Updated – March 2023
My goal for this post is to list every diving watch brand available in the marketplace. It’s a daunting task, there are tons of diving watch brands available in the marketplace, and more coming every day.
We are in the golden age of dive watches and it’s only going to get better from here. There has never been as many quality dive watches available, many of them for ridiculously good prices. You can buy a great dive watch for a couple hundred bucks. Gone are the years of forking over a few thousands bucks for a good dive watch, although you can still do that.
Since my goal is to keep this list up to date, if you know of a brand that is not on this list, please drop me a line on my contact page. This is obviously going to be a working list and probably nearly never up to date, but I’ll do my best to keep it close. There are so many out there it is difficult to keep this list complete.
Addiesdive
I’m not sure when they started, relatively recently, mainly they make pretty good looking homage watches. They do use NH35 automatic movements and sapphire crystals. These are legitimate dive watches with depth ratings from 200 to 1000 meters. Regularly available on Amazon.
Alpina
Alpina is a Swiss watch brand started in 1883. One of many Swiss watchmakers on this list, they started making sports watches in the 1930’s.
Ball
Founded in 1891 in Cleveland, Ohio by Webb Ball, Ball Watch Company standardized the railroad timekeeping in the United States, it is an interesting story and history of the company. It is now based in Switzerland.
Baltic
Baltic is new to the marketplace, it was launched by a Kickstarter campaign in 2017.
Bell & Ross
Bell & Ross was founded in 1992 as a university project between two friends, Bruno Belamich and Carlos Rosillo.
Blancpain
One of the original dive watch makers, Blancpain is a Swiss watchmaker that has been around since 1735. They make very high end luxury dive watches. Blancpain is one of the finest watchmakers in the world, one if their watches is an heirloom item anyone would be proud to own. They created the original modern dive watch in 1953.
Boschett
Founded in New York in 2007 as a microbrand to bring high-quality mid-priced watches to the marketplace.
Breitling
Founded in 1884 in St. Imier, Switzerland, Breitling is one of the most respected watch brands in the world. They have a robust niche in the aviation market, but also make great dive watches.
Bremont
This British watchmaker was founded in 2002 by brothers Nick and Giles English. It is primarily an aviation focused brand, but they also make dive watches.
Bulgari
Greek silversmith Sotirio Bulgari founded his watch brand in 1884 in Rome. It quickly identified itself as an Italian luxury brand.
Bulova
Bulova was founded in 1875 in the United States, but it is currently owned by Japanese watchmaker Citizen.
Casio
Casio was founded in 1946 in Tokyo, but not as a watchmaker. Later they focused on adding machines and electronics, then started making watches in the early 1970’s.
Certina
Certina was founded in 1888 in Switzerland as a watchmaking supply and movement company. Then in 1907 they started making their own watches under the brand Grana. Later on in the 1950’s they switched to the name Certina.
Citizen
Citizen is a joint venture originally founded between Swiss and Japanese investors in 1930. The brand goes back further to 1918, and they essentially took over another company. Suffice it to say they are a major maker of well respected dive watches throughout the world.
Christopher Ward
Founded by Christopher Ward, Mike France and Peter Ellis in 2004, Christopher Ward designs their watches in Britain and makes them in Switzerland.
Deep Blue
Deep blue was founded in New York in 2007. They make tool style watches that are very robust and have very deep depth ratings.
Doxa
If you’ve ever read a Dirk Pitt novel you will know a Doxa is his preferred timepiece. Doxa is a Swiss manufacturer that started in 1889. In the late 1960’s they started making dive watches, and the legend was born. Doxa dive watches are renowned time pieces.
Edox
Edox is a small Swiss watchmaker founded in 1884.
Glashütte Original
Glashütte is a town in Germany where watchmaking started in 1845. Through two world wars, all of the watchmakers merged after the second world war to form Glashütte Original.
Grand Seiko
Seiko’s luxury brand released its first watch in 1960. Think Lexus to Toyota and you get Grand Seiko from Seiko. Ha, they’re both Japanese. They make accurate and beautiful time pieces.
Halios
Canadian company Halios was started in 2009 by Jason Lim. It continues to be a one man show today.
Hamilton
Hamilton started making pocket watches in 1892 in Lancaster Pennsylvania. They continue their heritage of quality and accuracy to this day.
Heimdallr
Heimdallr is a Chinese watch brand that largely produces homage watches with their own spin on design. I couldn’t find any information on when they started, I guess I started seeing them in roughly 2019.
Helm
Helm is an American company that produced its first watch in 2015. They are always on a waitlist, and are primarily tool divers with ISO 6498 specification.
