A few days ago, I brought to your attention what seems to be a good deal on an solid watch. Today, we’re going to take a look at another deal I came across – but I’m not so sure it’s as good as it seems.
Today’s watch is being brought to market by the folks at Aquadive, which actually seems to be a resurrection of the company of the same name which produced popular dive watches in the 60s and 70s. Appropriately so, their new watches draw some inspiration from their previous models, but with modern updates.
Now, to take a closer look at Bathyscape 1000 model. To my eye, it’s got a nice look (the DLC helps in that regard) that doesn’t scream DIVER at you (which is much appreciated, in my book). The specs themselves are pretty impressive as well:
- ETA 2836-2 automatic movement adjusted in 5 positions; hour/minute/second/date
- 42mm stainless steel case with DLC
- Automatic Helium Escape Value at 6 o’clock
- 1000m water resistance
- Sapphire crystal
- Ceramic-inset 120-click bezel
- 22mm Isofrane strap
So, as you can see, we’ve got some impressive specs here in a vintage-inspired dive watch – all seems well with the world, right? Not so fast, friend! Let’s take a closer look at the dial. Do you see any lume there? I sure don’t! I see nice shiny indices – but if you manage to get this thing a few hundred feet in the water, I don’t know that that does you any good (let alone to 1000). UPDATE – It’s lumed.
And then back to the second (and most significant) drawback, in my opinion. If you were to order this watch prior to December 31, you’ll receive a generous 35% discount – which brings it down to $1490. Ouch! While this is a good looking watch, and seems like it should have solid history, it feels like a big chunk of change for a watch (and company) that is new (at least, in it’s current incarnation) on the scene.
If you like the looks, and would like to keep more of your money, they do have another option – you could snap up one of their NOS (new old stock) models, which are on tap for $890, with a new ETA 2824-2 inside.
