In the early 1970s, Rolex began collaborating with the French diving company Comex to develop its watches. Divers from Comex shared their experiences and helped the company with the ongoing development of their watches. These divers laid underwater cables, worked on oil rigs, salvaged shipwrecks, and developed special tools. They even experimented with breathing gas mixtures and set depth records. In many cases, Comex divers wore Rolex Sea-Dweller watches during their trials. One particularly challenging trial involved a Comex diver spending 50 hours in a pressurized chamber at 610 meters depth. Check out when to wear diver watch.
A diving watch is a functional tool, and the Rolex Submariner is a functional piece of dive gear. In fact, some divers wear a Submariner on their wrists when they're underwater. The director James Cameron wore a specialty-designed Rolex in the movie Deep Blue Sea. Rolex devoted a special sea dweller model to the director's explorations.
The Submariner first debuted in 1954 at Baselworld, and is still one of the most popular dive watches today. Its original features included 100 meters of water resistance, a twin-lock screw-down crown, luminous indices, and a timing bezel. The watch has evolved linearly since then, adding a ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal. The modern Submariner also has ultra-bright Chromalight luminous material.
The first Panerai watches were unveiled on a warship in 1993. The first two models were named for military heritage, the first was a production simularum of the 1943 Mare Nostrum prototype and the second bore the word "Luminor" imprint. This term was soon synonymous with the 44mm case size. Today, the entire Panerai line of dive watches is named after prominent military figures.
The Luminor 44mm is Panerai's quintessential dive watch. It's water-resistant to 300 meters and features an excellent automatic movement. It is priced to compete with Submariner money, but its personality is stronger. There are a lot of reasons why this brand is such a popular choice for divers. The company is famous for the quality of its dive watches and for offering high-end models at surprisingly affordable prices.
The Omega Sea-Dweller and the Planet Ocean use the same Omega Liquidmetal(tm) diving scale. Both feature one-minute markings from 0 to 60. At 12 o'clock, the model features an upside-down triangular lume dot. Both have the same features, but they are designed for different purposes. In addition to the aforementioned features, the watches use a new sapphire crystal.
For the strap, the Omega Planet Ocean 600M uses a titanium bracelet. The stainless steel case is a classic but isn't quite as upscale as a solid link Oyster bracelet. The rubber strap is also comfortable, but not nearly as sturdy as the Rolex alternative. While the bracelet may not be as strong as the solid-link Oyster bracelet, it is still a decent alternative. The Double Extension System allows the user to adjust the strap without tools. The Fliplock extension link extends the bracelet 26mm.
The Sealab program for divers was created as an experiment to explore the ocean's depths. The program allowed the Navy to explore the depths of the ocean and collect fuel and food. But the program's development was interrupted by the USS Pueblo incident. While the habitat was recovered and eventually scrapped, aspects of the program continue in military programs. But what is the significance of the Sealab program? Read on to learn about its history and why it was important.
In 1965, the first Sealab dive team was sent to the ocean. They were given decompression chambers at a depth of 62 meters. They were provided with hot showers and refrigeration. Sealab II was placed at this depth in La Jolla Canyon near the Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UCSD. The vessel was christened the Tilton Hilton, named for the slope of the landing site.
Comex divers have long used Rolex watches. In fact, they were used by Theo Mavrostomos, who once held the world record for deepest dive. He worked for Comex for twenty years and was the official ambassador for the brand. The original owner still owns the watch and has a dozen dive log books, service documents, and the famous Comex keyring. Now, Comex divers use Rolex to stay on top of the latest diving technology.
Rolex developed two types of diving watches. The Sea-Dweller is an excellent choice for deep diving, as its 610-meter depth rating is great for divers. The Sea-Dweller is also designed to look good on a wrist. The Sealab 3 diving watch is related to the Comex Hydra 1. Read about dive watches that are stylish and affordable.