11 Of The Best Dive Watches Under $1,000 - According To A Professional Diver

Make A Splash Without A Lot Of Cash 

Right at the beating heart of what I hope to accomplish with Submersible Wrist is pushing back against the prevailing notion that watch enthusiasm is inherently expensive, a pretentious idealogy backed by the snobbier watch nerds out there as well as the luxury brands that control the industry. In the undersea watch game, some of the overall best picks are also surprisingly some of the most attainable. Leaning into my experience as a commercial diver, I present my picks for some of the best dive watches under $1,000, the majority of which I have used myself in challenging environments both above and below the water’s surface.

To get it out of the way before getting too deep, the reality is that while very few divers today wear a watch, the majority of those who do are looking for a watch that serves more as a tool than a jewel, a reliable yet reasonable backup for the suite of tech that so often goes hand in with modern diving. The fact is, you don’t have to spend a ton to get a great dive watch. The affordable watch game has never been better, with the rise of internet watch enthusiasm inspiring a new generation of attainable dive watches to covet, collect, and hopefully actually take diving. To keep us organized, we’ll go in ascending price order but other than that, anything that’s any good for diving goes.

Casio Duro - $50

Specifications: Diameter: 44mm, Thickness: 12mm, Lug-to-Lug: 48.5mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Mineral, Movement: Quartz Casio 2784

An undisputed icon in the arena of inexpensive analog watches that are also great, the Duro is likely a name you’ve heard before. For around $50, the Duro offers 200 meters of water resistance, a Japanese quartz caliber, a legible analog display, and finishing that is actually kind of good, which is rare in this price range. At 44mm in diameter, the Duro is large but luckily wears smaller. I’ve worn a Duro in many diving scenarios and never had a problem. And again, for some context, we’re talking about an analog 200-meter diver that costs about as much as a decent sushi dinner. Admittedly, the lume isn’t great and the strap sucks, but for $50, I say Long live the Duro.

Vostok Amphibia - $100

Specifications: Diameter: 41mm, Thickness: 15mm, Lug-to-Lug: 49mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Acrylic, Movement: Automatic Vostok 2415

Where the Duro serves as the least expensive analog dive watch with a quartz movement, the Vostok takes the imperial crown for being the cheapest automatic dive watch worth using underwater. Designed for the Soviet military in the 1960s with several ingenious workarounds to make up for shoddy manufacturing standards, the Amphibia is another one of those watches almost every enthusiast has owned. Despite its friction-fit bezel, acrylic crystal, unique lockring-operated case back, and luminescent material that might as well not be there at all, the Vostok Amphibia is pretty great for diving. In addition to withstanding a number of my own diving adventures, a Vostok even survived a pressure test to over 800 meters, not bad for around $100.

Casio G-Shock GWM5610 - $150

Specifications: Diameter: 43.2mm, Thickness: 12.7mm, Lug-to-Lug: 46.7mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Mineral, Movement: Quartz Casio 3495

“bUt iT dOeSn’T eVeN hAvE a rOtAtInG BeZeL!” I can already hear the screams. But when it comes to pure diving utility, even the most basic G-Shock is about as good as it gets, providing ample water resistance, a bright backlight, and a lot more functions compared to even the most feature-packed analog diver. If you don’t believe me, find any photo of any military diver from the last thirty years or so. They are almost always wearing a G-Shock. This particular reference, the GWM5610, also offers solar charging, radio-controlled atomic timekeeping, and, being a G-Shock, is one of the most durable watches ever made while also being surprisingly attainable.

Seiko Prospex “Turtle” SRPE93 - $495

Specifications: Diameter: 45mm, Thickness: 13.4mm, Lug-to-Lug: 48mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Mineral, Movement: Automatic Seiko 4R36

We were never going to get very far into this list without mentioning Seiko, one of every watch nerd’s favorite affordable brands. In the pantheon of great dive watches, Seiko’s “Turtle”, also known as the 6309, is an all-time legend, boasting an impressive military history and a bulletproof reputation for reliability. Its modern descendant, the SRPE93, takes the cushion case shape and dial format from the OG and updates it with better finishing, a comfortable rubber strap, and the modern 4R36 caliber that also offers hacking and hand-winding functionality not seen on the old 6309 or the also impactful but discontinued SKX007. If you’re looking for your first automatic dive watch in this price range, a Seiko Prospex is always a solid option.

Citizen JP2007-09W - $550

Specifications: Diameter: 50.7mm, Thickness: 14.4mm, Lug-to-Lug: 47.7mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Mineral, Movement: Quartz Citizen C520

A modern update to the Citizen’s Aqualand C021 and C023 unveiled in 1985, the JP2007-09W retains almost identical dimensions with a fully-luminescent dial and a more modern caliber requiring only one battery as opposed to three on the old-school model. One of the pioneers of analog-digital timekeeping for a dive watch, the Aqualand still provides a depth gauge, depth memory, rapid ascent alarm, and auto start dive mode in addition to regular timekeeping functions. It’s not a small watch, but don’t let the 50.7mm diameter fool you as that metric takes into account the integrated depth sensor. In my experience, the Aqualand wears like a 41 to 42mm watch on the wrist while still providing more than enough classic diving aesthetics and enough utility to present an excellent backup to your diving computer.

