The Top 10 Best Value Professional Dive Watches Under $500

her ology the final frontier these are the voyages of the urban Gentry it's continuing mission to explore strange new watches to seek out cool vintage pieces with pure class to boldly go where no watch channel has gone before [Music] okay I guys and welcome to the show today I'm gonna be doing top 10 divers under $500 before I get into it I'll do a quick wristwatch check I'm wearing old Nike funnily enough this very nearly was in the list unfortunately it's priced at I think about 600 650 or something still loving it oh and by the way a quick disclaimer before I get into this all the watches I'm talking about I've had first-hand experience with it would be absolutely logical to make a top 10 list of watches I've never you know I know that seems to be a trend of recommending watches you've never actually had first-hand experience with so all of these recommendations I know like the back of my hand another quick disclaimer is of course it being only a top 10 I'm sure a lot of you gonna say well what about this watch what about that watch well you know I would love to do top 100 but who's gonna who's gonna hear me rabbiting on about divers for about three hours I would love to do it but I think even you know that that's even pushing it for some let's crack on or should I say brace yourselves let's dive in number 10 it is an old favorite it is the Citizen Promaster automatic 200 meter this is the NY zero zero four zero I reviewed it donkey's ago now I've put it at number 10 because rumor has it has been discontinued I cannot 100% confirm that by the time you're watching this it probably has there are some variations there's zero 9w with the luminous dial these are priced at about 200-300 dollars they were released in the mid 90s and they were famously issued to the marina I mean he died in the Italian Navy but the commercial release is exactly the same it's quite an unusual bit of a Marmite watch it has that very unique positioning of the screw down crown at the eight o'clock not everybody likes that you have in there the calibre 8 to 0-3 which is really rock solid robust countdown bezel everything you come to expect with the diver wears a lot smaller than than the actual dimensions I think it's a 42 but it was like a 38 don't quote me on that outstanding watch I adore it comes on the rubber strap hardened the mineral for the glass there so it's an actual iso certified diver brush case my favourite feature the watch has to be the hands I've described them as kind of transformer star has I don't know why they just make me think of the Transformers if you're watching this in the future which sounds a bit bizarre but if if it has been discontinued do check out citizen they make some amazing affordable divers especially in the promise the range my prediction is citizen will make some kind of update or a replacement in the future number 9 Swiss made timepiece from T so this is the T sport sea star 1000 attack it is a 300 meter water diver we also have sapphire glass which is fantastic we haven't applied 12 and 6 for great orientation this is powered by interestingly enough the Powermatic 80 now I should give a little bit of context so you understand because t so our legendary Swiss brand they've always been pushing the technology envelope when it comes to making things affordable in fact they were founded in all the way back in 1853 they are a very well established historic brand they were the first of mass produce affordable Swiss made pocket watches and they are responsible for this revolutionary movement that's inside here called the param attic 82 saw has been working hand in hand with ETA obviously part of the swatch group so you have that they have the access to making these amazing affordable movements so what they did with this revolutionary new movement I think it was released mid to 2013 or there abouts integrating a new spring barrel allowing its high power reserve and this new high tech escapement it has no regulator the rate is actually set at the factory with a laser making the manual rate adjustments normally required by mechanical watch unnecessary this decrease the the cost it's also made out of a new alloy of copper nickel and zinc which is exceptionally anti-magnetic to also ensure its performance it's been called the silent revolution in affordable watch making but all of this translates to the consumer by keeping the cross down and offering something that is very precise very affordable to manufacture on a large scale and thus you get this amazing watch the C star is actually nothing new goes all the way back to the sixties it wasn't always a diamond watch if you look at the early sea stars they work more dressy a little bit similar to how they meager CMOS that evolved into divers so it is a heritage line heritage brand very affordable you get that quality it's also quite distinctive in its own way comes on a rubber strap around about four to five hundred dollars 42 millimeters in size my favorite feature is that seconds hand with the little tea obviously referencing tea so and the counter balance very very cool indeed and not only that you get a see through case back as well so you can admire that historic movement what could be better than that actually I'm gonna review one at some points to stay tuned but the one I saw was very impressive and extremely well made number eight we have another