Dive Watches are generally on the larger side of the watch spectrum. The vast, vast majority of dive watches in the marketplace are 40mm wide and larger.
This post explores alternatives to the larger dive watch and focuses on dive watches for the small wrist in the 37mm, 38mm, and 39mm range.
For me, the sweet spot is 42mm to 43mm. I dive a lot, but I’m not going to buy a multi hundred dollar watch that is 48mm wide to only wear it over a wetsuit when I’m diving. I don’t even wear a wetsuit on many of my dives in warm tropical waters.
And let’s be honest, most people are wearing their dive watches in normal every day situations.
Now I’m 6’1”, 200lbs and I have a 7 inch wrist. I’m not exactly a small person. There are plenty of blokes walking around who have six to seven inch wrists who want to wear a dive watch that isn’t too big for them. If you are looking for a dive watch for a small wrist, this post is for you.
The Rolex Submariner and its many copies are 40mm wide. From my observations this is really the baseline of where watchmakers start with their dive watch offerings. When many watch makers bring out a new model they will offer it in a couple of sizes. Usually they start at 40mm with one model and move up the sizing range.
Unfortunately for humans that have smaller wrists that doesn’t leave many good options.
Fortunately more watch makers are clearly erring on the rational side and building watches for humans with smaller wrists. Chris Ward for example makes dive watches in a host of sizes, so if you like one of their models you can size it to fit your wrist.
What to Look For:
Let’s talk a bit about the three measurements you are worried about when purchasing a watch.
The thickness affects the wearability, and really affects what kind of clothing you can wear over the watch. If you are just wearing short sleeve shirts it’s not an issue, but when you introduce a dress shirt into the equation you limit how thick the watch can be. Look for a thickness of 13mm or less.
The width or diameter of the watch is from the outside to the outside minus the crown or crown guards. This does not include the lugs. If you have a small wrist you want to be shooting for something under 40mm.
The lug to lug measurement measurement of the watch from top to bottom. The lugs are what the bracelet or strap attaches to. This also greatly affects the wearability of the watch, just as much as the watch diameter. If you have a small wrist you should be looking at a lug to lug of less than XXmm.
As usual we are focused on dive watches here at The Dive Watch Blog. So that means they are all water resistant to 200 meters, have a screw down crown, and feature a uni-directional rotating bezel. All dive watches should have these features at a minimum.
The thickness, width, and lug to lug measurements all play together, a thin watch that is very wide and has a short lug to lug might feel smaller on your wrist than one with the same measurements that is very thick.
I find that any watch over 13mm is difficult to get under a dress shirt. Your mileage may vary.
Water Resistance
Around the internet you will see many people, whom know very little or nothing about dive watches, recommending and posting lists about the best dive watches, etc, etc, and many of these watches on the list are water resistant to 50 or 100 meters. Those are probably fine for splashing around in a pool, but not for scuba diving.
If you intend to dive with the watch you are purchasing you want a 200 meter water resistance rating. Anything less will not do.
The List – With Diameter Listed
Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean – 39.5mm
The original Seamaster Planet Ocean is pushing 44mm of width, quite a big watch for sure. I can barely pull off a 44mm watch, and anything else is really too big. Thank goodness, or thank Omega for coming out with the 39.5mm version for our smaller wrist brethren. This watch is a utilitarian masterpiece in my opinion.
Omega Seamaster – 36mm
The second Omega on the list, The Seamaster is not quite as utilitarian as the Planet Ocean listed above. The Seamaster is a much better option if you wear a suit all day. You can get this one under a dress shirt and it will be much more comfortable to wear all day. Both are chronometer certified. I think anyone would be happy to have either of them.
Tissot Seastar – 36mm
Tissot started building watches in 1853 in Switzerland. 101 years later they added Seastar collection in 1954, and they’ve continued adding to the lineup ever since. Tissot uses Superluminova in all of their dive watches, so you know the lume will be bright when you need it. This would be a great dive watch for a man and even some women could use it. Tissot knows how to build a watch.
Oris Aquis – 39.5mm
Oris is getting up there in terms of being a luxury watch brand, and you’re going to pay for it. Not as expensive as Rolex or Omega, but pretty close. The Aquis is thier flagship dive watch. It features a Swiss movement, and has all the bells and whistles you would want.
Christopher Ward C60 – 38mm
Christoper Ward is a newer company in the realm of watchmaking, but boy do they make some nice watches. Christopher Ward watches are designed in Britain and built in Switzerland, so technically I guess you could say they are Swiss made Either way they’re not only beautiful and elegant, but they can hold their own in the ocean.
