You have probably noticed that Patrick and I both like dive watches. Myself, I am a diver (though I am lucky to dive once a year); Patrick, I think he just likes the look. But we both like Hexa Watches, which are hand assembled right here in the U S of A. And right now, Hexa is running a contest where you could win a new Hexa Osprey, or you can just buy one with a $250 limited time discount.
Tag Heuer is not a brand that I have given a lot of thought to, nor have we really featured them here on these pages. Of course, I am guessing that many, if not all, of you are aware of the brand as I am. Just recently, they came out with a new version of their dive watch, and that’s what we will be discussing today. So, on with the show – it’s time to take a look at the Tag Heuer AquaRacer Ceramic.
In the course of writing about affordable watches here at WWR, we very often come across new brands, and we write about a good number of them. Sometimes those freshman outings are not the greatest. The issues we see can often be overlooked given the price points that things come in at, and we call out what we see as oversights in a model. While not totally uncommon, it is more rare that we continue to be in contact with a brand, and see a marked contrast (and improvement) in what is being offered. That is precisely what we have here today with the Obris Morgan Explorer II.
It was not all that long ago that a dive watch from the Netherlands seemed like a rarity. As it turns out, there is a new brand starting up that also wants to offer you a Dutch dive watch. While the previous one we wrote about was firmly in the realm of luxury watches, the Van Speyk Dutch Diver is definitely of the more affordable variety.
We here at WWR are fans of seeing watch startups kicking off here in the ‘States, and I have personally had an enjoyable time getting to know the guys behind Smith & Bradley, as well as the watches they are creating downstate from me. Just a little bit ago, we brought you a breakdown of what was going on with their upgraded Atlantis, which already had quite a few options to choose from. Now, you have the ability to create your own Smith & Bradley custom Atlantis (originally reviewed here).
When it comes to dive watches, the past few years have seen an explosion of brands offering very competent and well-designed pieces, often times powered by Japanese automatic movements. Tempest is one of those brands, and they first caught my eye with the high-domed Viking. Today, we are taking a look at their latest offering, the Tempest Commodore.
The Maranez Layan offers something unique – California dials made on top of actual stones.
Divers love their orange watches. Well, at least some of them do, since most divers are offered in a variation with an orange dial. According to Doxa, they were the first to use orange as a way to make the dial more readable in low light situations, way back in 1966 (hey, it is as old as I am). But I don’t have over $2,000 for a dive watch, and with the wide range of watches out there, the Prometheus Piranha makes a strong case for being a great choice under $500.
Today, we are taking a second look at the Borealis brand, with our first look of course being Matt’s earlier review. While he was looking at the model, we will be talking about the Borealis Sea Hawk, the first 1500m rated diver that I have had on my wrist.
The last time we covered Raven (from the same team behind Benarus), we were looking at a vintage-inspired piece (here). Not content to let all the high-spec dive watches to reside under the Benarus flag, Raven has taken the styling found in the brand language, and extended it a watch that carries an absolutely nutty 2,500 meter WR rating. A depth which, unless it’s strapped to a submersible (or a rock), the watch will never see.
