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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
Dial Colour
Black
Blue
Bronze
Brown
Champagne
Diamond
Green
Grey
Ivory
Orange
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Salmon
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Specialised
White
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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
Reset Results (1036)
Results (1,036)
Sort
Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600 278783

Rolex
Sea-Dweller
16600

Box
Papers
Year 2009
£8,680
Rolex Explorer 14270 281526
Vintage

Rolex
Explorer
14270

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£5,310
Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600 277423

Rolex
Sea-Dweller
16600

Box
Papers
Year 2004
£7,790
Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600 269744

Rolex
Sea-Dweller
16600

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£8,440
Rolex Explorer 214270 271720

Rolex
Explorer
214270

Box
Papers
Year 2013
£5,990
Rolex Explorer 124270 283571
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Explorer
124270

Box
Papers
Year 2023
£6,875
Rolex Explorer 14270 274386
Vintage

Rolex
Explorer
14270

Box
Papers
Year 1992
£5,095
Rolex Sea-Dweller 126600 271300

Rolex
Sea-Dweller
126600

Box
Papers
Year 2018
£10,030
Rolex Explorer 1655 270269
Vintage

Rolex
Explorer
1655

Box
Papers
Year 1981
£22,585
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114300 267947

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114300

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£6,345
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114300 275858

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114300

Box
Papers
Year 2018
£6,570
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114200 280764

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114200

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£5,295
Rolex Explorer 124270 278855
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Explorer
124270

Box
Papers
Year 2021
£6,565
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114200 258815

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114200

Box
Papers
Year 2009
£4,265
Rolex Explorer 14270 265514

Rolex
Explorer
14270

Box
Papers
Year 2000
£5,835
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114300 253691

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114300

Box
Papers
Year 2018
£6,490
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 14208M 268644

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
14208M

Box
Papers
Year 2000
£10,950
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114200 268476

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114200

Box
Papers
Year 2008
£4,265
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 67480 269807

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
67480

Box
Papers
Year 2009
£3,525
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 77080 275333

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
77080

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£4,510
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114200 273278

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114200

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£5,385
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 116000 282490

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
116000

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£5,280
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 116000 271939

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
116000

Box
Papers
Year 2008
£5,165
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114300 275664

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114300

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£6,540
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 77080 251676

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
77080

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£2,980
Rolex Day-Date 18038 256420
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18038

Box
Papers
Year 1981
£12,750
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114200 258565

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114200

Box
Papers
Year 2018
£5,385
Rolex Day-Date 118238 272927

Rolex
Day-Date
118238

Box
Papers
Year 2002
£21,515
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 116000 273919

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
116000

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£6,155
Rolex Day-Date 118209 269297

Rolex
Day-Date
118209

Box
Papers
Year 2003
£19,920
Rolex Day-Date 18038 275828
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18038

Box
Papers
Year 1985
£12,350
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 114200 262367

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
114200

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£5,285
Rolex Daytona 116520 - APH Dial 246203

Rolex
Daytona
116520 - APH Dial

Box
Papers
Year 2012
£32,500
Rolex Day-Date 118205 273785

Rolex
Day-Date
118205

Box
Papers
Year 2005
£20,405
Rolex Day-Date 18078 250144
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18078

Box
Papers
Year 1988
£12,885
Rolex Day-Date 118296 268720

Rolex
Day-Date
118296

Box
Papers
Year 2002
£23,390
Rolex Daytona 126509 277429
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Daytona
126509

Box
Papers
Year 2023
£44,950
Rolex Daytona 116500 LN 277339

Rolex
Daytona
116500 LN

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£22,170
Rolex Daytona 116500 LN 282488

Rolex
Daytona
116500 LN

Box
Papers
Year 2020
£20,875
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 116000 272417

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
116000

Box
Papers
Year 2010
£5,335
Rolex Daytona 116500 LN 282633

Rolex
Daytona
116500 LN

Box
Papers
Year 2019
£24,250
Rolex Daytona 116523 270278

Rolex
Daytona
116523

Box
Papers
Year 2005
£13,695

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.

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