25 Best Dive Watches 2023 – Tested by Watch Geeks & Divers

All you need to know is the features you are looking for and your budget. There are even those watches that will serve you well both as a diving equipment and as part of your daily outfit.

Partly, tradition and preference. Dive watches are still strongly associated with the sport, and many divers wear them because they like them, and because they like having a backup for their computer, even if this backup doesn’t have all the features of the computer. Some dive watches feature depth gauges, and these can actually work as a rudimentary dive computer backup, allowing you to do a complete ascent to the surface, including any deco or safety stops along the way. But many divers, and non-divers, do simply wear them because they like them.

Why do dive watches have rotating bezel?

The bezel is marked with minutes up to 60 minutes (typically) to allow divers to quickly discern how long they’ve been down. You rotate the bezel so the zero mark is at the minute hand when you descend, and then you can read the duration of your dive at any time, without having to calculate it. And the bezel typically only rotates one way, so if it is accidentally moved, it will only shorten your dive, not extend it, possibly beyond your no-decompression limit. Always err on the side of caution.

What should I look for in a dive watch?

First and foremost, depth rating. At least 100 meters/300 feet/10 ATM. Then of course, a rotating bezel. Material is worth considering as well, stainless is good, titanium is better. Titanium is lighter and more corrosion resistant. Whether you choose a rubber strap or a metal bracelet is a matter of preference, but make sure that both are long enough to allow you to wear the watch over your wetsuit or drysuit. Most metal bracelets will have an extension function to ensure this. A depth gauge is useful, too. Also, make sure the watch face is clean enough to be easily legible.

Is Helium buildup a problem?

You may hear wild stories about an exotic feature called a helium valve. Don’t get hung up on this. A helium valve is useful for commercial divers doing very deep saturation diving, where they live in underwater habitats filled with a trimix breathing gas containing helium. The helium molecules, being extremely small, can make their way into the watch case, and then, when the diver ascends, these molecules expand (due to dropping pressure) and can damage the watch. But for recreational divers, even technical ones, this isn’t an issue, as we typically do not spend a lot of time in underwater habitats hundreds of meters below the surface.