Dive Time

Next month, at Baselworld 2010, the Invicta NOMA IV Diver will be officially unveiled. It features a swiss automatic chronograph, is water-resistant to 500 meters, comes in a stainless steel case with black ion plating. It also features a Flame Fusion Crystal (Invicta's hybrid sapphire, mineral glass crystal is supposed to combine the shatter resistance of mineral glass with the scratch resistance of synthetic sapphire.) A hinged crown guard prominently protects the crown and features an Invicta logo. The dial features a cutaway. The case is 50 mm in diameter. (Thanks Andy!)

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This is a preview of one of the three new watches that will be presented by U-Boat at Baselworld next month.

The 1001, before its unusual features are unveiled, will be presented to the public in an aluminium technological casket, visible only through a riveted port hole, reminiscent of a deep abyss.

On opening the box, the unusual nature of the 1001 will be immediately apparent, starting with the 55-millimetre diameter grade 2 natural titanium box, with the distinctive position of the rim protection on the left, helium valve and titanium plate bearing the serial number.

The face is easy to read because it has hours, minutes, seconds and the date at 4 o'clock. There are supernova pigments with beige, orange or blue, which make the white U1001 writing in relief stand out.

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The most remarkable feature of the Breitling Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel, its magnetic pushpiece system, is hidden inside its case. With this exclusive, patented device, the watch can be activated through the metal case without any direct mechanical contact. As such, unlike most chronographs, which cannot be used when diving, this can be operated underwater. The Avenger Seawolf Chrono is the only chronograph of its kind, that is totally water-resistant and functional to a record depth of 1,000 meters. Inside is a SuperQuartz TM movement - another exclusive Breitling creation - which guarantees a precision ten times greater than ordinary quartz movements; it measures times to 1/10 of a second and indicates intermediary times. Limited series of 2,000.

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Last week, I had a chance to shoot some close-up photos of the new Omega Seamaster Vancouver 2010 Olympic Edition Dive watch. It comes in 36 and 41 mm diameters and is powered by a selfwinding Omega Professional Co-Axial certified chromometer movement. Its stainless steel case is water-resistance to 300 meters. A screw-down helium escape value is located at 10 o'clock. To commemorate the Winter Olympics the caseback has been engraved with "Vancouver 2010" and the Olympic rings. Olympic rings have also been added to the seconds hand. The most obvious change, though, is the red unidirectional dive bezel. Hit the "More" link below to view the full press release and 10 exclusive photos.

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Jean Richard has just unveiled a new diver's watch, the Aquascope. Like all of the timepieces made by Jean Richard, this watch is powered by the JR1000 (an in-house movement). This model was created to pay homage to the unique dive watches that were created by Jean Richard in the 1960s. The Aquascope stainless steel case is polished and satin-finished. The case features the brand's signature tonneau shape and is (44.50 x 40 x 11.85mm). The crystal is convex with a colorless anti-reflective treatment. To calculate dive time, the external bezel features a 60-minute scale, with 120 teeth (for half-minute settings). Surprisingly, the bezel is bidirectional, most dive watches feature unidirectional bezels, but in this case the bezel cannot be accidentally adjusted without first unscrewing the crown at 9 o'clock. Water-resistance is 300 meters.

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This is the new AP Royal Oak Offshore Diver. It features an in-house AP 3120 caliber movement. The movement runs at 21,600 vph and has 40 jewels, 278 parts and a 22-carat gold oscillating weight. The power reserve is 60 hours. Water-resistance is 300 meters. The case is stainless steel (42 x 13.75mm). The strap is rubber, with a stainless steel buckle. The dial features a sporty black "Méga Tapisserie" motif and applied grey hour-markers with luminescent coating. The hour and minute hands are facetted white gold and a luminescent coating

Probably the coolest feature of this watch, is the rotating inner bezel. Instead of employing a rotating external bezel to calculate dive time, AP decided to use an inner bezel that is controlled via the screw-down crown at 10 o'clock. You have to unscrew the crown in order to adjust the inner bezel, which features a 60-minute diving scale. This design allows the wearer to set the dive time, with no risk of unintentionally adjusting the bezel.

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Jean Richard has created a new version of their Diverscope watch, the JR1000 Goldwaters. The case is 43 x 43mm and 13.5mm tall. It is made of stainless steel that has been coated in vulcanized rubber. The crown-shields and caseback are made of PVD coated titanium. The dual screw-down crowns are 18k pink gold. The sapphire is convex and with an anti-reflective treatment. The caseback is secured with 4 screws. Water-resistance is 300 meters.

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