Things You Should Know
Now that you know which affordable dive watches are worth your time, we ran through a couple of things you should know. Sadly, our entries didn’t include any women’s pieces. Our article on the best women’s dive watch might be something you’re interested in.
What Should You Look for In A Dive Watch?
In general, the following are features that make up any good dive watch.
Lume
It can get dark underwater, especially if you’re diving. If your watch isn’t luminous, you’ll find it hard to read. There are countless types of lume out there – Tritium, LumiBrite, and Swiss Luminova are good choices. The markers and hands of your timepiece should be fat, so they can host enough pigment.
Water-proofing
Unless your timepiece is made of plastic, rubber, carbon, or stainless steel, it is not waterproof. Whenever you get in the pool, it’ll be damp. Waterproof materials make it impossible for all sorts of things to stick to them, including dust.
ISO 6425 Certified
To handle such depths safely, dive watches need to be ISO 6425 certified. This will result in them being sealed up well.
Rating
Pieces that are resistant up to 660 feet (200 meters) can be dived with as long as they’re ISO certified. However, going for ones that are resistant up to 1000 feet (300 meters) lets you deep dive.
Helium Valves
Air can build up in a watch, so a valve lets it all out. This is true if you’re diving at considerable depths. You don’t usually see the feature in cheaper pieces.
Visibility
If its dial has less clutter, you’ll be able to read it better. Along with ample lume, this is what you want. However, bigger cases may eat your wrist up.
What’s the Difference Between Affordable and Expensive Dive Watches?
An expensive diving watch will come with a more durable build. You’ll likely see superior sapphire and stainless steel on it. It’ll also have powerful luminous pigments – like tritium. The more expensive ones tend to handle the most water, like 1000+ feet (300 meters) of resistance. They also come with features like helium valves and pressure gauges.
Can You Go Deeper Than Specified?
You really shouldn’t. If your timepiece says that it’s resistant to 660 feet (200 meters), it was built to handle the pressure of such depths. If you go deeper, the pressure would be too much to handle and water would seep inside.
Final Thoughts
You now know what the best dive watches under $500 are. Without a doubt, the Luminox 3001 is the best for the price range. It’s super luminous – we’ve never seen a timepiece as bright as this. Not only can it handle considerable depths, but it comes with a quality swiss movement. Of course, it’s very durable – much of Luminox’s pieces are Navy SEAL approved.
The Victorinox device in our number two spot is a close second, but it doesn’t perform quite as well. The watches below it certainly go neck-in-neck with each other.
You also know what you should make note of when buying diving watches, regardless of their price. Even if you’re not interested in any of these pieces, making use of our points will help you find something similar.