thought, please keep them coming though! Plan will be to move on some of the current collection to pave the way for a nice (but smaller) diver, will try to get to see, and try on, some of the suggestions. Cheers, John B4
On some screw-down crowns the action of screwing the crown doesn't improve the sealing by squeezing the seal, it acts as safeguard against the crown opening during dive condition and potentially allowing the hands to be inadvertently moved, which could seriously spoil your day if you were diving and relying on the watch to time the dive.
Some designs, such as the older Omega SMP, do use the screw action to compress the seal and improve the water resistance.
If a watch is rated to 100metres WR and doesn`t have a screw-down crown, I wouldn't be at all worried unless I wished to use the watch for serious diving. I prefer non screw down crowns because they don't suffer from worn threads and damage as they age, that's a far bigger advantage to me, but I don't dive or even swim in watches.
Big WR numbers give people a warm feeling, but once the seal materials deteriorate all bets are off, 300metres WR can become jack-shit WR if the glass seal ages and cracks, I sorted out a Steinhart recently where the glass seal had deteriorated over 5-6 years and cracked, a watch with 50M WR and seals that don't deteriorate is a better proposition. By coincidence I had the same problem with a TAG that was a similar age, both used white plastic Hytrel gaskets, the material had degraded to become very brittle, which shouldn't happen. I suspect some poor quality gaskets have been produced and I hope this situation has now been resolved. I took a similar gasket out of a 15 years old TAG recently and the Hytrel gasket was absolutely fine I could've reused it, but I`d already ordered a replacement. Hytrel is a Dupont product that's probably off patent now, possibly the same material is being produced to a lower spec, that wouldn't surprise me.
There's more to WR than the numbers on the dial!
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 28th January 2020 at 18:56.
Not new, but 38mm of dive loveliness. Very slim case as well.
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Definitely consider the BB58. I alternate between one and a 36mm Explorer.
I also have a 37mm Seiko dive watch as a beater but think the dial looks too small. Dive watches don’t scale down that well as the end up all bezel.
Midsize Seamaster pro. Lovely little watches - I had one as my daily wearer for many years before it was blatantly stolen by my Mrs. The quartz versions are relatively cheap if you can find a good one second hand and (against the opinion of others on this thread) I think all round better proportioned than the 42mm version.
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I have got so used to wearing this little 37mm diver that now my Omega Seamasters and Breitling Colt II seem huge now.
Citizen NY2300 on the used market is a decent alternative to the SKX013, with the added bonus of hand winding (but not hacking)
I have the Omega Planet Ocean 37.5mm. Here: https://www.omegawatches.com/watch-o...23230382001001
It's thick as fsck though, and difficult to wear under dress shirts. Hence I don't find it that versatile and only wear it in summer or on holidays with short sleeve shirts.
Kind regards
If you can find one of these they wear small due to being very slim. Also available with black dial.
Zenith Rainbow Elite 670 – 1998
39mm; 9mm thick
02.0473.670 - SS with white dial & black bezel
[url=https://postimg.cc/image/t5pq19qzf/]
[/url<https://s17.postimg.org/3mxdo97fj/zenith.jpg%5b/img%5d%5b/url>]
Does it need to be an ISO diver? I’ve always had an urge to try one of the Nomos Ahoi neomatik blue dial versions as a casual/holiday watch.
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Halios Fairwind (or Universa) when they are released. - 39mm & 38mm respectively.
I like the dial on that Halios Universal but the case looks like a watch that has lost its rotating bezel.
Just wanted to echo this. I have no issue wearing 36mm watches with thinner bezels but the size really doesn't work for me when the watch has a thicker sports bezel as it really shrinks the case down. In fact 38mm is the smallest I would go (my 38mm Timex Q reissue is just about big enough size wise). OP make sure you try before you buy as you may be surprised how small they can wear.
I’ve just received a 38mm CW trident bronze today. It’s a lovely watch.
I have a not quite, but very close to, 7 inch wrist.
I think small divers look cool but I don’t think anything less than 37-38mm would work unless your wrist is 6.5 inches or below.
I’m coming to the conclusion that 36mm watches are perfect for non-divers and 38-40mm is perfect for divers or chronographs.
BCE817E2-BCB9-4E42-A54E-8783467A059E by Berty234, on Flickr
B3A4E141-9FDF-4F4F-9B21-2A272646ACBA by Berty234, on Flickr
My thanks to all for responding with ideas. Having bought many watches from photos/descriptions/reviews (and SC!) I think I need to take my time and go and look/try on this time. I don't need 600m depth rating, just something robust, fairly smart, hopefully quite thin and light that I can take swimming/sailing and biking...again thanks for ideas, should keep me busy for a while! Cheers, John B4
Omega do a rather wonderful 37.5mm planet ocean:
https://www.omegawatches.com/watch-o...23230382001001
I have the this very same model and it wears superb and the finish quality is awesome for a sub $700.00 watch. I also have the Smiths PRS-25 in 36mm and also the PRS-29A in 36mm and both fit me so well that I sold my Christopher Ward C65 diver with the hand wound movement because it is 41mm and it just wore so large that I decided not to buy anything larger than a 38mm.
I Totally agree. I have one true dive watch with a rotating bezel which is the Baltic Aquascaphe which is 38mm at the case and 39mm at the bezel. My other watches are all field watches ranging from 36-38mm. I prefer smaller watches and I have a 7 inch wrist. I like the looks of the Oris Diver 65 in 36mm but I really don't like the price or the oddball lug width.
Good to hear, I'm giving the Aquascaphe some serious consideration as a birthday treat this year, sapphire bezel, domed sapphire crystal, semi sandwich dial, slim, really excellent finishing, and a very elegant design with it's own personality for under 500 gbp, it's got a lot going for it and the rather neat quick release system for easy strap changing. The people behind Baltic seem to have a great eye for colour and detail.
Although my wrist is 8 inches I find the 42 mm pieces I have tried can wear a bit cumbersome, and maybe I'm just clumsy but the bigger/thicker watches I tend to bump, snag and scratch more readily.
Last edited by Passenger; 31st January 2020 at 11:05.
The tag aquracer comes in smaller sizes that they market as the ladies range i think but looks pretty unisex to me.