The key specs to look for and our top 10 Seiko divers watch or divers style watches

Whether you’re diving into a major workload at your desk or diving the depths in search of the Kraken, one thing is always true, a divers watch is an ideal timepiece to adorn your wrist.  Like with all things nerdy or mechanical you don’t have to be a diver to love these high performing, superbly designed, and definitely utilitarian timepieces for daily use.  They’ve existed since the turn of the twentieth century (if internet sources are to be believed) and are still both as attractive and as useful to this day.  The quintessential dive watch has an instantly recognisable look.  They’re bigger than the average watch, they include a rotating bezel, and also almost exclusively rest on a metal bracelet or rubber strap.  Now for this jewellers personal taste Seiko produce the best looking and in a lot of cases the best-built dive watches and are ideal for a clumsy idiot like myself because they’re built like tanks, they are easy to read, and to the average nerd mind like mine at least they seem just plain cool, so please check out our top 10 at the end of this article.

As fellow watch nerds, we love our statistics but with divers watches appealing to the casual watch wearer and the aficionado alike, the tell-all spec for me has to be water-resistance.  Water-resistance will generally be a good indicator of the watches quality and for divers its usefulness to them.  So how do you judge water resistance? When looking at the resistance depth on a watch all is not as it seems,  30m of water resistance implies you can dive 30m down and all will be well in the world.  Yes’?……. Sadly you would be wrong, this is not the case in almost all instances, 30m merely implies that it’ll endure hand washes and perhaps a shower at best in most cases.  50m would be fine to use while swimming but not snorkelling, the whole thing is a bit of a minefield.  While looking at dive watches, 200m of water resistance is common ground although some “divers style watches” like you find in the Seiko 5 collection will commonly have 100m, which again would be good for swimming, so you can have a dip in the Med on your holidays fairly safe in the knowledge your watch will be fine.  Now, for actual divers watches 200m is the entry level, the key is finding something that has dependable durability and structure this is crucial.  This is where we recommend you start looking for a divers watch, look for a watch with 200m water resistance, with a well-constructed case, a strong crystal, and a good quality bracelet or strap. A good divers watch properly looked after will last for decades, and you may readily purchase an heirloom piece if you have the right eye and a bit of luck in the £500 range.

The next most commonly looked at specification is the movement.  Automatic movements are pretty much the standard and most popular in the diver marketplace as they do not require a quartz battery that will require opening the case to change.  Automatic watches wind from the movement of your arm, so they’ll keep ticking as long as you are wearing it on your wrist. Also seen in this class of watches are day and date features, adding to the usefulness of the timepiece, some have been known to have more complex functionality like a chronograph but, in the price bracket we are looking at these are rarer.  You do find dive watches with quartz batteries but some parts of the watch community will avoid this. Having to replace the battery and retain the integrity of the case and the seal is never without risk, however, if you use your watch to check how close to that deadline you are rather than how much oxygen you are likely to have left, this is not something you should let put you off buying a good quartz powered divers watch if you just want to dive from the duvet to the desk. 

Lastly, we have legibility, when underwater, it’s crucial to know precisely how long you have been diving. The bezel, a key component of the dive watch, tells you precisely that.  The dials 12 o’clock dot can be rotated for match up using the minute hand to keep track of how long you have been underwater more precisely.  As the minute hand moves, you can see how many minutes have elapsed by reading the bezel number as opposed to the watch face.  Higher end watches include unidirectional bezels that just rotate counterclockwise to avoid accidentally overestimating how much time is left.  Dive watches typically have large, illuminated indices which are simple to read.  This illumination not only looks awesome, it can help you rapidly tell time when the lights are out.

Now, with everything firmly in your mind on what you should look out for in a divers watch, here is a list of my favoured divers watch brand Seiko, all these watches are diver or diver inspired and bar a few exceptions either side of the price range come in predominantly in the £200-£500 price range.

