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Present in the watchmaking landscape since 1953, at a time when diving watches were reserved for professional divers or the military, the Rolex Submariner which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, has established itself as a benchmark in the “tool watch” segment.
As comfortable on land as at sea, this diver has based its reputation on its robustness, its waterproofness and its high level of precision complemented by a timeless design.
The most famous secret agent in the world even brought to the big screen a reference 6538 in the excellent Goldfinger as well as the reference 5513 in In the Service of Her Majesty, The Man with the Golden Gun but also Live and Let Die.
Nowadays, several years of waiting are necessary to be able to buy a Submariner and the prices on the second-hand market are even higher than the price of a new one.
This is why Swiss Made Watch Magazine has prepared a selection of 5 accessible alternative watches as more luxurious like the Rolex Submariner.
Citizen Promaster Marine – NY0140-80E
We start with a Promaster model from Citizen whose 44 mm diameter and 13.1 mm thick case houses stylized hands filled with luminescent material.
The large indexes are complemented by a date displaying the date and day of the week. This piece would, in fact, have had its place in our selection of 6 Day-Date watches for less than €1000!
Everything is protected by a sapphire glass scratch-resistant offering a superb view of the black dial of the timepiece.
In order to avoid incidents in deep water, the crown at 8 o’clock is screwed down and guarantees water resistance to 200 meters, the aluminum bezel here is unidirectional.
The automatic movement Miyota 8204 was chosen by the manufacturer to power this diver known for its reliability and its 42 hours of power reserve.
The bracelet is made of surgical steel with a lug width of 20 millimeters, which will allow you to easily find many customization options and obtain the Promaster of your dreams!
Citizen Promaster Marine NY0140-80E on Swiss Made Watch.com
Ocean X Sharkmaster V2 – V2SM521
Equipped with a water resistance to 500 metersthis Ocean X has not said its last word to accompany you in any situation.
Her ceramic bezel unidirectional gives an aged look which is found on its round indexes as well as on its set of hands inspired by that found on the famous crown model. On the lower part of the dial, red typography recalls the name of the model while taking up the appearance of the “Red lines” of the famous Submariner, without forgetting the date placed at three o’clock.
The case measuring 40 mm in diameter and 15.1 mm thick contains the very robust caliber NH35 from Seiko, whose reliability is no longer in doubt, it benefits from 41 hours of power reserve.
In order to guarantee maximum strength for this diver, the 21 mm three-row bracelet (at the lug) was made from 316L steel and is therefore suitable for all seasons.
Ocean X Sharkmaster-V2 V2SM521 on Swiss Made Watch.com
Seiko Prospex – SNE589P1
With a diameter of 42.8 mm and a thickness of 10.74 mm, this Seiko has a major advantage! In addition to this, animated for a solar movement H855, it does not require battery change.
Her graduated bezel in black aluminum is housed around a sapphire crystal which protects the large hands taking the shape of those mounted on the historic SKX.
The date takes place here at three o’clock and is complemented by a clear railway line and generous round indexes making it easier to read underwater because, let’s not forget, this Prospex is waterproof up to 200 meters.
Made of stainless steel, the 20 mm bracelet can easily be replaced by a Tropic bracelet for even more sportiness.
Seiko Prospex SNE589P1 on Swiss Made Watch.com
Davosa Ternos Sixties – 161.525.50.S
The Ternos from Davosa returns in a diameter of 40 mm and 12 mm thick.
Its black dial has round indexes and a railroad minute track. This is topped by luminescent hands including a “Mercedes” type hour model.
The flat sapphire crystal is encompassed by a aluminum bezel unidirectional black, a classic combo for a diving watch!
Featuring the Davosa logo, the screw-down crown allows water resistance to 10 ATM (i.e. 100 meters), thus allowing the immersion of this creation equipped with a Swiss movement Sellita SW 200-1 known to be reliable and precise, offering 38 hours of power reserve.
Finally, the steel bracelet of 20 millimeters allows easy accessorization of the model.
Davosa Ternos Sixties 161.525.50.S on Swiss Made Watch.com
Certina DS Action Diver – C0328071104100
Little wrists are not forgotten in this top! Indeed, with its 38 mm in diameter and 12.2 mm in thickness, this DS Action Diver will find its place on the wrist of the majority of men and women.
Its unidirectional blue aluminum bezel encompasses a sapphire crystal which reveals an arrow-type hour hand, a sword model for the minutes and a traditional lollipop format for the seconds.
THE blue dial sunray displays superb reflections and is complemented by a simple timer as well as geometric indexes and a date located at 3 o’clock.
Beyond making this model usable within the framework of professional diving activities thanks to a waterproofness given for 300 metersthe screw-down crown allows adjustment of the automatic ETA caliber displaying a comfortable power reserve of 80 hours.
Featuring a beautiful brushed finish, the 316L steel bracelet includes a convenient diving extension integrated allowing the watch to be worn over a wetsuit.
Certina DS Action Diver C0328071104100 on Swiss Made Watch.com
If we like the style or the pioneering spirit of the Submariner, today we are lucky to be able to choose alternatives to this legendary watch.
Whether it’s in our collection or not, there’s no doubt that this is one of the most easily identifiable models of all time.
After 70 years of technical and stylistic developments, the piece faces serious competitors, but some aficionados will say “often imitated never equaled”… not sure!
What is certain, however, is that it has entered the very exclusive club of watchmaking icons.
