Dive Watches

Created for diving professionals, dive watches boast high water resistance, highly legible dials and help tell divers how long they’ve been submerged for via a rotational bezel. They’re loved for their distinctive and robust design, making them one of the most popular watch genres around.

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Popular Brands
  1. Rolex Rolex
  2. Breitling Breitling
  3. Omega Omega
  4. Tag Heuer Tag Heuer
  5. Panerai Panerai
  6. IWC IWC
  7. Tudor Tudor
  8. Cartier Cartier
  9. Hublot Hublot
  10. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  11. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  12. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
  13. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
All Brands
  1. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  2. Ball Ball
  3. Baume et Mercier Baume et Mercier
  4. Bell and Ross Bell and Ross
  5. Breitling Breitling
  6. Bremont Bremont
  7. Bvlgari Bvlgari
  8. Carl F. Bucherer Carl F. Bucherer
  9. Cartier Cartier
  10. Chanel Chanel
  11. Chopard Chopard
  12. Eterna Eterna
  13. Franck Muller Franck Muller
  14. Frederique Constant Frederique Constant
  15. Girard Perregaux Girard Perregaux
  16. Graham Graham
  17. Grand Seiko Grand Seiko
  18. H. Moser and Cie H. Moser and Cie
  19. Hamilton Hamilton
  20. Hublot Hublot
  21. IWC IWC
  22. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  23. JeanRichard JeanRichard
  24. Longines Longines
  25. Maurice Lacroix Maurice Lacroix
  26. Montblanc Montblanc
  27. Omega Omega
  28. Oris Oris
  29. Panerai Panerai
  30. Parmigiani Parmigiani
  31. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  32. Perrelet Perrelet
  33. Rado Rado
  34. Raymond Weil Raymond Weil
  35. Richard Mille Richard Mille
  36. Roger Dubuis Roger Dubuis
  37. Rolex Rolex
  38. Tag Heuer Tag Heuer
  39. Tissot Tissot
  40. Tudor Tudor
  41. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
  42. Zenith Zenith
Series
Case Size
The size of a watch is very important for style and comfort. If you prefer an oversized watch like a Panerai Luminor, you’ll probably want Large. If you’re looking for something more discreet like a Rolex Lady Datejust, you’ll want Small. For everything in between, Medium.
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Stock Type
  1. Stock Stock
Case Material
  1. Bronze Bronze
  2. Carbon Carbon
  3. Ceramic Ceramic
  4. Platinum Platinum
  5. Rose Gold Rose Gold
  6. Silver Silver
  7. Steel Steel
  8. Steel & Rose Gold Steel & Rose Gold
  9. Steel & Rose Gold Plated Steel & Rose Gold Plated
  10. Steel & White Gold Steel & White Gold
  11. Steel & Yellow Gold Steel & Yellow Gold
  12. Steel & Yellow Gold Plated Steel & Yellow Gold Plated
  13. Titanium Titanium
  14. White Gold White Gold
  15. Yellow Gold Yellow Gold
  16. Yellow Gold Plated Yellow Gold Plated
Strap
  1. Bracelet Bracelet
  2. Fabric Fabric
  3. Leather Leather
  4. Rubber Rubber
Box and Papers
  1. Original box Original box
  1. Original papers Original papers
Movement
A mechanical watch is powered by a spring. Manual mechanical watches must be hand wound. Automatic watches are also mechanical, and are wound by a weight that spins with the wearer's movements. A quartz watch is battery powered and extremely accurate.
  1. Automatic Automatic
  2. Manual Manual
  3. Quartz Quartz
Promotion
Limited Edition
  1. Limited Edition Limited Edition
Results (1,036)
Rolex Datejust Lady 31 178274 274612

Rolex
Datejust Lady 31
178274

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£7,570
Rolex Deepsea 126660 - (D'Blue) 280778

Rolex
Deepsea
126660 - (D'Blue)

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£12,735
Rolex Explorer II 16570 275347

