Choosing the right watch can be confusing, especially if you’re looking for something that fits your style and budget. Knowing the type of watch you want will not only help you choose the most beautiful watch, but it will also help you choose the proper watch to perform a set of functions. Pilot and divers watches are among the most popular styles, but how many owners know the features they possess.
People aren’t restricted to buying one type of watch, and as such, knowing the functions and features that differentiate each kind can be difficult. Divers and pilot watches are two distinct categories of watches. They aren’t restricted to divers and pilots alone. Anyone can wear them. Here are the differences and features of these kinds of watches.
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Differences in Features
Diver’s Watch
A dive or diver’s watch is any watch with a two hundred+ water resistance rating. They are supposed to accompany divers on their journeys deep underneath the sea. They additionally featured a rotating bezel. A divers watch can countdown and inform the diver of the quantity of oxygen remaining in the tank. An example of a reliable diver’s watch is the Longines Legend Diver.
As some watch enthusiasts know, the LLD originated from the late 1950s to the 1960s. It was a period when the dive watch market segment was booming, and demand for diving watches was high. In 2020, the Longines Legend Diver was significantly improved with added features. Some models come with a stainless steel mesh strap, while other models have fabric straps. Some are even attached to rubber straps.
This watch is worn on the wrist like a folding steel bracelet with a safety clasp and is equipped with the Longines caliber L633. This caliber is a watch model based on the reliable ETA2824-2 caliber consisting of 25 jewels. The steady-state rate of this pulse is 28,800 VPH/4 Hz and the energy storage time is 38 hours.
Pilot Watches
Louis Cartier created the first pilot watch in 1904 for his aviation friend Albert Santos Duman. Today, aviator watches are fashionable and used by the general public, not just pilots. The first watch by Louis Cartier was square, with Roman numerals and no chronological order.
The watches were easy to read numbers and had large crowns and chronographs. Till today, these features are still an integral part of this particular watch style. Brands like Breitling go a step further to create watches that allow the chronomat to perform multiple calculations such as fuel consumption, fuel, speed, and distance traveled.
Aviation pilots need specific details and features when it comes to a wristwatch. When computer systems had been nonexistent or limited, pilot watches were a helping device for pilots and helped them time activities. Pilot watches typically are more prominent and feature larger crowns (as they had been anticipated to be worn on the pinnacle of gloves and be operated even while wearing gloves).
The pilot’s watches had improvements throughout the years to make an aviator’s activity even more effortless. Brands like Breitling introduced round slide-rule and clock factors to fulfill the needs of flight complexities. Other manufacturers like IWC, Bell & Ross, and Longines also chipped in with newer innovations in the pilot watch industry.
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Function
Diver’s Watch
The Rolex Oyster invented in 1927 was the first-ever waterproof wristwatch. Shortly after that, the brand Omega also developed a waterproof watch. Since then, watchmakers have focused on increasing the water resistance ability of their watches. Seiko from Japan pioneered the professional diving watch industry made with titanium and ceramic cases. These materials and other clever innovations allow them to last for hours under 1000 meters of water. The excellent manufacturing standards are so high that almost all waterproof watches can be used underwater for an average recreational dive time of 10 meters or more.
If you’re in the market for a diver’s watch, it has to be waterproof against a minimum of a hundred meters. However, better dive watches could have a water resistance of two hundred meters or more. A dive watch also has to be legible underwater.
Dive watches also have rotating bezels, which give the wearer statistics of how long they have been underwater. In a few models, it’ll additionally display the diver’s depth. They are adaptable to seawater and withstand pressure even while in the deep sea. Not all dive watches come prepared with a helium break-out valve, but some do.
Pilot Watch
Pilot watches are designed for the skies. Looking closer to the dial, the primary traits that may differentiate a pilot watch include slide-rule bezels, chronographs, tachymeters, and global time/GMT functions. Pilot’s watches are designed to assist with mathematical conversions, including changing nautical miles to kilometers.
These kinds of watches might feel specialized or complicated, meaning it takes time to learn how to use them. However, after you do, it will be a valuable assistant to all of your flights — whether within the cockpit or cabin.
The mechanical pilot watch might also additionally appear like an anachronism. If you’re an aviator and a wristwatch enthusiast, then pilot watches are suitable for you. A proper pilot’s watch is appealing and elegant. Materials and features would differ according to the price or brand.
Conclusion
There are relatively many differences between pilots and divers watches. From the external, they look almost alike, with the same craft and pure features, but some features keep them apart. Divers watches must be able to withstand the effects of the aquatic environment. Durability is essential for both pilot and diver watches as the two categories of watches are to be used in extreme environments.
These are great choices for buyers of relatively affordable watches and as they are distributed and popular around the world today. Major brands like Rolex and Omega sell their watches for much higher prices due to their brand reputation. Nevertheless, you can get these same watches at cheaper rates. With the advancement of technology, the dive watch market faces competition from smartwatch brands like Apple that are also water-resistant underwater.
