Top 10 Dive Watches Under £200 (+ INSANE New Finds!)

fancy some deep-sea diving nah me neither nevertheless it doesn't mean that we can't appreciate the subnautical charm of a good dive watch indeed there are many affordable watches out there that offer great water performance in durable steel packages well i've selected 10 of the best options that typically retail for under 200 pounds in here we've got a mix of sizes brands and movements with each of the watches housing a minimum of 100 meters of water resistance which should cover you for most aquatic ventures all of these watches are linked in the video description amazon kindly provided some of these watches so check below for more information first we'll go through some quartz options then we'll move on to some mechanical divers in no particular order japanese brand and favorite of mine casio offers some of the most affordable dive watches out there including some that you've likely never heard of first up is the venerable casio duro mdb 106. this legendary watch is known to be one of the best value options on the planet if you can locate it at retail price for typically under 50 in the us you get a stainless steel watch that boasts a mega 200 meters of water resistance and a surprising level of finishing too which includes precisely cut lugs and the marlin billfish engraving on the rear this model also comes with a screw down crown and unlike other models there's a silicone strap fitted by default whether you prefer this or a bracelet i'll leave it up to you the standard colorway is black and silver that they recently introduced some colour variants including this black and gold one that i've got here whichever colorway you go for the duro is a big boy with a commanding 44 millimeter diameter it's not for the slim wristed out there but certainly has the heft to feel like a high quality item despite the low production costs within it's a basic quartz movement to give good accuracy over long durations unfortunately this model is hard to come by at reasonable prices in the uk therefore i've hunted down a great alternative if you're willing to settle for 100 meters of water resistance this is the efv130 i previously covered the ef v110 and was blown away by the value for money and this watch is from that same edifice range while not a true dive watch with a yacht timer style bezel that lacks a loom pip i think it's close enough to make this list like the duro this features a screw down crown and mineral crystal however the bezel action here is far better with virtually no back plate to speak of overall the watch is a step up in finishing too with this version having a beautiful blue sunburst dial that pops nicely when under direct light unlike the mdb-106 it also comes with a very well integrated steel bracelet that has a clasp on it with four micro adjustment holes as you can tell from the ticking second hand it's also quartz and in low light you can see both casio watches provide similar legibility to one another the luminescence isn't very bright but it does last a long time it's a hair over 42 millimeters and with a slimmer case it wears smaller than the duro though is still fairly large it's another great watch but those skinny wrists will have to look outside of the casio brand to find something more well tailored the first place i'd stop is surprisingly invicta this american formerly swiss brand has a mixed reputation in the watch community due to their experimental designs and questionable marketing tactics they're also famous for making some of the largest watches in history which makes it all the more surprising that they're responsible for one of the best small divers the unisex pro diver 9204 ob is a dream for thin wrists sitting at a mere 37 and a half mil in diameter and with a 47.3 millimeter look to lug it even looks great on my bony six and a quarter inch wrist i was pleased to find it's also rather slim at 11.2 mil which is quite compact for a dive watch meaning it sits nice and flat on wrist as you can tell this is a straight copy and paste from the rolex submariner incorporating all of the same basic design cues while far from original it does pack a punch for the low price which is often well below 60 pounds in the uk this includes full steel construction as well as an advertised 200 meters of water resistance with a quartz movement and a solid link bracelet that has no right being on a watch at this price point outside of the hollow end links it's a beast the 9205 stacks up surprisingly well versus the casio duro and provides another battery-powered avenue to go down my only reservation with the watch is the invicta inscription down the left side which i think is totally unnecessary if you can look past that you're getting a solid watch that will serve you well funnily enough there's also a selection of mechanical pro divers too which come in at a slightly larger 40 millimeter width arguably these watches offer even better value for money with their seiko nh35a automatic movements which are often found in more expensive watches as well as many other on this list it's a very popular movement to say the least this regular series is visually comparable to the quartz watch with the same submariner-esque design these also come with a selection of bezels i found the coin-edged ones have by far the best grip there are plenty of colourways available i went for this blinged out gold version because i found the black one to be a little boring unlike the quartz version this comes with a screw-down crown to give some extra peace of mind when submerged you can also flip the watch over and view the movement through the exhibition window which is pretty cool if you're new to wristwatches invicta released a special version of this watch in 2020 which has proven to be highly popular this 312 90 also known as the 1953 is a direct rip-off of the original rolex