The Top 5 Vintage Dive Watches of All Time According to Charlie Dunne

By Charlie Dunne

When it comes to collecting vintage watches, an oversized dive watch will always be a must have. To me, dive watches are among my favorite watches to wear as they have great character and are durable in the event you encounter rain or need to swim. Despite being +60 years old, these watches are not as delicate as many sports watches being sold today. They were built to last and when handling vintage watches there are a few models that stand out for their incredible quality. Looking back at the great dive watches, I’ve put together my list of the greatest models including the likes of Vulcain, Enicar and Jaeger-LeCoultre and Rolex!

#5 Vulcain Cricket Nautical Reference S2321A

The Vulcain Cricket Nautical reference S2321A was introduced in circa 1961. This is certainly the biggest deep cut on the list as most watch enthusiasts do not know about the Cricket Nautical. These are enormous dive watches that are quite complicated on first impression. It is a manual-wind alarm watch with a dial capable of showing decompression tables to gauge your dive depth and ascent. I have not used this feature and I doubt most owners have! The watch was designed in collaboration with diving pioneer Hannes Keller and features an Ervin Piquerez case. It comes in two case configurations. The first being a more traditional lug style, while the other mirrors the LeCoultre Polaris reference E 859. You can wear these on a few different strap options. A tan leather strap is always nice, a Tropic strap is optimal, or you could go with a JB Champion bracelet. These watches are quite rare. In all honesty, I would imagine a few dozen were produced in the 1960s and it was abandoned due to the complexity of the watch. Divers likely would have opted for the more basic submersible watch that was highly legible. Nevertheless, if you love large dive watches from EPSA, this one is worth looking into.

#4 LeCoultre Polaris Reference E 859

The Polaris reference E 859 comes in two categories. 1) The American-market LeCoultre Polaris reference E 859. 2) The European Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris reference E 859. Both are incredible watches, however I am more partial to the American-market models. The reference E 859 began production in circa 1965 and the earliest models feature chrome casebacks. These watches are massive at 42mm in diameter and share the same case design as the Vulcain Cricket Nautical reference S2321A. There is something about the 1967/1968 dial variants that are so attractive. The luminous material is always a bit inconsistent, but that is besides the point. It is an incredibly rugged watch and the largest model one can get in vintage JLC. It is certainly one of the coolest dive watches and every time we get a nice one I am tempted to add one to my collection!

#3 Enicar Sherpa Ultradive Reference 144/35/03

The Enicar Sherpa Ultradive Reference 144/35/03 was introduced in circa 1965 and it may be one of the most interesting and uncommon vintage dive watches out there. No, this is not an alarm-dive watch like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris, Deep Sea Alarm and Vulcain Cricket Nautical - although it is easy to mistake as an alarm watch on first glance. The watch features an internal rotating bezel (like the Polaris) which helps the diver gauge how much elapsed time they have been underwater. These watches are awesome, and hard to find. Enicar was very sporadic with their dials and hands, so there is a wider range of variants in these models for a very short production. If you are looking for a non-mainstream vintage diver, there are few cooler watches than the Enicar Ultradive!

#2 LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm Reference E 857

The LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm reference E 857 is an almost mythical dive watch that has been a grail of mine since I began obsessing over vintage watches. I have only held a handful of these watches, and finding one on the rare “Nautilus” JLC bracelet is extremely uncommon. The look on bracelet is unrivaled. These cases were made by Huguenin Frères - the case maker famously associated with the Speedmaster, and the wearability of the DSA is incredible. It may be a shock, but these are bumper movements powered by the automatic alarm Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 815. It is easily one of the most unique dial designs of all time with the internal-dial disc rotating when setting the alarm. This makes for an unusual look when you are setting reminders and will surely throw people off who have never seen the watch before.

#1 Rolex Submariner

There is nothing that quite beats the Rolex Submariner. Are there more interesting dive watches out there? Perhaps. Is there a better quality dive watch than the Submariner? No way! If you were to tell me to wear any of the above watches in the pool, a Submariner is the only example that can be trusted. These watches were made incredibly from their introduction in 1953. When you look at the 1950s, it is clear that Rolex was betting heavily on the development and marketing of the Submariner. The watch would have eight different references introduced (6204, 6205, 6200, 6536, 6538, 5510, 5508, and the 5512) from 1953-1959. Keep in mind this is more models than years!

Comparatively, the 5512/5513 case references would remain in continuous production over three decades. The classic Submariner 1680 would introduce the date/calendar complication into the model in circa 1967 and remained in the catalog till circa 1979. Whether it is a conversation of the “Big Crown” vs “Small Crown” 5512 or 5513, the “Red Sub” etc, there is an incredible heritage in vintage Rolex Submariners. While some collectors may say the Sub is too obvious, the Submariner - more than any other model - helped solidify the reputation Rolex holds today as the dominant sports watch!