Swiss entry but you couldn't get further away especially stylistically from the T so this is the Victorinox Enochs professional diver if you remember I reviewed the standard in ox and then a little bit later on they then basically took the standard in ox they added a countdown bezel and there you got it's a dive watch essentially the same watch just with that added complication I love Victoria Knox they have an extremely impressive history going back to 1884 most people know them as the knife maker there were knife makers for the Swiss military they started doing bayonets and then they expanded into cut Murray etc and then of course the pocket knives that are just synonymous with the brand you know there's this very iconic red the knives which again I'm a huge huge fan of so I have a childhood affinity in connection to Victoria Knox but one thing that I always respected about them was the quality everything they do is just impeccably well-made and the same goes their watches now this is a quartz watch we have a Swiss Rhonda in there but it's quartz for a reason now you can get automatics but that pushes up the prize these were designed to be as robust and precise as possible just like the standard in arc state they were engineered to withstand an intensive battery of 130 tests to demonstrate this exceptional resistance from everything thrown in a washing machine famously run over as well by 64 ton tank all kinds of temperature pressure variations you name it very very impressive indeed they are big but they're big deliberately they have this sculpted bezel it's a little bit like the Patek Nautilus in fact I think I said that in review large bold so they are 45 millimeters big to serve a purpose so these are two hundred meters water-resistant these are professional ISO certified as well obviously stainless steel if I didn't mention that the watches before I think every single watch except for one is stainless steel so that goes without saying now you can get them in a variety of colors very lively yellows reds black blue as well as on either a bracelet or the vulcanized rubber straps which are also very well made and I think there is a titanium version as well and of course that you need directional rotating dinetime bezel these are priced under 400 dollars which is amazing value especially for the quality you get you will you'll feel it trust me number seven marathan now another channel favorite unfortunately you won't be able to get the automatics like the such rescue and the the higher-end version but you can get the mid-sized quartz tsa our this is a milspec professional diver marathon have an incredibly impressive history going all the way back to the beginning of the 20th century they supplied watches to militaries all over the world the Canadian Army US Special Forces Israeli Special Forces so this is a 300 meter water diver anti-reflective sapphire incredible ergonomics on that bezel it's a tough cookie nobody can deny also you get the tritium gas tubes which you have the luminescence for 25 years this is the ETA 406 movement no-nonsense kind of brutalist designing at the military markings as well for 24 hour my favorite feature and this has to be the knurling on the crown also ISO 6425 certified and you can get versions if you are in the military you can get there's the US government version you can get the sterile dial these Swiss made in LaShonda form in Switzerland very difficult to beat and I think marathoner massively massively underappreciated number six the first micro brand to be featured now I haven't actually reviewed this particular one I reviewed at the 1939 this is the Dan Henry 1970 this is a very impressive I mean the only compressor in the list so we have those very distinctive two crowns one to rotate the inner rotating dive time bezel this is 200 meters water-resistant you get a choice of 40 millimeter and 44 which is again you this is genius I love Dan Henry his watches are impeccably well-made I did see this one in the flesh and I came so close to reviewing it I had to choose either this or the chronograph so I did have a lot of experience with this now you do get a choice of colors there's the one with the orange details or there's one with the gray I should explain it a little bit about Dan Henry and why the design is so outstanding with this he's eight revered collector from Brazil he basically looked at his extensive extensive collection have a look it's a website it's wonderful it has an overview not only of his own collection which is amazing I mean it really is something else but also a great history of watches in general going for all the areas so he took a lot of style cues from the 1970s hence the name and applied it to this watch and you can tell his knowledge and its extensive experience with watches because it's comes through in his designs it really does he's one of my favorite micro brands inside we have the Seco NH 35 which is a fantastic movement I mean really rock-solid portable to maintain obviously automatic hacking many wines everything I personally prefer the 40 millimeter obviously get a sapphire double domed crystal with an s' reflective coating you get the date as well my favourite feature I mean there's a lot of favorite features but there's an attention to detail that's watch even even the crosshatch pattern on the crowns you know referencing the classic compressors of the seventies but is the back is