Rolex
Explorer II
16570

Box
Papers
Year 2002
£7,250
Rolex Datejust Lady 179171 275198

Rolex
Datejust Lady
179171

Box
Papers
Year 2006
£7,450
Rolex Sky-Dweller 326934 282762

Rolex
Sky-Dweller
326934

Box
Papers
Year 2023
£18,250
Rolex Deepsea 116660 234328

Rolex
Deepsea
116660

Box
Papers
Year 2013
£9,180
Rolex Datejust 41 126334 277756

Rolex
Datejust 41
126334

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£9,020
Rolex Datejust II 116333 276796

Rolex
Datejust II
116333

Box
Papers
Year 2015
£8,515
Rolex Datejust Lady 31 278384 RBR 278144
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Datejust Lady 31
278384 RBR

Box
Papers
Year 2022
£15,950
Rolex Sky-Dweller 326135 273725

Rolex
Sky-Dweller
326135

Box
Papers
Year 2018
£29,950
Rolex Sky-Dweller 326939 276044

Rolex
Sky-Dweller
326939

Box
Papers
Year 2018
£31,945
Rolex Datejust Lady 179160 256768

Rolex
Datejust Lady
179160

Box
Papers
Year 2013
£4,675
Rolex Datejust Lady 79173 275203

Rolex
Datejust Lady
79173

Box
Papers
Year 2004
£4,160
Rolex Datejust II 116333 279350

Rolex
Datejust II
116333

Box
Papers
Year 2015
£9,325
Rolex Datejust II 116300 266818

Rolex
Datejust II
116300

Box
Papers
Year 2016
£7,275
Rolex Datejust Lady 31 278273 277372
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Datejust Lady 31
278273

Box
Papers
Year 2021
£12,745
Rolex Datejust 16220 269867
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16220

Box
Papers
Year 1991
£5,975
Rolex Explorer 40 224270 283286
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Explorer 40
224270

Box
Papers
Year 2023
£7,750
Rolex Datejust Lady 179171 273073

Rolex
Datejust Lady
179171

Box
Papers
Year 2005
£7,800
Rolex Datejust Lady 179171 253258

Rolex
Datejust Lady
179171

Box
Papers
Year 2006
£7,450
Rolex Datejust 16233 272697
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1992
£4,640
Rolex Datejust Lady 31 178343 269438

Rolex
Datejust Lady 31
178343

Box
Papers
Year 2018
£12,120
Rolex Datejust 41 126300 277355
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Datejust 41
126300

Box
Papers
Year 2023
£8,650
Rolex Datejust Lady 179174 258245

Rolex
Datejust Lady
179174

Box
Papers
Year 2010
£4,720
Rolex Datejust 16234 262206
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1992
£6,400
Rolex Datejust Lady 79174 273312

Rolex
Datejust Lady
79174

Box
Papers
Year 2004
£4,015
Rolex Datejust II 116300 243308

Rolex
Datejust II
116300

Box
Papers
Year 2016
£6,225
Rolex Datejust Lady 31 178274 271364

Rolex
Datejust Lady 31
178274

Box
Papers
Year 2012
£8,125
Rolex Datejust 16203 269734

Rolex
Datejust
16203

Box
Papers
Year 2000
£7,250
Rolex Datejust Lady 69178 267302
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69178

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£7,250
Rolex Explorer II 16570 275611

Rolex
Explorer II
16570

Box
Papers
Year 2005
£7,150
Rolex Datejust 16234 274429
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£5,945
Rolex Deepsea 126660 - (D'Blue) 279963

Rolex
Deepsea
126660 - (D'Blue)

Box
Papers
Year 2021
£12,735
Rolex Explorer II 16570 280184

Rolex
Explorer II
16570

Box
Papers
Year 2006
£8,250
Rolex Sky-Dweller 336933 275283
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Sky-Dweller
336933

Box
Papers
Year 2023
£18,450
Rolex Datejust 16200 275326

Rolex
Datejust
16200

Box
Papers
Year 2005
£5,315
Rolex Datejust Lady 179174 271965

Rolex
Datejust Lady
179174

Box
Papers
Year 2008
£4,205
Rolex Datejust Lady 179174 272848

Rolex
Datejust Lady
179174

Box
Papers
Year 2016
£5,880
Rolex Datejust 126234 265842

Rolex
Datejust
126234

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£8,445
Rolex Sky-Dweller 326934 269027

Rolex
Sky-Dweller
326934

Box
Papers
Year 2018
£12,560
Rolex Datejust 126233 277559
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Datejust
126233

Box
Papers
Year 2022
£12,950
Rolex Datejust 116243 272789

Rolex
Datejust
116243

Box
Papers
Year 2021
£11,250

Dive Watches

History

The dive watch, a symbol of adventure and resilience, has a rich and exciting history that stretches back to 1927 when Rolex launched its Oyster model. This innovative watch, with its screw-down case and crown, is considered the first fully water-resistant wristwatch.

