It’s no coincidence that the best dive watches under $500, much like your favorite rugby shirts and selvedge dungarees, are as versatile as they are hard-wearing. The modern dive watch was created in the 1950s to help SCUBA divers time their air supply (hence that rotating bezel around the dial), but it didn’t take long before non-divers who wanted a tough, reliable everyday watch got on board. As with the rugby shirt, its functional design and solid build translated well to life on land, getting more ruggedly handsome with every knock and ding. And the fact that wearing one made you look like the kind of guy who spearfishes for snapper off Key Biscayne? Well, that didn’t hurt either.
5 Rugged Divers Available on the Low
Over the last seventy-odd years, the dive watch’s mix of clean design, robustness, and legendary versatility has made it a go-to timepiece for everyone from CEOs to chefs to creative directors. When shopping for the perfect diver, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind. Firstly, anything calling itself a dive watch should be rated water-resistant to at least 100 meters. And second, it should have a rubber strap or a bracelet, all the better to resist the corrosive brine of the sea. (Another good feature to look for is a screw-down crown, which helps to keep out water, whether you’re shark diving or playing Marco Polo in the shallow end.)
As the dive watch’s popularity has grown, so has the wide variety of styles, features, and price points on offer. At the high end of the scale are divers from the top Swiss brands, with iconic designs and cases available in solid 18k gold, as well as ultra-deep divers built to commune with giant squids at the bottom of the ocean. For anyone with more modest means, though, there are plenty of flex-worthy options available at the other end of the price spectrum, too—the best of which are just as stylish and durable as ones worth thousands more. You can easily spend four or five figures on a dive watch, but the ones here offer nearly as much functionality—and an equal amount of seagoing swagger—for far less money.
Looking for more slick tickers at unbeatable prices? Check out the rest of our budget-savvy watch coverage below.
The Best Watches Under $100 | The Best Watches Under $200 | The Best Watches Under $1000 | The Best GMT Watches Under $1,000 | The Best Field Watches Under $500 | The Best Cheap Watches That Don’t Look Cheap | The Best Celeb-Loved Affordable Watches
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