Updated March, 2023
Whether you have a small wrist, you want a watch you can wear under a shirt cuff, or you just don’t want to carry around a small tank on your wrist, there are a lot of reasons to want a thin dive watch.
There are dive watches pushing 16 or 17mm thick, and for most people that is way too much steel and crystal to sling around on your wrist every day. And, if you are like me and have to wear a suit frequently, you need a relatively slim watch to even fit under a shirt sleeve. Here are a few that just might fit the bill for your daily needs.
I did an exhaustive search, and these were the thinnest dive watches currently on the market I could find. I tried to stay under the 12mm mark, but some of them may have gone a hair over.
Glycine Combat Sub – 10.6mm
I actually own a few watches on this list, but I don’t own this one and I think this Swiss made beauty is the one I would like to have the most. It’s very thin, and would fit perfectly under the cuff of a dress shirt. It just looks like a field or dive watch with its military inspired design. I love it, it’s only 10.6mm thick.
Longines Hydroconquest – 11.9mm
This is the 41mm automatic movement version, Longines does make a 39mm that comes in under 11mm thickness, but the 11.9mm is thin enough to make this list, and it’s the one I would get. If you have something closer to a six inch wrist, you might opt for the smaller version.
Longines is an old world Swiss watchmaker, and you get what you would expect, a well thought out, designed, and built Swiss watch. Why are the Swiss so good at making watches?
Mido Ocean Star – 11.75mm
As with the Mido Ocean Star, many watchmakers have different variants of the same model. This is true of the Ocean Star, some of the models are thicker. The one linked above is the thinner version. The Mido Ocean Star is Swiss and beautifully crafted.
NTH Sub – 11.5mm
NTH, or Node to History, yes that’s really what it means, makes vintage inspired dive watches. They’re good. In my opinion they’re not homage watches, they are exactly what they say, a spin on historical watches, but NTH puts their own spin on them. Some of them are really nice looking watches. And they’re pretty thin to boot.
Casio Duro (Marlin) – 12mm
The Casio Duro is not only one of the thinnest dive watches on the market, it is also the cheapest dive watch on the market. I think every single scuba diver or dive watch aficionado should own a Casio Duro.
If I think I am going to be changing oil, painting or working with fiberglass resin I put on the Casio. For the amount I paid for it if I get a little paint or resin on it I’m not going to be too concerned. For roughly $50 it’s a great watch. Hell, it would be a great watch at twice that price.
Neymar 300M Diver – 10.3mm
Nove Trident – 6.8mm
In a blog post about thin dive watches, this is the pinnacle. As of this writing, this is the thinnest dive watch on the planet and nothing else comes close. If you are looking for a really thin dive watch you can not go thinner than the Nove Trident.
Orion Calamity – 11.3mm
Orion is a United States based watchmaker owned by a guy named Nick as kind of his side project. If these beautiful pieces are his side project, I can’t wait to see what happens when he goes full time. I think it’s pretty hard to get an Orion, every time I look at this one it’s sold out. I’ll keep looking.
Citizen Promaster – 12mm
The Citizen Promaster is one of the most popular dive watches in the world, there are dozens of variants. This is probably the most basic and most popular. I see them everywhere and mine is on my wrist as I write this. This is a pretty big watch, but appears and feels a lot smaller than its dimensions partially because it isn’t very thick.
I have had the one pictured for years and it is still going strong. It’s been in the ocean hundreds of times. The one gripe I have is that Citizen nor any other aftermarket manufacturer makes a stainless bracelet for it, at least not this model. Other than that, I wear mine all the time.
Helson Shark Diver 40 – 12mm
Helson makes interesting watches with unique designs and color schemes. They are one of many new unique brands that have popped up in the last decade. They make tool divers, but the Shark Diver is only 12mm thick, unlike many of the 15+mm thick tool divers on the market today.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 38mm – 10.7mm
The original OG dive watch, or at least a smaller version of the original. The original is much larger, but the 38mm one is slim. This watch is built for someone with a smaller wrist, and even would fit some women who like a larger watch. My Wife wears a 38mm dive watch, not the Blancpain though.
Ole Mathiesen 1919 Navy Diver – 10mm
The only Danish watch on this list, the 1919 Navy Diver from Ole Mathiesen is sleek and slim. This is not a watchmaker trying to be something its not, this is the second thinnest watch on this list, and from my research the second thinnest dive watch in the world.
Baltic Aquascaphe – 12mm
Baltic sounds like a watchmaker that’s been around for years, but it is a relatively new brand. In my opinion they are making dive watches in classic designs. To me this is the perfect type of dive watch that can be worn with a suit and look good in the field. It’d not trying to be a tool diver, it is more refined and thin enough to be pretty versatile.
Final Thoughts
I believe the list above to be the most complete list of thin dive watches under 12mm thick on the web. All of these watches have a 200M depth rating or deeper.
If you know of any additional watches that should be included on this list please contact me to let me know what they are. I would love to be able to add more sub 12mm thick watches to this list.
