2022 Year in Review: Going Deep With Notable 5 Dive Watches

Continuing with our annual round-up, today we look back at some of the most exciting and innovative debuts that broke onto the scene in 2022. In spite of an ever-changing and increasingly volatile economy, the year saw the expansion of high-profile retailers, the launch of a host of notable timepieces, and the watch industry resumed with large-scale industry events, like our own WatchTime New York. We’re going in head first today with a recap of five dive watches that made a splash this year. 

Tudor Pelagos 39

After a long stint of developing the Black Bay family of watches, this year Tudor introduced a new generation of the Pelagos, making its debut in a satin-brushed, 39mm titanium case. The Pelagos 39 is the first of its kind with such a versatile case diameter, though it maintains all of the functionality of the rest of its family. Tudor opts for an all-black dial and unidirectional rotating bezel, contrasting by white indices and iconic snowflake-style hands. Powering the watch is the self-winding manufacture caliber MT5400 with a 70 power reserve offering 200 meters of water resistance. Available on a non-limited basis, retail for the new Tudor Pelagos 39 is marked at $4,400.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge

Rolex is renowned, among other things, for the way it revolutionized water resistant watch technology beginning in the 1950s with the Submariner collection. This year the brand struck again with another revolutionary dive watch release: the Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge, which boasts an astounding 11,000 meters of water resistance. The new model measures 50mm in diameter with a height of 23mm and is also the first Rolex watch to be made entirely of titanium. Using titanium is a significant engineering feat for the brand, and the lightweight material keeps the watch from becoming too heavy despite its substantial size. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea Challenge retails for $26,000

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Orange Diver

TAG Heuer is not one to shy away from boldness, an evident trend in the brand’s release of the Aquaracer Professional 300 Orange Diver in late spring of this year. Inspired by a historic model from 1979, the watch joins the Aquaracer Professional 300 collection that debuted last year. Sporting a 43-mm stainless steel case, the centerpiece of the model is a bright orange dial with bold indexes, markers, and hands that are intended to provide maximum contrast in deep waters. On the reverse, TAG Heuer details the caseback with an abstract depiction of a vintage-style scuba helmet. The new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Orange Diver retails for $3,300.

Citizen Promaster Diver Automatic 

The Promaster collection from Japanese watchmaker Citizen is one that has seen many variations and new additions in recent years, with the latest being the Promaster Dive Automatic, a bold diver taking design cues from the original Challenge Diver that debuted in 1977. The new diver sports a case diameter of 41mm and water-resistant to 200 meters. For ultimate versatility, the Promaster Dive Automatic is made from Citizen’s lightweight, scratch-resistant Super Titanium. A notable vintage inspiration decides the aesthetics of the watch, with bold numerals across the dial and flat-cut sapphire glass. Inside ticks the automatic caliber 9051 that uses anti-magnetic materials for the balance spring and surrounding components to boost the magnetic resistance of the watch. The Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic retails for $995 via the brand’s website. 

Seiko Prospex US Special Editions

Finishing off our dive watch recap is this trio of Seiko Prospex divers that joined the expansive lineup of models on display at our own WatchTime New York 2022 event this past October. These three US Special Edition watches are pretty substantial, with dimensions of 43.5mm by 13.25mm, and made from a lightweight titanium case with a super-hard reinforcement layer to ensure durability. Available in the oceanic-inspired colors of light-green, blue-gray or blue-green, the distinctive pattern of the dial references the texture of mineral deposits on undersea cave walls. Inside, Seiko’s proprietary automatic movement, the Caliber 6R35, beats under a power reserve of 70 hours, and both manual and automatic winding capabilities. The new Prospex U.S. Special Edition designs are available for purchase at select Seiko retailers, each with a suggested retail price of $1,500.