Tag Archives: diving watch

Dive watches are a cornerstone of watch collecting, if, to mix architectural metaphors a niche can also be a cornerstone. Some of the most recognisable and desirable models of the last 65 years have been dive watches and model names. Examples include Submariner, Seadweller, and Seamaster, which are almost as well known as the brands they belong to. There are still dive watches to uncover that do not share this level of renown and yet still manage to be as fascinating and provocative as the two from Fellows’ July 2017 Watch Sale. FAVRE-LEUBA – a gentleman’s Bathy 50 bracelet watch. Back in 1962 Favre-Leuba, one of Switzerland’s oldest watch brands, launched their Bivouac watch. Designed for climbers, the case contained a diaphragm that allowed air-pressure and hence altitude to be measured. Six years later they had refined the technology sufficiently to allow this pressure measurement to take the next logical step, from the heights to the depths. The Favre- Leuba Bathy 50 was the first watch with a mechanical depth gauge (note, the Bathy 160 released at the same time was no better, it just measured in feet rather than metres). Continue reading →