Elliot Brown Holton Professional - $566

Specifications: Diameter: 43mm, Thickness: 12mm, Lug-to-Lug: 52mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Quartz Ronda 715

While there are several other watches on this list with military associations, the Holton Professional from Elliot Brown is the only one designed from scratch for issue to an elite special operations unit, the UK’s SBS or Special Boat Service. The story goes that Elliot Brown is headquartered in Poole, England near RM Poole, the SBS’s home base. In 2015, the unit—which is more or less the British equivalent of SEAL Team Six—asked Elliot Brown to design a watch for its maritime operators. After several rounds of prototyping and testing, the Holton Professional was born. At 43mm in diameter and a lengthy 52mm in length, the Holton is not for the faint of wrist but is an excellent dive watch for the money, providing a legible dial, excellent lume across the dial, hands, and bezel, a tactical black coating, and an excellent fitted rubber strap all while being powered by a quality Swiss quartz caliber from Ronda. If you’re looking for an affordable tacti-cool watch that’s legitimately used at the tip of the spear, the Elliot Brown Holton is a great watch to check out.

Garmin Descent G1 Solar - $650

Specifications: Diameter: 45.5mm, Thickness: 15.2mm, Lug-to-Lug: 53.2mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Garmin Connected

Ok, I’m trolling you guys a little bit, but I do think it makes sense to have at least one diving computer on this list, especially one that also works so well as a watch while also providing more diving-specific features than any normal marine mammal could ever need. A newer player in Garmin’s growing diving collection, the Descent G1 is the brand’s least expensive diving computer but still offers almost the full suite of diving gadgets and tech and just about every fitness tracking function there is. On top of all that, the size coupled with the lighter-weight composite case means the Descent G1 still feels like a watch on the wrist and not some weird strap-on iPad.

Marathon Arctic MSAR Quartz - $800

Specifications: Diameter: 36mm, Thickness: 12.5mm, Lug-to-Lug: 43.5mm, Water Resistance: 300m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Quartz ETA High-Torque FØ6

Known as one of the last analog diver’s watches still being actively issued to military organizations around the world, Marathon’s Search and Rescue (SAR) collection has as much legitimacy for actual diving as you could ever want. While there are larger and automatic variants to consider, only the 36mm quartz Medium Search and Rescue or MSAR sneaks in under the $1,000 mark, which is excellent news if you have a smaller wrist or simply prefer less watch. With 300 meters of water resistance, a sapphire crystal, and tritium gas tubes for constant illumination without the need for an external light source, the MSAR is built like a tank and is especially fun in its newer “Arctic” white dial configuration. For what it’s worth, this is also the first Swiss-made watch on our list.

CWC SBS Diver Issue - $765

Specifications: Diameter: 41mm, Thickness: 12mm, Lug-to-Lug: 47mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Quartz Ronda 517

Rumored to have been a special request from an elite unit that may or may not have been the UK’s Special Boat Service, the CWC SBS Diver Issue is an all-black tactical version of the Royal Navy Diver’s watch that took the place of the Rolex Military Submariner starting around 1980. That said, there’s no shortage of military legitimacy here, and the watch also works incredibly well in the water thanks to its highly legible dial, outstanding lume, and durable black PVD coating. Fixed spring bars also mean you won’t have to worry about accidentally losing the watch, but you are limited to pull-through style straps. The price is admittedly a bit steep considering the use of a quartz movement, but I’d still rate the CWC SBS among the top Swiss divers in this price range, a serious diving tool for anyone seeking that blacked-out look.

Tornek-Rayville Paradive G3 - $852

Specifications: Diameter: 41.3mm, Thickness: 15.5mm, Lug-to-Lug: 49.5mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic SII NE15

In the pantheon of great military dive watch designs, the Benrus Type I is somewhere very near the top of the heap. Designed specifically for and only available to elite military divers and operators from 1972 to around 1980, the so-called Type I dial is one of the most legible and effective in undersea history. Tornek-Rayville is a name more commonly associated with the TR-900, essentially a modified Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, but today, Bill Yao of Mk II fame owns the name and produces several subtly updated and upgraded modern recreations of legendary divers including the Benrus Type I, which he calls the Paradive. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and this design is one that simply works beneath the surface.

Certina DS Super PH1000M - $950

Specifications: Diameter: 43.5mm, Thickness: 14.2mm, Lug-to-Lug: 47mm, Water Resistance: 1000m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic C07.111

One of my favorite brand-new watches in this price range in years, the Certina DS Super PH1000M calls back to a 1970 release from the brand that epitomized the chunky 70s diver aesthetic while offering up 1000 freakin’ meters of water resistance. Issued to Australian Navy Clearance Divers, the original PH1000M became a highly sought-after vintage piece that was just begging for a reissue. Thankfully, modern Certina did a nice job with it, staying close to the original dimensions, water resistance, and design while integrating an 80-hour power reserve caliber and unique holes in the case that allow the push-to-turn bezel to be more easily flushed out after a dive. It’s not for everyone, but the fact that a 1000-meter rated Swiss automatic diver even exists in this price range is a sign of how great more attainable dive watches are getting.

Of course, there are a lot more great affordable dive watches, but I wanted to stay close to watches I’ve personally used in the water and trust with my life. I will continue adding great watches to this list over time. If there is a watch you think deserves to be on this list, please share it in the comments down below.

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