Watches are men’s accessories that reflect their personality and style when worn. Since the birth of wristwatches, different types of watches have entered the market, and when we talk about modern timepieces, dive watches are one of them.
Water resistance is the minimum feature of dive watches which means you can wear them when doing some work underwater or your job involves spending too much time with water. So, many of you must be curious to know the actual birth time and the story behind the creation of dive watches. The history of water-resistant watches started in the 1920s but became popular almost three decades later.
The first diving watch
Many big names from the watch industry claim to be the first to develop a dive watch, but the actual name remained unclear. Rolex says they invented the first waterproof wristwatch, while according to Blancpain, 1953 is when Fifty Fathom and Omega created the first-ever dive watch.
However, here are some important facts to look at:
First, waterproof watches entered the market in the 17th century but were only popular among wristwatch lovers three centuries later. At that time, water was one of the enemies of watches, along with dust, magnetic fields, and shock. Then Hand Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, changed the history of the diving watch.
In 1926, Hand Wilsdorf developed a waterproof and dustproof watch named Oyster which was tested on 7 October 1927 when Mercedes Gleitze, a British swimmer, tried to cross the English Channel by swimming. During her daring swim, she wore the watch on a chain around her neck. Everyone was surprised to find that the Rolex Oyster not only survived in the freezing water for more than 10 hours but also worked with accuracy.
Other great names like Rolex in the watch industry are Panerai, Omega, and Blancpain.
Omega was the first name in the dive watch industry that industrially produced and commercially distributed dive watches in 1932. Two years later, Officine Panerai began producing Panerai Radiomir in mass, and this watch was the first underwater military watch. Blancpain, another well-known name in the watch industry, was included in the race.
Success story of Rolex
In 1953, Rolex introduced the Rolex Submariner, which has a water-resistant capability of up to 100 meters. Later this number increased to 200 meters and then 300 meters. From 1963, Rolex Sea-Dweller was one of the best dive watches with a waterproofness of up to 2000 feet or 610 meters and earned the name Sea-Dweller 2000. The development continued, and in 1978, Rolex introduced the Sea-Dweller 4000, which has a water resistance of 1220 meters. Rolex Deepsea was developed after 30 years with a water resistance of 12800 feet.
Top dive watches names
Rolex Submariner, one of the most popular & imitated dive watches, is water resistant up to 300 meters. Rolex Deepsea is another famous model from the brand.
Other popular names are Panerai Radiomir, IWC Aquatimer, and Oris Pro Diver.
Related Articles:
Leave a Reply