submariner released in that same year while it features the same movement and materials as the regular pro diver it does look rather different this has a different handset bezel and case the latter no longer featuring any sort of engraving which is nice as well in fact the finishing on this edition seems to be a further improvement upon the original original invicta at least with an attractive chamfered edge down each side and an elegant curved side profile while the diameter remains the same the look to look sees a slight elongation to 48.5 millimeters so it does wear a tad larger than the regular 40mm pro diver models even so the vintage aesthetics have proven to be incredibly popular with the more subtle branding also being a hit these sold out everywhere upon release and 12 months later we're only just seeing them start to make the way back into stock undoubtedly some of that's due to kobe but i've seen a bit of hype surrounding these online for sure the most unexpected entrant to this list is the new depth charge brand from british retailer watch shop one of you viewers left a comment about this brand a few months ago i'd never heard of it so i did a quick search what i found was a dive watch with a cool design and tremendous specifications for the money it arrived and i'm pleased to say everything that commenter said was bang on like the invictus this features an automatic seiko nh35 movement and full stainless steel construction however for a slight price increase you also gain some further benefits first up this uses sapphire crystal rather than the mineral present on all the watches i mentioned previously which will give unbeatable scratch protection as well as the screw down crown and 200 meters of water resistance it also comes fitted on a good solid link bracelet this not only features solid end links but it's also got a well machined milled clasp that would look at home a watch at double this price point unfortunately only two of the micro adjustment holes can be used as a design floor results in the clasp not clicking together properly when the third hole is selected it does have a diver's extension though if that proves useful for you the bezel action is solid the luminescence is very bright indeed and overall it's got some more unique design cues with the arrow hour hand and the double marker at the 12 o'clock position it doesn't look like yet another rolex clone and instead has its own identity at 41 millimeters it does wear much like a submariner though and there are currently three colours available my favorite being this island green variant i'm unsure exactly who's producing these have got suspicions that it could be rotary given their previous dealings with what shop regardless they've hit on something good here hence its presence on this list for just over 100 pounds with a discount code this is the best value dive watch i've come across in some time but the only caveat being international availability if you're outside of the uk i'm unsure on how the shipping really works with that so you'll have to check for yourself if you're in the uk though you'll do well to beat this perhaps the only way of beating it is heading to china yourself which is where i imagine they're made but yeah by using sites like aliexpress you can purchase watches directly from chinese wholesalers and sometimes you can get a great deal there are numerous obscure brands out there offering varying levels of quality one of the best known is pagani design as with most of these chinese home brands their repertoire mainly consists of homage watches with their most popular divers copying famous rolex designs for barely any money you can grab yourself an automatic steel diver's watch that looks like a more expensive one from a distance over the years i found that most of these watches have fairly impressive case finishing for the money with the main trade-offs coming in the way of water resistance and quality control especially the latter the subway rip-off i have here has an interesting blue black dial and at a glance it looks flashy without feeling too cheap the case looks good too it houses a sapphire crystal and even has the same type of movement as all of the divers i mentioned previously its shortcomings are evident though the bezel is easily the worst on this list with a tinny feel and significant back play whilst the cyclops is aligned very poorly the bracelet feels good for the money but some models have reportedly had instances of separation nevertheless they are solid links and if you're not willing to spend much and want good specifications it's likely still worth a look there are lots more of these brands producing very similar products too so feel free to explore them in the link in the description while opinions are mixed on aliexpress brands the japanese brand orients are widely acclaimed as one of the best affordable wristwatch manufacturers not only do they design their watches in-house but unlike most on this list they produce their movements too for several years the mako 2 and ray 2 were the flagship affordable divers offered by orient the mako version features the arabics while the ray is essentially the same just with markers until now i never bothered with either because i didn't think the dials looked anything special from the footage i saw online i decided to try one for this video and i feel like i've been reverse catfished whether the lighting in those videos was just too poor i'm not sure but in person this ray 2 looks a hell of a lot better despite being wider than the regular pro diver at 41.5 millimeters it retains the same look to look length and is slimmer when paired with the narrower lugs and less bulbous design it makes this a more viable choice for slimmerists the ray 2 has similar specifications to other pieces on this list including 20 ball water resistance mineral crystal and steel construction