Dive Watch Wednesday: Watch Spotting in Dubai


Last week we at DiveIntoWatches.com had the chance to spend a couple of hours in Dubai’s larger shopping malls, and since most of the watch brands there are available in flagship stores only, we visited many of these retailers in the hopes of finding not only the current range, but also a couple of watches that are not that easily available in other countries. Needless to say, we were not disappointed.

One of Ulysse Nardin’s boutiques had a rather unusual limited-edition version of its classic Marine Diver on display (below); in addition to having a camouflage pattern on its dial, this Marine Diver is also the first we’ve encountered that didn’t come with any structure (e.g. dots or a wave pattern) on it.

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Also, the only recently launched Ulysse Nardin Marine Diver “Blue Ocean” (Ref. 263-99LE-3C) with blue rubber coating was already available at retail. The 45.8-mm-diameter watch is limited to 1,876 pieces and water-resistant to 200 meters. Like its black sister model below, it is powered by the UN-26 movement (based on the ETA 2892).

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The third surprise from Ulysse Nardin: a boutique edition of the 44-mm-diameter Marine Diver 2014 on display that we had never before seen. The 300-meter water-resistant dive watch comes with blue dial with orange accents instead of red accents as on the original model introduced during Baselworld 2014.

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Another watch we don’t see that often in real-life (at least from a European perspective): the Movado”SE Extreme Diver” launched in 2014, with 200-meter water resistance, ETA 2892 mechanical movement, and internal rotating bezel.

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The most unusual watch we saw in Dubai, however, comes from the French brand Korloff. The 45-mm-diameter Houdini (inspired by the escape artist’s patent for a diving suit) comes with two movements and can be worn on both sides. The one side, pictured here, offers a more sporty look and an internal bezel (with a water-resistance of only 50 meters, it should probably not actually be used for diving) and is powered by an ETA 2824, while the dial on the opposite is more elegant and features an ETA 6498 — which also explains the two crowns.

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