Today's watch buyer is completely spoiled for choice: Never before have there been so many awesome options, both quartz and mechanical, from companies big and small, for such little money. Believe it or not, you can snag a pretty decent dive watch for under $500. Some of them even feature automatic movements and premium features such as sapphire crystal and matching steel bracelets with dive extensions.
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Orient Kanno Read More -
Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Diver Read More
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Scurfa Diver One D1-500 Read More
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Dan Henry 1970 Read More
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Luminox Original Navy Seal 3001.EVO Read More
Orient Kano
- Diameter: 44mm
- Movement: Japanese automatic
- Water Resistance: 200m
The Kanno is a great choice for someone with a bigger wrist: At 44mm, it's got some serious girth, but the large dial and sword hands mean it'll be perfectly visible underwater, and 200m of water resistance means it'll work well in any sub-aquatic situation. With its in-house automatic movement, unidirectional dive bezel, optional matching steel bracelet and day-date display, this is a watch that punches way above its weight class.
Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Diver BN0150-28E
- Diameter: 44mm
- Movement: Eco-Drive cal. E168
- Water Resistance: 200m
What if you never had to change a battery or worry about servicing your dive watch? If that sounds attractive to you, go for this Promaster: it's powered by Citizen's Eco-Drive technology that derives power from ambient light. Other than that, it's got a 44mm steel case, 200m of water resistance, a big, visible handset and a cool rubber dive strap.
Scurfa Diver One D1-500
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: Ronda 715SM quartz
- Water Resistance: 500m
Available in multiple colorways, Scurfa's Diver One series presents tremendous value at under $300 for a watch with real diving cred — the brand was founded by a commercial diver. A Swiss quartz movement is housed in a 40mm case rated to no less than 500m of water resistance. The watch is genuinely made for diving and even includes a helium escape valve for saturation divers.
Dan Henry 1970
- Diameter: 40mm; 44mm
- Movement: Seiko cal. NH35 automatic
- Water Resistance: 200m
The 1970s case mimics super compressor watches of decades past, with a rotating inner bezel controlled by one of the two crowns while the other crown performs the typical time-setting duty. It's powered by a Seiko NH35 automatic movement, features 200m of water resistance, and it’s available in versions with case sizes of 40mm or 44mm wide. It also comes in four colorways.
Read our full review of the Dan Henry 1970.
Luminox Original Navy Seal 3001.EVO
- Diameter: 43mm
- Movement: Quartz
- Water Resistance: 200m
Made to military requirements, the Luminox 3001 is the brand's original Navy SEAL watch that kicked off the series. Equipped with tritium gas tubes for constant illumination, the 43mm watch is surprisingly light and tough due to its use of a carbon-composite case. Equipped with a Swiss quartz movement, a unidirectional dive bezel and a matching black rubber strap, this is one tough diver, made for the most exacting of environments.
Seiko Prospex "Monster"
- Diameter: 42.4mm
- Movement: Seiko cal. 7S26 automatic
- Water Resistance: 200m
An evolution of the famed "Monster" dive watch, this modern version features a 42.4mm case, automatic movement, and toned down but still very distinctive design. The Monster family is just one example of great dive watches in this price range from Seiko's Prospex collection, other examples of which include the "Turtle," "Samurai" and "Arnie." While priced slightly above the $500 mark at retail, you can often find them on sale for significantly less.
Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms
- Diameter: 42.3mm
- Movement: Swatch Sistem51 automatic
- Water Resistance: 91m (50 fathoms)
A water resistance of 91m might not meet the definition of a dive watch for many. But, hey, it should be good for swimming, and the Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms definitely gives you a dive watch look, if that's all you're after. And not just any dive watch look: that of the utterly iconic Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Just as Swatch collaborated with Omega on the MoonSwatch, it's done the same thing here with sister company Blancpain offering a prestigious name in a Bioceramic case and even an automatic movement. You just have to choose from the five variants available.
MWC Depthmaster 100 ATM
- Diameter: 44mm
- Movement: Seiko NH35A automatic
- Water Resistance: 1,000m
Military Watch Co. largely makes homages to famous references from other brands — however, some of these are spec'd higher than the originals and actually outperform them (see their higher-end G10s). Their Depthmaster is more of an original design (or an amalgamation of numerous designs), but it's clearly built for heavy use, and it's highly affordable.
Nodus Sector Dive
- Diameter: 39mm
- Movement: Seiko NH38 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
One of our favorite American microbrands Nodus makes a couple of dive watches, among which is the Sector Dive. The brand's interpretation of the "skindiver" watch with a water resistance of 100m, it features a rotating bezel, a date window and a matching steel bracelet. Powered by an automatic Seiko movement, it's got a circa 41-hour power reserve and comes in different colors, each of which should look great above or below the waves.
Tissot Seastar 1000 Chronograph
- Diameter: 45.5mm
- Movement: Quartz
- Water Resistance: 300m
This oversized chronograph from Tissot features a three-register dial layout, a cool blue/black dial a date window. Its black rubber dive strap is a welcome feature given the heft of a 45+mm steel case, but the watch's diameter and weight shouldn't matter too much underwater.
Casio G-Shock GWF-1000-1 "Frogman"
- Diameter: 50.3mm
- Movement: Quartz
- Water Resistance: 200m
The “Frogman” is the only digital watch to grace this buying guide, but it’s one hell of a timepiece nonetheless. Originally launched in 1993, it’s also the only ISO-compliant diver in G-Shock’s lineup. Aside from its shock-resistant build and time function, the watch also features a world-time function, a moonphase indicator and even a tide graph.
Lorier Neptune
- Diameter: 39mm
- Movement: Miyota 90S5 automatic
- Water Resistance: 200m
Coming in just a hair under the $500 mark, Lorier offers its signature bang for buck in the Neptune. With many of the specs you'd want in a sub-$1k dive watch, we're looking at the excellent Miyota 90S5 automatic movement, 200m of water resistance and a vintage-style domed hesalite crystal. We also love the vintage sizing at 39mm, replicating the wearing experience of dive watches of decades past.
What to Look for in a Sub-$500 Dive Watch
Keep in mind that you're not going to get the fit and finish of a luxury watch like, say, a $9,000+ Rolex for $500 — the tolerances and details won't quite be there, and neither will the materials and components be top-shelf. However, you can get a great-looking, reliable timepiece that will serve you well for many years.
Some of these will be quartz-powered, sure, but this can be advantageous in settings in which your watch will regularly get the crapped kicked out of it — as quartz is robust and inexpensive. There are, however, also reasonably good automatic dive watches at this price level, also.
The following represent a few of our favorite picks for under $500 but remember that many of the companies listed here have numerous divers at this price point, so it's worth delving deeper into their ranges.
