Dear watch enthusiasts, today Thomas Bachmann and I will talk about diving watches.
Watertightness in watches became an issue only after WW I.
In the 1920s, Omega, Rolex and a few other brands tried to sort it out.
First real success came with Mr. Wilsdorf`s original Oyster,
which was worn by Mercedes Gleitze,
when she successfully swam the channel between England and France.
The basic idea that Mr. Wilsdorf applied to the Oyster model
was to screw together two opposite rings.
Thus he produced a watch which for the first time was truly waterproof.
The watches were sold using a gimmick and placed in a glass of water in the shop window
so that passers-by saw 'a water-protected, practical watch'.
I find it remarkable that even then Rolex offered the watches made of silver and of gold.
They were watches for gentlemen with an active lifestyle.
Let's skip ten years between Mercedes Gleitze's watch
and the first real diver's watch in history.
As a matter of fact, this is just the same watch, just larger, more massive, and with a radiant radium dial.
This is the third ever manufactured Panerai watch from 1935-1936, reference 36-46.
The first series can be identified by these two screws on the dial,
because they had problems attaching it at that time.
The lid and bezel were screwed in.
It is an important detail that it has a Rolex movement and a screwed crown.
Panerai was actually just a middleman for the Italian military.
Rolex produced the watches.
Thomas, we also have a new one here.
Could you compare between the models from 1936 and 2016?
Actually, these old Panerai models are Rolex watches commissioned by Panerai.
New Panerai models have nothing to do with Rolex anymore.
Today, it is a company on its own, the Richemont Group, and they produce their own movements.
Of course they are still based on Panerai's iconic design from the 30s and 40s.
Subsequently, Panerai went on to build watches for the Italian police and also for the Egyptians.
Actually, they were only active in the tool watch segment.
Do you remember when we bought the first one?
We tried to sell it the same day
because we thought the boom would be over within a week.
They were absurdly big.
We both laughed about how clunky they were.
It was a Mare Nostrum.
We bought it and immediately wanted to sell it off.
We believed this could only be a joke.
Well, we were massively wrong.
Panerai is a huge success story and has a vast fan base.
Paneristi even have their own nickname.
They are absolute cult watches.
Modern models are usually limited.
There are various lines.
But I really think that nowadays they cannot be considered classic diver watches anymore.
After World War II, Rolex registered many patents
and launched the first and probably most famous dive watch ever:
the Sub-Mariner.
This is a model from the 50s.
It is still without crown protection, nor with radium dial or rotating bezel.
Lots of patents.
Today, a watch must be more than 100 meters waterproof
in order to be considered a diver's watch.
Probably, the old Panerais were 100 meters waterproof, too.
But they were not tested.
It wasn't until the mid-fifties,
that a standard for waterproofness was introduced.
The early models with the small crown
were waterproof up to 100m. Later models such as…
... the James Bond Big Crown were already 200 meters waterproof.
One more striking feature:
For the first time, there is a rotatable bezel at Rolex.
It indicates to divers how long they can stay underwater.
You could set a new 12 o'clock by placing the triangle on the minute hand
and then knew how many minutes you had already spent in the water.
An incredibly practical solution and if you're not jogging for more than an hour,
it still makes great sense today.
Of course it was a bit dangerous
because the bezel could also rotate in the wrong direction.
In the end, one thing is always important in a diver's watch:
Waterproofness, obviously, but also good readability.
I.e. the watches have to shine bright. Unlike Rolex,
Blancpain even inserted the bezel numbers in radium.
Very bright...
While underwater you could read only faintly a Rolex by the triangle
where the luminous point is inserted.
Whereas the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, because of the ring, you could even read numbers
and the hour indices.
The Mil-Spec is a very special model of it.
It has a large field of radium in the middle. This radium discolors
when moisture penetrates and so the diver could see:
Oops, my watch is just drowning, soon it won't be showing the correct time anymore.
Most of them have been delivered to the American army and have been made for it.
Blancpain equipped America's and France's armies.
Of course, soldiers lying in the mud needed a dirt and moisture-proof watch.
Someone who dives 100 meters deep,
be it to fix a mine or lift an anchor had different requirements.
How do you differentiate between a swimming watch and a diver's watch?
For me, it comes down to a rotating bezel, good readability even in the dark
and waterproofness for more than 2 minutes in 30 or 40 meters.
For this, you needed specially attached crowns.
More massive cases...
It is not sufficient to screw the floor.
The bezel on top of the glass must be screwed,
or you need a special washer built in.
One of the big Swiss manufacturers is Omega.
They too, took the issue of diver's watches very seriously
and equipped the Royal Navy, also the Americans, Israelis
and many others.
The Royal Navy also had Rolexes but mostly used Omega watches.
There is an anecdote
that many English divers left the crowns of their Omegas unscrewed on purpose
so that they would drown in order to then get a Rolex. As if they weren't just as good.
This total nonsense, obviously. Of course they are just as waterproof.
This one went to Israel. This is an Israeli combat diver watch.
You can see that all those who traveled a lot in the 50s and 60s
needed battle-tested and solid watches.
