Un diving watch, today, it is considered a watchmaking classic. It wasn't always like this: at the beginning of their history, in the XNUMXs, these timepieces were considered tools for professionals, not classy watches to be worn on every occasion.
Today go around with a diving watch On the wrist it no longer represents an extravagance, indeed: the sports models are among the best-selling by their respective companies Houses, as demonstrated by the success of timepieces such as the Rolex Submariner or Patek Philippe Nautilus.
A diving watch is versatile, but requires some precautions to make the most of its qualities. Let's find out together how to use a diving watch.
The diving watch: the features
A characteristic of diving watches what immediately catches the eye is the unidirectional rotating bezel. It was created to allow, in scuba diving, to measure the remaining time. This allows you not to run out of oxygen during the ascent and decompression phase.
Even out of the water the rotating bezel is useful. In fact, the rings are usually made to have 120 clicks: this allows you to measure intervals of up to half a minute of error and up to sixty minutes of duration, or intervals of up to 12 hours with a precision of six minutes. In everyday situations, the rotating ring can be useful for measuring a cooking time - by pointing the rotating ring at the minute sphere -, or in summer the duration of exposure to the sun when tanning, to avoid sunburn - by pointing the rotating ring on the hour sphere -. A further use of the rotating bezel could be to measure a second time zone: it is not very intuitive, but by positioning the 12 o'clock indicator at 10 o'clock, for example, the hour hand will indicate on the dial - let's say - 9 o'clock, and on the ring at 11. Obviously this "trick" works if the ring has clearly distinguishable subdivisions corresponding to the hours.
Another very interesting feature of diving watches is the metal bracelet. Compared to a strap, the bracelet resists sweat, water and various external agents better. For those who work with dirty hands, a diving watch is a more valid choice than a traditional one. Of course, the diving watch is waterproof - the advantage of this feature in everyday life is easily understood by the reader.
The dive watch: the aesthetics
We are in an era in which aesthetics is more subjective than ever: just enter a gallery where so-called modern art is exhibited and you understand how the canons of beauty that have governed our civilization for millennia are today beautifully ignored, at same way as many other rules and principles. This is not the place for an examination of the reasons for such a disorder, which in other cultures would be defined as a "Kali Yuga", but we can at least trace some lines to remind ourselves, first of all, that at least in mechanical watchmaking, the field of As a knowledgeable human being who combines technique and art like few others, there are always limits.
A luxury diving watch like the Rolex Submariner may be brought, today like today, practically on any occasion. However, if you are invited into a truly elegant context, you cannot overlook the fact that, especially in its modern versions, a Rolex Submariner it is not comparable to the slenderness of a Rolex Datejust or of an Rolex DayDate, not to mention a Calatrava by Patek Philippe. If you really don't want to give up the steel sports shoe, it is advisable to turn to great classics such as these in cases like these the Patek Philippe Nautilus or the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.
A dive watch, by its nature, is protruding and has a bezel that protrudes, tending to get caught in shirt cuffs. An aspect not to be underestimated if you often dress elegantly.
The dive watch: is it for me?
We feel pretty confident in answering this question: yes. Whether you are a long-time collector and want to add a refined luxury diver, or whether you are looking for your first mechanical timepiece and think that a cheap diving watch is right for you - and probably yes, it is right for you -, there is a diver for every need. Never before has the offer from producers been as vast as it is today: enjoy it!