Tudor Black Bay 58 – 39mm
Tudor started supplying the US Navy with watches in the 1950’s, so if you were wondering if they could produce a legitimate dive watch, that should tell you something about their quality and heritage. Tudors are lesser known that Rolex or Omega, but produce watches of the highest quality. The Tudor Black Bay is an icon in itself, and among dive watch aficionados this is a grail dive watch.
Rado Captain Cook – 37mm
Seiko SKX013 – 36mm
The revered Seiko SKX may be the most produced dive watch on the planet. It certainly has a cult following and has a ton of after market mods you can make to it. I have one and I love it. But it’s a pretty beefy watch. Seiko smartly came out with the SKX013 which is much smaller than the original SKX. I love when watchmakers do this, obviously there are a lot of different size humans on the planet, not everyone can wear a 42mm dive watch.
Oris Divers Sixty Five – 36mm
Longines Hydroconquest – 39mm
Longines has been making watches for nearly 200 years. The Hydroconquest is one of its flagship models. Anyone would be prooud to own one of these watches. For me the only thing is the style, I love some things about it and others I’m lukewarm on. For example, I could do with smaller numbers. I love the crown and crown guards. Everyone has different tastes.
Lorien Neptune – 39mm
Lorier started in 2017 in New York. The Neptune is purpose built for someone with smaller wrists. The Neptune sports a Miyota automatic movement and a hesalite crystal. They even supply a tube of polishing compound to polish the crystal. I think I’d rather have sapphire.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe – 38mm
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is the original dive watch. Others came out just afterward, but Blancpain was the first. This is a smaller version of the current Fifty Fathoms, and just as capable. You couldn’t ask for a finer watch than the Fifty Fathoms.
Breitling’s Superocean Heritage – 38mm
Breitling is known for its aviation watches. Not so much for dive watches. Don’t let that fool you, Breitling makes a great dive watch. The Superocean has been around since 1957 in several iterations, the Superocean Heritage kind of combines a retro look with modern materials.
Marathon GSAR Medium – 36mm
Marathon makes military inspired tool watches, and the GSAR (Government Search and Rescue) is just that. The GSAR is meant to be a rugged watch, and it is. It uses tritium for it’s lume, so it is always luminated at night. The bezel is specifically built to be manipulated with neoprene dive gloves on. You can go diving with any watch on this list, but this might be the best one to actually dive with. If I was going cold water diving this is the watch I would choose for the bezel alone.
Maen Hudson 38 – 38mm
Maen is a relatively new upstart watchmaker launched in 2017. This Swiss made beauty comes with a ceramic bezel, sapphire crystal and Superluminova lume. The Hudson 38 is water resistant to 300 meters, deeper than you’ll ever dive.
Baltic Aquascaphe – 39mm
Compared to most of the other watchmakers on this list, Baltic is a relatively new brand to the marketplace. They have unique original designs which is had to do with so many dive watches in the marketplace. They’re not trying to copy someone else. It’s a Canadian watchmaker, the only one on this list. The 39mm width and 12mm thickness make this the perfect watch for a suit.
Steinhart Ocean – 39mm
Steinhart is a German watchmaker founded in 2001. All of their watches are made in Switzerland. The Steinhart Ocean is heavily influenced by the Rolex Submariner. Steinhart’s position in the watchmaking world is an affordable quality brand. I think they accomplish that task. They build a quality watch at a good price.
Vostok Amphibia – 39mm
Vostok is a Russian watchmaker that started in the 1940’s making military watches. Actually everything they were doing at that time was for the war effort when the Russians were battling the Germans. In the early 2000’s they started marketing the Amphibia, although apparently they are built from earlier designs.
Vostok’s are good watches, more utilitarian kind of retro looking in my opinion. There are a ton of models to choose from. Most of them are pretty reasonable.
Invicta Pro Diver 8932 – 37.5mm
Invicta sells a ton of these Pro Divers. They’re very inexpensive for a dive watch, and they look pretty good. They have a ton of branding all over them, and that’s a little too much for some people, others love it. Invicta makes a good watch at a price point, but if you’re on a budget this could be a good option. I’ve had one for years.
Invicta Pro Diver 8932OB – 37.5 mm
You might be asking yourself isn’t this the same watch listed above, yes it is. However, this one has a quartz movement, the one above is an automatic wristwatch. I just included them both because some people like a quartz movement. I don’t discriminate.
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