And it left its traces on the watches.
Let's see something else exciting. You have a Blancpain Barracuda.
One can say of course that all diver watches of the 60s looked a bit similar.
After all, most have been built for army units.
If you hold the watches next to each other, you see ...
... a basic similarity, whereby the Barracuda is of course an incredibly attractive watch ...
Certainly one of the coolest Blancpains ever made.
We did not want to talk so much about Rolex,
but let's talk a bit about Rolex nevertheless.
Here is one of those important patents, you can see it quite well in these two models.
They are about 8 years apart.
The crown protection in the case of the 5512, with the great golden dial
and the 65 36-1. You can see that the watches actually still look the same until today.
The crown protection is very important so that you don't get caught while diving and the crown breaks off.
That is the most distinctive feature here.
There are two things a watch company can boast with:
either their products are very accurate.
Or - and that's how Rolex made it - that they are particularly waterproof
or particularly robust.
The Rolex Submariner is certainly one of the watches
that has transformed from a pure tool watch to a lifestyle product.
That's a Sea Dweller now. Correct.
For a long period of time The Sea Dweller was merely a tool watch.
A professional diver's watch.
Why?
It had been co-developed by the Comex Company.
Comex had been a professional diving company in Marseille, France.
At the time, derricks were built,
platforms in the sea. There, it wasn't about 200 or 300 meters.
No, they needed watches that were up to 500, 600 meters waterproof.
The problem was, if you went down to 600 meters with a classic Submariner that was really tight,
that watch would burst.
When coming up, helium which had formed in the depth
wanted to escape the watch and often caused the glass to burst.
Exactly, either you had a glass that was about this thick
or you had a Sea Dweller.
That's what the Comex Company had developed together with Rolex around 1966/67.
The so-called Helium Escape Valve.
Classically also very massive Plexiglas, which is highly arched
and thus improves the readability even more.
Normally, you couldn't buy a Comex.
It was a watch that you could only obtain as a professional diver
and you also kept a watch diary.
Could you show the number on the back of the watch?
I can't show it completely, because obviously it would identify the watch.
Nowadays, these watches are most in demand
when they come with the full history, a dive book, ID card of the diver,
contracts with Comex etc. The more litany, the more the collector pays.
It tells you on which dives the diver wore the watch
and that makes it real fun for collectors.
So now Rolex considered of course , if something was good for Comex,
it could also be good on the ordinary diver's watch market
In 1967 they launched the Mark I, Submariner Sea Dweller.
Here we have a Mark III, double red.
The first generations still have a red lettering.
Collectors also distinguish between Mark I to Mark V
which can be found in various slightly different versions and various years of make.
All watches made between 67 and 83 share some features:
They have a rather highly curved plexiglas, just like the original Comex model.
And they all have the classic valve opening on the side, where can can escape.
A lot of people don't know
that Omega was part of the Comex battle.
They too built a watch that was waterproof even at this depth.
Up to 600 meters. The so-called Ploprof. With a big block-like design.
In order to remove the movement you have to remove the glass, first.
You need a special wrench for it.
A lot of engineering had gone into this, but eventually the Submariner won.
It was the first time anyone had thought that
it would be great if the diver's bezel wouldn't rotate in both directions
so that the dive time would not be accidentally extended.
The fat red button released the lock
in order to rotate the bezel in one direction only.
By this you had certainty not to stay underwater for too long.
In my opinion, Jaeger-LeCoultre has built one of the most beautiful and cool diving watches.
The Polaris 2 with the incredibly beautiful, egg-shaped case,
rotating bezel but here with a second crown for the alarm clock.
So this watch...Does it ring under water?
That's the great thing about it. It is waterproof and rings underwater.
Can you hear that underwater? Have you ever heard that?
Underwater it sounds much, much louder. That's the great thing about water.
Water carries sound better than air.
The great thing about this watch was the alarm
which reminded you to come up, to decompress
or of other vital things...
Such as lunch break. Lunch break, exactly.
Vital lunch break.
To me, the Polaris 2 is a true design highlight in this whole collection.
Taking a look at the formal language,
it is quite obvious that we have arrived in the 70s.
The watch cases are all larger, egg-shaped
and come in amazing dial variants.
The Zenith Thousand Meters, called Big Lemon. Big lemon, yes.
An incredible sexy watch. It is one of my absolute favorites.
IWC too, contributed something with the Aqua Timer.
It was available in different dial colors.
We have a black one here, but they also came in red and blue.
But I think the Big Lemon and also the Enicar are the greatest.
Design lovers with a watch collection are very satisfied
that not everything is always steel black
but finally bright yellow, cool gray and bright orange.
That's been typical of the Seventies, the space-age was just more colorful.
Tudor, a subsidiary of Rolex,
sold very exciting similar-looking Submariners, too.
They also went to the military in France and Argentina.
It used to be a poor man's Rolex,
which is why the army was interested in it during the 70's.
In principle, the function was the same as with a Submariner.
Not quite, it was not that waterproof.
If a Submariner was 300 meters waterproof, a Tudor was 200 meters waterproof.
