Fratello On Air: Our Favorite Vintage Dive Watches

We get a little bit exotic talking about the world aquatic

March 13, 2021

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Balazs and Mike come with the latest episode of Fratello on Air and discuss their favorite vintage dive watches. For a couple of watch crazies who live inland, you’ll see that they have a lot of live for these beasts of the deep.

On an earlier episode, we discussed our most cherished chronographs. It’s hard to say which watch genre is our favorite, but there’s no doubt that vintage dive watches vie for top spot. There are just so many great models out there. Super Compressors, Submariners, Seamasters, oh my! You’ll hear about which models we chose and why. Then, we touch on a couple modern stand-ins and even throw out some budget friendly vintage options. You won’t want to miss this week’s salty banter!

Our favorite vintage dive watches

You won’t need PADI to net this latest episode vintage dive watches. The latest Fratello on Air podcast is also available via Soundcloud, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Deezer, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Handgelenkskontrolle

Our faithful listener and reader Lukas gave us a friendly “top tip” and you can see that our wrist check now has the correct German translation. Thanks Lukas!

Balazs comes correct with one of his dive watches and sports his DOXA SUB 300 Black Lung Reissue
Mike doubles down on the DOXA with his vintage SUB 300 Searambler

News

Before hitting the main topic on vintage dive watches, we talk a little about the recent the new Synchron Military and the upcoming DOXA Army reissue. Is the first proper watch beef?

The Main Topic

Enter the realm of the ocean deep as we embark on a fun discussion about our favorite vintage divers and why.

Balazs talks about the following:

DOXA SUB 300T Sharkhunter Aqua Lung
Omega Seamaster Ploprof 600, a watch he doesn’t own — yet
Bulova Oceanographer 666, a vintage plongeur that’s relatively easy to find

Mike mentions some of his all time faves:

Rolex Sea-Dweller 1665 Great White, which is just a beast
Enicar Sherpa Super-Dive, a big Super Compressor that hasn’t quite found its way into Mike’s collection — yet
Zodiac Seawolf, a smaller vintage dive watch that’s out there and not too expensive

Balazs brings up the Certina DS PH200M as well as the Rado Captain Cook as great modern alternatives and brings up skin diver style vintage dive watches. Mike mentions Squale as well as the original and new Seiko Turtle as a great option.

We hope you enjoy this podcast on vintage dive watches. Don’t forget to let us know in the comments section if there’s a topic you’d like us to discuss.

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Fratello On Air: Our Favorite Vintage Dive Watches

I love your passion for Doxa Subs, guys! However, there are errors in your discussion regarding the vintage 300T Subs. There are 3 generations of Synchron era Subs, the last being the thickest and these dimensions are what the new Synchron Military is based. Regarding screw-down crowns, it’s a crap shoot with their implementation. I own 6 vintage Subs that I personally restored (1 Aubry era 600T Spirotechnique, 1 pre-Synchron US Divers Pro, 2 2nd gen Synchron US Divers Sharkhunters, 1 3rd gen Synchron triple signed Sharkhunter, and 1 3rd gen Synchron Divingstar). You are correct with pre-Synchrons having screw-downs. My 2nd gens do not have screw-downs. This generation is the most common, and it’s mostly safe to say were not equipped with screw-downs. My 3rd gen Sharkhunter does, but my Divingstar does not. So even with the last iteration with the thickest case, you might not get a screw-down. You never know what might have been changed during servicing, though. Funny thing about my 3rd gen Synchron Sharkhunter, it also has what many have been complaining about with regards to the new Military, a crown that sticks out further than normal. If you don’t have it, get Dr. Peter McClean Millar’s 40th book, or check out his website where the book all started doxa300t.com. These are Doxa Sub bibles.

My apologies for sounding like such a geek and a bit rough around the edges. It’s just hard to hear misinformation. I’m not just pointing in your direction, there is an unfortunate amount of misinformation on these watches in other magazines and YouTube. I guess many that have started (fairly recently) collecting Doxa Subs do not own or have not accessed Pete Millar’s books or website. I have been collecting/restoring Doxas since 2007. You learn best when dissecting these! I miss when you could find a project Sub to resurrect for $750 USD!

Cheers guys! Keep the Doxa passion kindling! I can’t wait to receive my Military!