don't make the mistake i did though i got the version sent on the silicone strap while i like the matte black dial and the way the strap complements it unfortunately this option is simply too long for my wrist rendering it useless as such if you're watching this and you've got a wrist that's below six and three quarter inches i think it's about 17 centimeters and stick to the metal bracelet options which you can then adjust to your appropriate size otherwise even if it fits you'll be left with a huge excess poking over the top that you can't do anything with even though i like the ray 2 my favorite orient diver has to be the kamasu this model released in 2019 takes things to the next level with an even better looking dial and a sapphire crystal in place of the mineral found on the ray and mako watches while the case is very comparable in both design and size to its predecessor at 41.5 mil wide 12.9 mil thick and 46 and a half mil look to lug the polishing and brushing appear to have been completed to a slightly higher standard from what i've seen online the komasu bracelet is also better finished than that that you typically get with a ray and the watch also comes in a more interesting variety of colors too i was torn between this teal slash dark green color and the equally attractive burgundy option which also features a nice pop of colour in the end i went with the first option as i feel it might be a little bit more versatile as with the previous audience this features the in-house automatic movement with the only real downgrade from the previous offerings being the bezel this has a less precise click to it and it also features increased back play that doesn't inspire confidence the unit i have here was also misaligned which was a shame on a watch that otherwise feels very premium for the low cost still should you land on a unit that avoids this issue you'll be met with a glorious dial that features a beautiful sunburst effect and a selection of applied markers that are probably the best looking on this list i also really enjoy the handset which includes a sharp pointed second hand and a bold arrow hour hand that make the watch look piercing and aggressive a bit like a shark or something oh my god it's megalodon this is my favorite looking watch on the list and in the hands it certainly feels like a more premium piece and with the discontinuation of the seiko skx this is probably the best value 200 meter diver that you can get your hands on at least at the moment in fact the specs are better than the seiko skx i really appreciate the original design so i'm frustrated that the kamasu doesn't fit me or i'd be keeping it one that i've watched that does fit me though is the vostok amphibia this wacky russian brand pumps out some of the most unusual watches on the market with origins dating back to world war ii it's unsurprising that this brand has a reputation for making some of the most rugged yet dirt cheap divers on the planet while there's an infinite number of these eastern block babies available the most popular budget options normally fall under the amphibia and common deer ski ranges typically the amphibia models are their diver offerings as the name would suggest these were developed in the 1960s using the lessons learned from the earlier commandeer ski army watches to expand the water resistance to 200 meters these days the range names are used much more interchangeably for instance last year i covered a 200-meter commanderski branded dive watch which was somewhat of a homage to the blank pawn 50 fathoms diver i'll leave a link to that in the icard above so you can watch it after this one the piece i'm featuring in this video is the famous amphibia which comes in all sorts of colours and in a variety of multiple cases this turquoise scuba dude option is one of the most popular and features some of the weird features that vostok are known for first up is the famous wobbly crown when unscrewed this flops about almost looking like it has been broken this is marketed as being able to withstand impacts and avoid damaging the stem and consequently the movement inside it also has a free rotating bi-directional click-less bezel which is very unusual and not the most useful in real diving situations whether this titan's underwater i wouldn't know i can't test it supposedly you can remove these and then manually tighten them but i'm not an accomplished enough modder to try it due to the low production costs the case unsurprisingly has very basic finishing with a fully polished look aside from the case rear this is carried onto the bracelet too which feels and looks awful it doesn't even match the brushed clasp that comes with it why would you ever buy one of these then how come it's made the list well not only do you have a very distinct look but these watches are known to have some of the best seals on the market someone on the tzuk forums decided to test the vostok amphibia in a pressure tester and crank the machine up to 40 bar without any seepage or damage to speak of i doubt any other watch on this list could thrive in such an extreme environment while they may have skimped on the finishing vostok sure didn't when it comes to pure functionality hence the inclusion here it's also worth pointing out that because of the extremely short lug to lug length this model fits snugly on skinny wrists something i can't say with most eye watches on the market if you can put it with a sloppy cosmetic quality control you can grab a great performer for a very low price indeed if you think i missed any on this list let me know in the comments if you enjoyed subscribe for more and i'll see you next time

Channel: Ben's Watch Club

Views: 91,179

Rating: 4.9383116 out of 5

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Id: EfT5VVALyGw

Length: 15min 46sec (946 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 25 2021