Before we get into the top 10 there are some honourable mentions.  Firstly the Black Seiko Turtle Diver model number SRPC49K1 if you want to look it up (you should).  I love this watch and it was a best seller for us, but, sadly, it was a limited edition timepiece and here at Hilliers like many other jewellers online, we have sold out.  Timeless looking watch though and if you can find one I do recommend them highly.  Second the Seiko 5 “Baby Orange Monster” SRPB39K1 this we do have in stock and while not a proper Baby Monster (Japan only, sad face) these are a good runner up prize, especially at £219. 

The 10 Best Seiko Divers Watches:

10.

Seiko Prospex Black Kinetic Divers Watch SKA761P1

Bottom of the list but don’t let that fool you this is a lot of watch for £258. Sporting a unique look, a classic black dial and a fantastic kinetic movement in its guts, its a proper watch. Seiko Prospex Series Watches are consistently good and this watch is no exception.

9.

Seiko 5 “Hulk” Green Dial srpb93k1

I love this watch, I own this watch, it’s just that British racing green dial and bezel the simple design. The 23 jewel automatic movement is also very good for this price range. £230, the “Hulk” is a must own for anyone at that price.

8.

Seiko Prospex Padi Solar Divers Watch SNE435P1

That blue though!  This is not the only Divers Padi on this list as you would expect. Consistently a good seller, its solar powered movement is top notch and just has the look.  A great watch for £260 at Hillier Jewellers right now.

7.

Seiko 5 “Baby Monster” Automatic Watch SRPB33K1

This watch is owned by a certain Mr Lewis Hillier (if you are ever in the high street store he is the happy one) the “baby monster” edges it over the “Hulk” because I feel it has a more attractive bezel and its chunkier look and feel. Packing the same 23 jewell automatic movement found across the Seiko 5 range at £219 you won’t find that much watch at that price many other places.

6.

Seiko Prospex Save The Ocean Special Edition SRPC91K1

I could have included any of the “Save The Ocean” here but I went with this one just for my personal tastes. All of them are attractive and well-built watches though and I highly recommend checking all of them out before deciding on your own personal favourite.

5.

Seiko Prospex Pepsi Dial Blue Bubber Strap Chronograph Watch SSC663P1

This chrono watch is not the first Seiko Padi on our list but is the first with that iconic Pepsi bezel. These divers watches have everything you would need underwater or under your desk.

4.

Seiko Prospex Special Edition Tuna Solar Padi Divers Watch SNE499P1

Another Pepsi bezel, this Tuna Padi just has that classic divers look and is a popular seller on our website all year round. Also available in black and gold if the blue and red are not to your taste these solar powered divers watches are up there for best in class.

3.

Seiko Prospex Automatic Padi Turtle Divers Watch SRPA21K1

The Turtle! A classic and iconic watch, I have always prefered a bracelet to a rubber strap and that’s what pips this over the Tuna for the first step of the podium. Again sporting the Pepsi bezel this automatic Padi is a must own for any Seiko fan.

2.

Seiko Automatic Padi Turtle Watch SRPC41K1

Now I know I just said I prefer a bracelet rather than a strap but, I REALLY REALLY REALLY like this watch. If I was to buy a Seiko Turtle this would be the one for me Pepsi bezel, the automatic movement it really is a great diver watch.

1.

Seiko Prospex Automatic Samurai Divers Watch SRPB51K1

A safe choice? Maybe but I have coveted this watch for a while now. More understated than I would usually go for this divers watch really is a watch for any occasion or style and worthy in my humble opinion of the top spot.

Money No Object?

Seiko Prospex Hi-Beat Limited Edition Divers Watch SLA025

This is only available on pre-order right now and yes it is £5,000 but look at it. It is a timepiece that is going to be collectable for a long time to come. There is only a very limited amount of these coming into the country so if you can afford it buy it.

I hope you enjoyed the list of my top 10 Seiko divers watches, we look forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing your own personal favourites.  If you feel there is any that should have made the list please share.

Thanks,

Hillier Jewellers