Famously, it was worn that year by a young swimmer called Mercedes Gleitz who was the first woman to swim the English Channel. To advertise the feat—and the capabilities of its latest watch—Rolex bought the front page of the most widely read British newspaper of the time, the Daily Mail.

Rolex went on to supply movements to Panerai, who developed the dive watch further with the specialist timepieces they made for the frogmen of the Italian navy in the late 1930s. These early dive watches had a water resistance of 30 metres—unimpressive by today’s standards which requires a dive watch to have a minimum water resistance of 100 metres.

By the mid-1950s, scuba-diving was a popular worldwide pastime due to the invention of the aqualung a decade earlier. This led to a spate of similar-looking dive watches like Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, which featured the first rotating bezel—enabling divers to accurately measure immersion time—and the Rolex Submariner. Both these watches were water-resistant to 100 metres, while the Zodiac Sea Wolf, released shortly afterwards, doubled this to 200 metres.

In the decades since, dive watches have become more and more capable of withstanding extreme water pressure. In 2012, Rolex launched its Deepsea Challenge model which boasted an incredible 12,000 metres water resistance. In the same year it was attached to a submersible that Hollywood director James Cameron piloted to the deepest part of the world’s oceans—the Marianas Trench—to a depth of 10,898 metres, surviving the ordeal unscathed.

Key features

Today, dive watches continue to push boundaries, incorporating advanced technologies and materials such as helium escape valves, luminescent dials, and enhanced water resistance.

What sets dive watches apart from other timepieces? Let's look at what makes a dive watch unique, designed specifically for the rigours of underwater exploration.

Firstly, their exceptional water resistance is critical. Unlike standard watches, dive watches can withstand the extreme conditions of deep-sea diving, with a water resistance rating of at least 100 metres and many capable of depths up to 300 metres or much more.

Additional features of a dive watch include a unidirectional rotating bezel for tracking immersion time, bold luminous markers and hands for good visibility in murky conditions, and a helium escape valve to prevent damage during decompression. Most dive watches don’t have the latter as they are only of use in saturation diving when a diver spends time in a decompression chamber.

Some diving watches even incorporate helium-filled cases and built-in depth gauges, allowing divers to monitor their current depth without the need for additional equipment. These features make dive watches a useful tool for underwater exploration, although in an age of wearable dive computers they are more often now used as a back-up option.

One thing every mechanical dive watch must have is a constantly running seconds hand, or some kind of display indicating the watch is running that can be viewed in total darkness.

The science of water Resistance in dive watches

Water resistance is a vital feature of a dive watch. Special seals and gaskets prevent water infiltration, while robust materials like stainless steel or titanium ensure durability and resistance to corrosion. Rigorous testing verifies a dive watch's ability to withstand different pressures and temperatures, simulating the conditions encountered underwater.

Water resistance is measured in metres or bar units, indicating the depth to which the watch can be submerged safely. It's worth noting that factors such as water temperature and movement can affect a diving watch's performance underwater.

Popular dive watch models

The Rolex Submariner is a classic choice, renowned for its robustness and precision, and capable of withstanding depths of up to 300 metres. It was famously worn by James Bond until the 1990s when he swapped one dive watch for another: the equally iconic Omega Seamaster.

Other enduring models that are as timeless as they are stylish include the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Breitling Superocean, Panerai Luminor and IWC Aquatimer. Fellow Swiss brands Tudor and TAG Heuer offer more affordable choices like the Black Bay and Aquaracer, respectively.

At Watchfinder, we offer a vast selection of pre-owned luxury dive watches from all of the aforementioned brands, from Rolex to IWC, catering to every budget and taste. Explore our collection and discover the exceptional craftsmanship and performance of these remarkable watches.