the graving on the back you have this amazing octopus with a diving bell helmet the engraving is beautifully done it's actually three-dimensional there's a lot of different finishings on the case it's just cool number five we had to put in the glycine combat sub glycine there they're quite an old Swiss brand now owned by an Victor some people kind of scoffed at that but guys at the end of the day they're made in exactly the same factory the only difference is is now they've got the marketing might of Invicta behind them yes I know that does have a negative side because of the connotations of QVC in that style of you know they're very aggressive kind of yeah I've I've talked about that in the last videos but the benefit is the price is now lower this watch actually used to be in the kind of 500 to 1000 even beyond that bracket now it's under $500 it's still the same watch they still made the same way into the same high standards this is certainly the second most iconic watch after the airman famously worn in Vietnam it's a super thin diver it's 42 millimeters but only ten point six millimeters big very comfortable even for the smaller wrist you've got military markings actually not not on all of them this is the best thing I love about this watch their amount of variety different dark colors different finishings PBD some gold-plated blue black red you name it orange bezels green bezels you get a fantastic array of choice with the colors at first glance yes it is very submerge esque but if you've never held one or never worn one I reviewed one donkey's ago I have a look back it feels completely different a thin case it's unlike anything out there inside we have the glycine GL 2 to 4 which is an ETA 28 24 - 2 200 meters water resistance so it's made of course we have sapphire glass fantastic luminescent you can get them on rubber straps or and the bracelet their price that about 450 now or around the $500 mark you can get them for even less on the used market very nice substantial screw down crown amazing watch it amazing watches number for the Japanese made or it ray - I wanted to put the make or two or makkal too as well but essentially they're the same watch same movement just slight variation in the bezel and the dial layout I prefer the Ray too you can also get the Ray Raven - which is the black PVD which I absolutely adore they date complication orient Japanese company started I think in about the mid 1550s you can get these for an absolute steal around about the $200 mark probably the biggest challenger to the SKS in terms of its dominance and in terms of value and so it's an automatic you've got the newer F 69 caliber movement in there which is hackable hand winding big advantage over the Ray - to its earlier the original Ray's wonderful luminescence you got 120 click bezel there these are 41 millimeters in size so perfect in scale 200 meters water-resistant hardened mineral for the glass there my favorite feature is probably the sunburst effect on the blue dial version especially very aquatic very charming but a choice of either black or blue and I think there is an orange one I might be wrong about that but double check but yeah just astonishment value astonishing value and of course the movement is in-house which is quite incredible feat for this price range number three this is a watch I reviewed very recently and actually I have it here the laurier Neptune I had I had to I had to get one for myself basically so if you missed it a brand-new micro brand from a husband-and-wife team in Texas it's a 200-meter vintage-inspired diver that has been just absolutely beautifully designed in fact actually it's it's it's so addictive of that entire era especially the fifties and sixties it could have easily been made back then you've got a choice of the blue dial the black in either gilt style which is the one I went for or these white print on the on the black dial so inside you got the Seiko NH 35k again it's an automatic amazing attention to detail I love the super domed Plexiglas some people won't like that because you know they want sapphire but this is a $400 watch and I think actually the distortions and the charm it adds to the character the watch is well it gives that vintage feeling and guys to be honest if you're really worried about scratches I mean I have already got some scratches of mine it is it is quite a soft crystal but you buy some poly watch and it's gone my favorite thing is the size 39 millimeter I love the tapering bracelet it just feels like vintage watches got the arrow our hands no date the minimalist bezel inserts even solid end links superluminal would be gw9 some very very usable that lovely big screw down crown reminiscent of the classic early submariners are the beveling on the case it's just utterly beguiling alluring watch and I really I fallen head-over-heels in love with it I think Lorenza you did amazing job and you feel the soul of it this is why it's so high up on the list for me even they've even put screwed links in there on the bracelet they knocked it out the park with the design this actually this is probably my favorite room release of 2018 they have sold out I mean just the fabulous so as soon as I saw these you know I I was dying to get my really horological mitts and white gloves on for them but it's not perfect there are some negatives as you saw in the review but it's yeah it's forgivable because it's it's a fantastic