They were always a bit of the slimmed-down version,
without a Rolex movement and of course with an ETA movement .
Though of course the case, strap and crown system were still supplied by Rolex.
Today these models are particularly popular with the large, characteristic, wide hands
called "Snowflake".
Tudor watches were not spared.
Because they were cheaper, they were worn with less care and less maintenance.
Nevertheless - today Tudor is one of the most sought after brands
of collectors watches in our business.
Tommy, as we move from the seventies to the eighties, I automatically think of one watch.
A true representative of the 80s - in terms of design.
The Ocean 2000 by IWC.
A masterpiece by Porsche Design
which at that time had a very successful cooperation with IWC.
Unfortunately it ended in the 90s.
The great thing about this watch is that it was waterproof down to 2000 meters.
It is built in titanium, which was a new material in the watch market at the time.
It was so attractive that even the German Bundeswehr frogmen
switched from Blancpain to IWC, to this clock.
The watch came with flat glass and also with a quartz movement.
They were available for fighter swimmers and mine sweeping missions.
I think it is so cool.
There is something both ugly and nice about it, but it does not leave you untouched.
I find it exciting and would definitely wear it, too.
When combined with a Velcro textile strap
I find you can't take its design any further.
With the titanium strap you had a lot of trouble,
because the pins were made of steel
which had the unfortunate tendency to wear out,
if you wore the watch a lot and often.
It is not the only IWC watch made of titanium, but certainly the most significant. Definitely.
We have arrived in the 90s,
and here is a classic Submariner.
Actually, this was a further development of the watches from the 60s.
Anbody with a Submariner collection usually gets to hear from his wife:
"You always bought the same watch. Why are there 35 watches all the same?
I don't understand at all!" As a man, of course you know the reason. There are small differences
but one really has to point them out.
There have been more changes in Rolex in the last five to six years.
Around 2007/2008. That is almost 10 years ago, Tommy. Right.
Actually, the ceramic bezel and the sapphire crystal are the biggest difference.
You now have in your hand a Sea Dweller 4000 that was built during three years, only.
Correct.
It was launched with 40 mm diameter.
And that one is 1220 meters waterproof.
Like its predecessor.
Correct.
And the successor ... the Deep Sea, Deep Blue, Sea Dweller
is waterproof up to 3900 meters. With 44 mm of diameter.
Actually, this is really something for you. I cannot wear it.
It also has a helium valve. It is built much more massive,
has a narrower proportion of the strap and is really big.
The whole thing reminds me a little bit of SUVs.
In the 70s, SUVs were really needed to drive off-road.
But today, if you stand in the city and look around,
you will see a large SUV every minute.
But they are only used for normal city traffic.
And it is similar with divers' watches.
People actually wear these diver watches today as lifestyle products.
But when they do go diving
most people prefer to use quartz watches
and spare their diver's watches because they could be scratched.
This reminds me of a golden Submariner.
You can hardly imagine wearing one while diving.
Maybe for swimming - but certainly not for diving.
Well, that depends on the pool.
Depends on the pool.
Here is a current Rolex with ceramic bezel.
This one seems to have gone through quite a bit.
But really these are watches, that you do not wear for diving.
It is a tool watch stripped of its original purpose.
Because 18k gold as material is simply too scratch-sensitive and too shock-sensitive.
Nevertheless, it looks good
and the first golden ones were made in the 70s.
Summarizing, one can say that it is a status symbol to wear a great diver's watch.
Whether it is 3900 meters waterproof or made of gold or white gold.
It is mainly a show object. But of course they are real fun. Right.
Tommy, we started with Panerai, now,
last but not least, let's look at a current Panerai.
Of course, it is a diver's watch, as well. This is a Bronzo model.
It is yet another watch that you can hardly imagine being used underwater.
Bronze is a very interesting material for watchmaking.
You should not wear it directly on your skin,
which is why these watches always have a steel bottom.
And if you use the watch in salt water they will change dramatically.
It gives a nice vintage effect. The watch will suddenly look 70 years older.
So bronze oxidizes like mad and will quickly stop being red...
But there is something to it. Yes, there is.
Panerai was the first company to use this in the diving watch sector.
Looks great in any case and always ages differently,
depending on how you use it.
I think Tudor has a bronze too. IWC, too.
It seems to be trendy now.
That's why we show it. We have arrived in 2018.
These are the watches of the last one, two years. Not much new has arrived at the diving scene.
These days, it's more about style and looks.
So which watch would you take home tonight and not on the beach?
I chose the 1961 IDF Eterna-Matic.
Its size fits my wrist well.
I find it beautiful, it has a wonderful dial and
is in well preserved condition. And I also know the historical background of this watch.
It went through a war, which I find quite thrilling.
I would probably take the Eneka with me tonight. Because I am so attracted to the design
and the orange that I would like to wear it.
And why does it say 'sex' on the dial?
OK. now I have one small task for all viewers.
Please show our mysterious device.
What could this device have done?
Please write us on YouTube what you think for what the purpose of this device.
And which company made it. That's easy.
See you next time and subscribe to our channel.
And do not forget: Water resistant is not waterproof.
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