Deep Blue Watches in New York has another deep-dive watch called the Sea Quest Automatic and this guy has the weight and the rating to go nearly a mile underwater. This company has been around for 9 years now and aspires to be known as the accurate water resistant watch maker. The Deep Blue Sea Quest might do it with its Miyota-powered, stainless diver rating of 1,500m/5,000ft.
My first impression as I surveyed this underwater monster on their Web site was the unique dial color and stand-out Super-LumiNova. My kids might call it, super-duper-luminova. So, I scanned the specs and immediately did a double-take on the weight. The Deep Blue Sea Quest weighs in at 250g, or a half a pound. To put that into perspective, that’s about the same weight as an iPhone 5s and 6 combined (without cases).
The 316L stainless steel case is pretty straight forward and what you would expect in a watch boasting its depth capability. There is no fancy tweaking this case metal to make it stronger or scratch resistant like the Sinn watches, so keep this enhancement in mind when you start comparing it to other high-end divers.
The Deep Blue Sea Quest Sea Quest Automatic has a 42mm case which is pretty typical and not too large for every day wear. Its lug-to-lug length is 48mm. It does have a rotating bezel and has an appropriately sized lug width of 22mm. It is 15mm high and will not go unnoticed, especially if you need a help carrying it on your wrist with a sling around the office.
I know. I know. There is this feeling that the weight of the watch means its more valuable. I feel that each time I quickly raise and lower watches in my hand as if I’m judging it on imaginary scales. Just consider the weight and how often you want to wear this on your wrist. If you drive a used Hummer from the Desert Storm Campaign in 1990, you might not mind the weight.
To enable it to go deep, it has a screw-down crown that uses triple O-rings and a case back that has double O-rings. There is also a manual helium valve at 10 o’clock which is an expected function for a 1500m/5000ft depth-rating. All these little things ensure this resistance to water at the increased depth pressure.
A nice add to the Deep Blue Sea Quest – at this price point – is the sapphire crystal with AR coating and also the sapphire bezel with luminescence. I’m not sure how the bezel holds up when it meets the side of your boat (or pool) but I like the idea of the lume inside the bezel.
The Super-LumiNova continues into the dial with a chapter ring of lume circle on the outer most part of the dial. Each hour has a stand-out index that marks it, along with a black center-second hand with a square lume mid-way down the hand so that it extends barely past the diamond hour hand.
Powering all this weight, is a Citizen Miyota 9015 date, 24-jewel movement is an automatic and hand wound. I’ve seen other watches with this movement and have seen its accuracy change even greater than the technical specifications from Miyota which shows it range between -10 to +30 seconds/day. This is noticeable if you are the type of person who is synchronizing your watches daily (compare this movement to the Swiss ETA 2824 workhorse accuracy and see what you get).
The metal bracelet is also stainless steel and is outfitted with a push-button release and a wetsuit extension, tension pin, as well as full or half links. I did not wear the Deep Blue Sea Quest, but I believe it could be used for any of your daily, casual activities as long as you have the arm strength. There are some significant features that make this an easy consideration in your watch drawer including the sapphire crystal, Super-LumiNova, and its helium release valve. It retails for $699 but is on sale at the time of this writing for $399. deepbluewatches.com
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Deep Blue Sea Quest Automatic Diver 1500m/5000ft
- Price: Retail $699 (currently on sale for $399)
- Who we think it might be for: This is for the watch guy who likes quantity of watches over quality. This has some quality features, but at a price that may let you get a few versions in different colors.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: I would probably not buy this version due to its weight and the fact I don’t need the helium release feature.
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Can there be a lighter version in another metal?
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: I appreciated the dial color options.
Specifications:
- Brand Model: Deep Blue Sea Quest Automatic Diver 1500m/5000ft
- Movement (technology): Citizen Miyota 9015 Automatic, Date, 24 jewel Movement
- Size of case diameter (mm): 42mm
- Height of case:15mm
- Weight: 250g
- Case material: 316L Stainless Steel
- Case Back: 316L Stainless Steel
- Crown: 316L Stainless Steel
- Crystal/Glass material: Sapphire Crystal with AR Coating
- Water resistance (m/ft/atm): 1500m/5000ft
- Strap/Bracelet material: 316L Stainless Steel
- Illumination: Super LumiNova
