Victorinox Dive Master 500 Collection
At Baselworld 2012, Victorinox unveiled the redesigned Dive Master 500 collection.
The Dive Master 500 comes in either 38 mm or 43 mm diameter stainless steel cases - treated with either Black Ice or gold PVD. There are four 38 mm quartz models: black, burgundy, khaki green (with gold PVD coating) or white; two 43 mm quartz models in white or khaki green; and three 43 mm mechanical versions: grey, red or brown. The quartz models are powered by Swiss made Ronda 715.5 calibers and the self-winding models are powered by the ETA 2892-A2 caliber (automatic has clear case back).
The newly redesigned dials are clean and uncluttered with applied luminescent indexes (on the automatic the hour markers are on a sloped ring). "The rubberized soft-touch background absorbs the light, creating striking contrasts with the raised and luminous baton and orb hour markers and iconic Victorinox shield." All Swiss Army timepieces have a center ring with 24-hour military time and these are no different. The automatic model has large easy to read sword hour and minute hands with a luminescent coating. The quartz model has a large arrow-shaped bright orange hour hand.
Functions include hours, minutes, center seconds, date (3 o'clock). Unidirectional 60-minute dive bezel with oversized Arabic numerals with special luminous 20-minute indicator. Shockproof and water-resistant to 500 meters (1,640 ft). Genuine rubber strap, sand blasted for softness (matches the dial color). Scratch-resistant triple (inside) coated anti-reflective sapphire crystal.
Retail $750 (quartz), $1,200 (automatic)
