The Best Dive Watches For Men Of 2024
Last updated: March 24, 2024
Below you will find our staff’s current best dive watches for men of 2024. There are hundreds of options out there for those looking to find the best dive watch for themselves or as a high class gift for someone special, so allow us to quickly point you in the right direction. There are a lot of cheap diver watches out there that claim to be waterproof at depth, but in our experience most of them are made of sub par quality and damage easily. When it comes to divers watches there are several name brands that have been absolutely rockin’ it over the last few years in terms of quality while remaining affordable, such as Citizen and Seiko. Most avid scuba divers like to represent the sport even when not diving, and wearing a slick looking dive watch is a nice subtle que to other divers. While James Bond might choose the beautiful Omega Seamaster, most of us need to operate within a more realistic budget. Below you will find some of the best divers watches men have chosen for 2024 that won’t break the bank. From boardroom to beach, these are some of the most stylish scuba diving watches available today, most of them under $500.
We formed this list based off an early survey we conducted in 2024 as well as the personal preferences of several members of the Scuba Diving Dreams team who love to share their thoughts with other passionate scuba diving enthusiasts. If you are looking for a dive computer, head over to our dive computer reviews page for more information!
Popular Diving Watches Men Picked In 2024
SKA371 Kinetic Seiko Dive Watch
Seiko dive watches tend to be some of the classiest looking divers watches on the market and most of their lineup won’t break the bank. The Seiko SKA371 looks amazing, very simialr to the aformentioned Omega Seamaster, minus the $3000 price tag. The design utilizes kinetic motion to keep it tickin’ instead of a battery, which means this is considered an automatic dive watch. Your simple day to day motions will keep the watch functioning. Depth rated to 200m (660 ft) it will handle any dives the average recreational scuba diver can throw at it. The quartz crystal bezel is incredibly scratch resistant and the stainless steel band is tough enough to hold up to whatever you can throw at it. The 42mm bezel means it is medium sized and great for any occasion. An extremely classy looking divers watch and one of the top choices for men in 2024.
BN0151-09L ProMaster Citizen Dive Watch
Another great choice would be to take a look at Citizen dive watches, they tend to have a simple yet elegant style that looks great in both professional and casual settings. Their ProMaster dive watch in particular combines a similar bezel to the above Seiko with a bit more sporty wrist strap. This Citizen dive watch uses light to charge a small eco-drive solar cell, meaning it powers itself automatically without the need to change batteries. The 42mm bezel features a rotating aluminum ring that allows you to quickly track your dive time with the large readable anti reflective display. This Citizen divers watch is rated at 200m (660 ft) which makes it great for recreational scuba divers. It currently has a 5 star rating from fellow divers on Amazon and one of our dive masters, Josh, never leaves home without his. Anyone looking for a dive watch that is suitable for any occasion, the Citizen ProMaster is a great place to start and one of the best dive watches under $500.
Jiusko Deep Sea Mens Divers Watch
The Deep Sea men’s diving watch is a super stylish stainless steel dive watch that screams sophisticated but fun. The small orange accents keep it interesting while the silver stainless band and black bezel with white accents add a touch of class. The smaller inner dials are used for the timer mode and display elapsed time in minutes and hours, with the smaller dials showing seconds and 1/20th of a second. Yet even with all this additional info, the bezel remains uncluttered and easy to read, even in the dark thanks to the luminous dials and markings. The Deep Sea diver watch also comes with a strap extension to easily fit around your wetsuit if you like to wear it on top, and is depth rated to 300m (984 ft). Unless you are an extreme tec diver or plan on strapping yourself to the outside of a submarine, this should be more than good enough for any diver. This dive watch is great for both formal and fun social occasions.
Seiko Orange Monster Automatic Diving Watch For Men
For those who like a splash of color with their accessories, this is one of the best Seiko dive watches one the market, while still remaining firmly in an affordable price bracket. The chunky stainless steel casing looks slightly aggressive while the orange dial adds a nice color accent that helps stand out in a sea of more standard looking black and silver diving watches. Like most other Seiko dive watches, the Orange Monster is an automatic diving watch, using kinetic power from your everyday movements to keep it wound. You will never have to open it up or replace the battery thanks to this awesome technology. This dive watch is depth rated to 200m (660ft) and was one of the best dive watches chosen by fellow scuba divers in our 2024 survey. The combination of stainless steel and burnt orange looks great with a wetsuit or a dark suit/blazer/sweater, as it really makes the bezel details “pop”. A fantastic diving watch for recreational scuba divers.
Citizen Eco-Drive Professional Diver Sport Watch
This rugged looking divers watch screams adventure junkie. The chunky bezel features bold details and the strong rubber wrist strap compliments your dive gear. The stainless steel bezel ring keeps things classy enough for casual or semi-formal occasions, but this watch is great for true scuba junkies who spend most of their time on a boat. The super tough scratch resistant mineral display really holds up against wear and tear while lugging gear around. This Citizen dive watch also uses their awesome eco-drive technology to utilize any light source to charge the internal lithium ion battery, which means it will never run out. Great for more rugged, outdoors adventurers, while still remaining classy enough for most situations. Depth rated to 300m (984 ft) and the adjustable rubber band makes it easy to fit over top of your wetsuit.
Waterproof VS Water Resistant Dive Watches
When looking at all the various models of diver watches out there, always be sure to double check if the model you are thinking about picking up is waterproof. Many cheaper watches that are styled like a diving watch are only water resistant when you read the fine print, and if you plan on doing any actual diving while wearing your sexy new watch…it should be waterproof. You might be wondering what the difference is, as a lot of manufacturers or advertisers tend to not make this very clear. Water resistant watches are designed to survive being dropped overboard and quickly retrieved, or perhaps some light surface swimming. If you take them on any deep diving for extended periods of time, there is no guarantee that water won’t slowly seep inside the casing due to the pressure. We have met several divers who did not know this and ended up with a flooded watch.
Waterproof dive watches are designed specifically for spending time at deeper depths and have a completely sealed and tested casing. This means that no matter how long you go, as long as you remain under the specified maximum depth (for many mid-high end models this is usually 200-250 ft, deeper than recreational divers can go) your dive watch should remain water free and working perfectly. So as you can see while the wording might be confusing, it is actually a pretty huge difference. Most “dive watches” under the $100 price range tend to be only water resistant so make sure to double check and read all the fine print when searching around the web. All the models we have recommended above are waterproof and high quality brands like Citizen and Seiko tend to focus on that as their major selling points above cheaper models and knock offs.
Always Remember To Rinse Your Watch After Each Dive
This is a no brainer for most divers, you always rinse and dry each piece of scuba gear after a dive, but just like a dive computer, it is easy to forget to toss your dive watch in the fresh water bucket. The habit of rarely taking it off can mean some divers forget, and that is not good. While most stainless steel, titanium or rubber watch bands are designed to be corrosion resistant, over time salt water can destroy pretty much anything if given the chance. Also, it could possibly slowly eat through the pressure tight seals and allow water to seep into your beautiful time piece if left to sit after a few dives without a quick rinse. Just give your dive watch a quick dunk in the rise tank or blast with a fresh water hose and you are good to go!
So there you go, the best dive watches of 2024 that look amazing but won’t break the bank! A very big thanks to our passionate members of the scuba diving community who contributed their votes and time to help create this list, we look forward to bringing you a new survey in early 2024! Remember, invest in your scuba gear and maintain it properly and it should last you a lifetime of amazing dives under the waves!
