Tag Archives: Divers

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale — May selection, Pt. III

Closing out the merry month of May with another classic diver, this one a 1970s Scubapro 500. Sold by the legendary diving equipment manufacturer, the Scubapro 500 has become an icon to vintage dive watch enthusiasts. And this is a very fine and honest one-owner example with desirable automatic movement, lovely Mint original dial, unpolished case and original matte black elapsed-time insert with Tritium triangle secured in the big, chunky unidirectional ratcheting bezel.

Overall, this classic diver shows use but is in Very Good to Excellent vintage condition with just the right amount of tool watch WABI. And its robust ETA 2784 automatic movement with quickset date has just been completely overhauled, giving you peace of mind and years’ more faithful service.

An unmistakably masculine look with plenty of wrist presence and tremendous build quality, the Scubapro 500 makes a rugged and stylish companion for all of life’s adventures. In fact it’s such a cool watch that I’m sorely tempted to keep it for myself — so grab this great vintage diver before I change my mind.

~~Check out the full ad with many more high-res pics and complete description over at Timezone.com’s Sales Corner.~~ SOLD

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale — May selection, Pt. I

What better way to kick off May than with a special selection of cool vintage watches! First up, as I mentioned briefly in my previous post on affordable vintage Divers, the highly regarded Swiss brand Fortis was one of the many manufacturers to utilize the iconic big size twin crown Super Compressor case in the 1960s & 70s. And with their classic Marinemaster they did it in a most innovative way: they added an actual dive table printed on the dial in highly legible red and white to be used in conjunction with the inner rotating bezel. With this ingenious calibration a diver could now calculate his safe intervals for surfacing and resting based on how long and how far down he had gone right there on his wrist!

Now, you can find reissue Marinemasters made from NOS parts with Luminova dials and hands all day long. But finding the genuine vintage article from the 1970s with Tritium luminous in unpolished condition and correct crosshatch crowns? Well, that’s something else again. Best of all, this Fortis Marinemaster has just been fully serviced and is ready for years more of enjoyment for its new owner. No, it doesn’t quite fall into the “bargain” diver category. But it’s really not that expensive relative to how hard it is to find an all-original Marinemaster. Some things in life are so cool they’re definitely worth stretching a little for.

Check out the full ad for this mega-cool Marinemaster with complete description and many more pictures over at Timezone.com’s Sales Corner. SOLD

Watch Collector’s Notebook — Big fun in the shallow end of the Vintage Diver pool

Once again I want to talk about vintage watches that won’t break the bank and that deliver a lot of stylistic bang for the buck. And for the guy who likes a rugged, retro look there are some great values in the vintage dive watch market. Having owned a bunch of these bargain beauties I can tell you that there is still a lot of fun to be had out there for well under a grand.

For example, take this stunning 1970s Elgin automatic diver: big all-steel screwed case at 41 x 45mm and obviously a mega-cool blue-orange “roulette”-style layout on the dial and hands. If you want a watch that pops on the wrist, you’re looking at it. Plus, it has a very intriguing and robust A. Schild full-rotor automatic caliber 1913 under the hood where one quickly advances the date by repeatedly pushing in the crown. You don’t see that very often and I’m not sure of its overall effect on water resistance — I imagine there is a pretty good gasket system in that crown & tube assembly. But in any event, it’s a pretty bloody cool way to quickset the date! Best of all, all that style and eccentricity will only set you back around $750.

The world of Super-Compressor divers, a profoundly influential late 1950s design innovation that continues to be used today, offers plenty of variety and choice, from the psychedelic to the downright elegant. Continue reading →

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale — October selection: Dive, dive, dive! Pt. III

If you find older vintage divers intriguing but you’re looking for a more modern watch that you don’t have to worry about as well as something that really stands out from the ordinary, have I got a timepiece for you: this extra funky and cool Squale Tiger rated to 300 meters. Made by a reborn version of the company that produced so many classic, rugged divers in the 1960s and 70s, the modern incarnation of Squale used new old stock parts from their supply, including original Tritium luminous dials with fantastic patina, to create an entirely new yet still essentially vintage model. Featuring a big asymmetrical case with oversized bidirectional locking bezel that is released for rotation by the red button on the lower right lug (much like Omega’s famed Ploprof), the Tiger doesn’t look like any other watch out there and your unlikely to see it on anyone else’s wrist on land or at sea.

Made of extremely high quality stainless steel and featuring a tough mineral crystal and bulletproof ETA automatic movement but priced under $800, the Squale Tiger is remarkable value for money and a remarkable statement on the wrist. For those who dare to be different while living their life of adventure, this Tiger’s got your name on it.

~~Check out the full ad with complete description and many more pictures over at Timezone’com’s Sales Corner.~~ SOLD

tomvox1’s Watches for Sale, July selection

Here’s a cool vintage diver that you won’t see very often, especially not in this kind of condition: a late 1960s/early 70s Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster 1000, also known as the “Baby Panerai”. Why is it called that you might ask? Well, at a nicely proportioned but hardly huge 38mm wide this Depthmaster shares the Oyster-style cushion shape of the Rolex-supplied Panerai cases of Italian naval fame at about 3/4 scale.

It even has screwed spring bars like many PAMs do. Nivada added a nice chunky elapsed time rotating bezel and the Depthmaster 1000 also features a very heavy screwed steel case and very retro semi-Arabics dial with fantastic patina to the thick Tritium figures, plus there’s that cool splash of red to the 1000. And who doesn’t like red on a dial? With its thick, straight lugs and strong but not overpowering wrist presence, the off-brand Nivada Grenchen went and produced something of a design classic with this watch. Perhaps it started as something of an homage but at this late date it has achieved its own cult status. And unlike a Panerai from the 40s or 50s, you don’t have to break the bank to put this icon of vintage style on your wrist.

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