Hublot
Hublot was launched in 1980 and focused on the fusion of different materials. They continue that innovation and forward thinking to this day.
Invicta
Invicta was founded in 1837 in Chiasso, Switzerland. Invicta has taken mass marketing to a new level in the watch industry. They have hundreds of models from very inexpensive to moderate prices. It is no longer a Swiss company as it has relocated to Florida, USA.
Islander
Islander watches is the in house brand of Island Watch company. Islander was launched in 2019 largely due to Seiko discontinuing the SKX. They are located in New York, USA.
IWC
IWC (International Watch Company) was interestingly founded by an American in Switzerland in 1868. They are still based in Swizerland to this day.
Jacques Lemans
Jacques Lemans watches have been around since 1975. The company was founded and still operates in Austria.
Longines
Longines is a Swiss watch brand created in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz. It was acquired by the Swatch group in 1983.
Loreo
Loreo is a Chinese watch brand created in 1996 that makes homage watches.
Luminox
Luminox was founded in 1989. Headquartered in San Rafael, California, they make watches with military insignias for use in certain branches of the military.
Marathon
The Swiss watch company was founded in 1903 as Weinsturm Watch, it was then renamed Wein Brothers in 1939. In 1941 they started making watches for the Allied Forces under the Marathon name.
Mido
Mido was founded in 1918 by George G. Schaeren in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
Momentum
Momentum was founded in 1980 in Vancouver, Canada where it still resides and builds its watches.
Monta
Monta started in 2017, they create tool, dive and military watches with swiss movements.
Neymar
Neymar popped up in the last several years, they are a Chinese manufacturer that builds homage watches that you can actually dive with.
Nite
Nite is a British watch maker founded in 2003 that primarily makes sport and dive watches for adventurers and military.
Nove
Nove is a Swiss watchmaker that launched in 2015. They have the distinction of building the thinnest dive watch on the planet.
Ocean Crawler
Ocean Crawler is a manufacturer of automatic watches in Rochester, New York.
Omega
Omega was founded in 1848 by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. They make some of the most iconic dive watches on the market.
Orient
Orient Watch Co. was established in 1950. It is now owned by Seiko.
Oris
Oris is founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian in the Swiss town of Hölstein in 1904.
Phoibos
Phoibos is a Hong Kong based watch maker that started in 2016. The founders are Ethan Guo and Emily Feng.
Rado
One of many Swiss watchmakers on this list, Rado was founded in 1917 by brothers Fritz, Ernst and Werner Schlup.
Rolex
The most renown and popular watch brand in the world, Rolex was founded in 1905, but didn’t adopt the Rolex name until 1908.
San Martin
San Martin is a more recent Chinese brand that seems to be a step above other Chinese made watches.
Seiko
Manufacturer of the legendary SKX, Seiko started making watches in Japan in 1881. Seiko is one of the top manufacturer of dive watches in the world.
Sinn
Sinn is a German manufacturer of quartz and mechanical watches founded in 1961.
Spinnaker
Spinnaker is an ocean inspired watch brand based in Hong Kong.
Steinhart
Steinhart is a German watcmaker founded in 2001 by Gunther Steinhart.
Steeldive
Steeldive, established in 2018, is one of many Chinese homage watchmakers that are readily available for reasonable prices.
Squale
Squale SA is a Swiss watch brand founded in 1959 by Charles von Büren, specializing in professional diving watches.
Tag Heuer
The legendary Swiss watchmaker was Founded in 1860 by Edourad Heuer.
Tissot
Tissot began operations in Le Locle, Switzerland, in 1853.
Tudor
The Tudor trademark was registered in 1926 by Swiss watchmaking company Veuve de Philippe Hüther on behalf of Hans Wilsdorf, founder of Rolex watches. In 1936, Wilsdorf took it over and went on to found the company Montres Tudor SA in 1946.
Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Nardin is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1846 in Le Locle, Switzerland.
Vaer
Vaer is a newer brand, founded in Venice, California in 2016 by Ryan Torres and Reagan Cook.
Victorinox
Victorinox started and still manufactures knives. They were founded in Switzerland in 1884. In 1984 they started making watches.
Vostok
Vostok is the only Russian made dive watch, founded in 1942 as a military watchmaker, they continue to this day.
Zelos
Zelos was founded in 2014 by Elshan Tang, born of a lifelong passion and a desire to create inspired timepieces.
Zodiac
Ariste Calame founded Swiss watchmaker Zodiac in 1882.
As said above, I know this list is incomplete. I am sure I have missed some established brands as well as some newer ones. Plus new boutique brands are always popping up. Please help me keep this list up to date.
