When you are looking for a diving watch there are a couple of things to look out for. Most people will often just look at the depth rating on the back. But in fact that is one of the least things you need to worry about. Most scuba divers won’t go much deeper than 30 to 40 meters anyhow so any dive watch will be good enough when it comes to water resistance. But the other features that are often overlooked can make a big difference to how much you enjoy the use of your divers watch.
The first thing to look for, in my opinion, is the size of the dial and the clarity of the hands. You really want something that will be easy to read even in the dark or in slightly murky water. Bigger and brighter is always better. Make sure the hands and numbers are properly illuminated with some sort of luminous paint. Tritium is a good choice. You also want a face that gives a good contrast between the numbers, hands and the actual face itself. All this will make it easier to read.
The next thing to look at is price. More expensive is not always better. You can get perfectly good diving watches for under $50, you just need to look around. A divers watch should, however, be from a reliable manufacturer and be of a good make and design. Reliability really is the most important thing here. This is because your life actually depends on your watch. Get your times wrong when it comes to the period you spend at depth, or the time you devote to your decompression stops, and you can end up seriously ill. So you really don’t want your watch to give up on you.
The last thing to consider is whether you want a fully functioning dive computer with depth gauge. I personally prefer to keep those functions separate from my dive watch, but this is a matter of individual choice.
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Tags: Diver's Watch, diving watch, sport watch