watch let's carry on exam its I'm just I'm just going over how much I love this watch number two dramatically different but you understand why it's at number two because it is probably the most practical and usable piece of the entire ten the casio g-shock frogmen this is a digital watch made out of black resin plastic quartz of course in fact I printed out the article is a fantastic article on the world of g-shock going into its history its development what caso did they took the very important iconic g-shock they hired a bunch of divers and military dimers they basically took the g-shot concept which if you've seen magic shop videos I'm not gonna go over that and applied it to diving and the frogmen was born this is way back in 1993 so for indigenous to watch it has a quite long illustrious evolution currently you can buy the gwf 1000 for about just under five hundred dollars on Amazon I'll put a link to this and all the others in the description so this is nice Oh certified 200-meter diver multi band six atomic timekeeping its solar pound as well tide and moon phase indicator I think you can see why it's over the list none of the other watches can do this obviously being digital it has an advantage the dive timer we have that very distinctive asymmetrical design with those exposed rivets also with the backlight you have the advantage of using that underwater which is certainly superior to any lumen over very light very comfortable extremely robust it being in g-shock obviously there is a whole variation of frogmen the high-end ones they've actually put the ABC sensors and a depth gauge digital depth gauge in it as well you can spend up to a thousand even beyond and especially some of the rare limited editions can be very sought-after G shoppies and watch that there's a whole world the whole community of enthusiasts just dedicated to this watch on justifiably so because in he's an amazing amazing horological icon my favorite feature has to be the way were apart from it's very cool kind of military esque design I love the way it shows the information on the digital displays it really uses that to its advantage and the fact you can bang the hell out of them it's just so cool I even love the buttons the left side and how they're kind of embedded it's very sci-fi it kind of makes me think of actually reminds me of the the giugiaro the Ripley watch a little bit it's now in its 6th generation its tactical aesthetic not only looks military but also it has been utilized by elite combat divers all over the world number one ok so what is that number one well guys it could only be one thing it is of course the sake of SK X now I know a lot of you gonna be well what about the sake of monster what about the sake of tuna what about samurai well I decided I only wanted to have one watch from each brand because to be honest if this included multiple psychos it would be like seven psychos and then there wouldn't be much room for the other brands but the skx is king and it's king several reasons first of all it's a movie icon one only has to look at all is lost famously worn by Robert Redford it's infinitely moddable like mine mine is the SK x0 13 which is the smaller version and that actually is another point you can get it in various sizes these are professional ISO certified as well got the 7s to 6 in there which yes it is rather dated automatic movement but you get that innovative match lever system which is a clever invention worthy respect I know a lot of people just tend to trash the seven sd-6 and the sake of movements but they just lack the horological understanding of how ingenious this little lever system is it allows the bi-directional winding very effectively very it's very rock solid so much so that Seiko actually took the same technology and put it into their grants acres so that just goes to show you know how robust it is they date complication that beautiful cushion case that distinctive crown the four o'clock it has a lot of charm so these are two hundred meters water-resistant personally the skx 0:09 with the with the pepsi color scheme as the zeros there are seven of black etc they come on either rubber straps of the jubilee the series m7 is definitely probably my pick of the bunch because of the monochromatic scheme it's more of a strap monster I always love the skx it's it's one of my favorite definitely top five possibly top three favorite watches of all time I have my mod which is actually my second mod and you know I've put a better movement I've done a video I have a look back I'll leave a link so you can never look back what more can I say that I've said a thousand times about the skx oh and of course one of my favorite features I almost forgot as the mug demonstrates Lucas a inspired wave on the back please do share your nomination for your favorite diver under five hundred dollars in the comments below which is your favorite I love to hear that thank you very very much for watching please don't forget to like this video if you enjoyed and found it useful and as always I will catch you in the next one okay guys chat

Channel: The Urban Gentry

Views: 478,060

Rating: 4.8599758 out of 5

Keywords: ROLEX, SUBMARINER, omega, watch luxury $500dive watch, best value, tgv, the urban gentry, tristano g veneto, super luxury, cool, fashion, swiss, made

Id: plgyXt9G7Ms

Length: 26min 9sec (1569 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 05 2018