With its new JeanRichard Aquascope Diver Monocoque, the Swiss brand successfully bridges the stylistic gap between its original Aquascope and the newer Highlands collections. Besides the refreshed dial, the 2013 version of the Aquascope Monocoque has also received the same self-winding movement that powers the new limited edition Highlands CDC Carbon that was released last month.
Diving
Deep Blue DayNight T100 OPS Diver in Black PVD
The American brand Deep Blue has introduced a (more than) affordable diver to its vast collection of tool watches. Currently offered at only $399 (the normal price is $499, and shipping is not included in both cases), the new Deep Blue DayNight T100 OPS Diver features a rugged exterior design that somehow reminds me of Luminox timekeeper combined with a water resistance rating of 500 meters and an easily readable dial with twenty flat tritium tubes of different colors.
Unlike the usual Superluminova or other chemical compounds, the mildly radioactive gas that fills the micro-tubes keeps glowing for at least twenty years without any need of being recharged, which makes it a perfect choice for those keeping their collection in boxes stashed in a chest of drawers while sleeping in their preassigned Vault-Tec shelters.
Breitling Avenger Seawolf Blacksteel Code Yellow
The Swiss brand has recently reintroduced its Avenger Seawolf “professional” diver as a limited edition model. While normally available only in polished stainless steel, this new watch comes in a special, hardened steel body that, thanks to the high concentration of carbon within its surface, looks almost black. The 2013 Breitling Avenger Seawolf Blacksteel Code Yellow features a winning combination of colors and textures that make it an almost ideal watch for a person looking for a military-styled diver with a character.
Dievas Shadow Stealth Merges the Focal with the Reaper
The automatic Dievas Shadow Stealth is a product of a successful crossbreeding between their Focal and Reaper tactical timekeepers. Featuring a highly contrast black-and-yellow color scheme that allows easier reading of time in virtually any environment, the watch also offers an extremely scratch-resistant black finish with its stainless steel body hardened in a sort of carbon bath and then treated with plasma, which forms a thin, but also a hard coating on its surface. I am not sure how well it would stand when compared to, say, DLC (which, too, has weak points of its own) but it looks and feels durable and robust.
Limes Introduces “Casual” Endurance Leviathan Diver
Speaking the same easily recognizable design language that we have already seen last year when the German brand introduced its “professional” Endurance Neptun 2 1000m diver, the 2012 Limes Endurance Leviathan comes in a slightly larger body, but features a more “civil” -more casual, if you like- appearance thanks to the new bezel that, while being less ahem technocratic, is still ergonomic thanks to its prominent notches providing easy grip, as well as the familiar Rolex-style diving scale that makes it easier to use the watch as rudimentary timer not only deep underwater but also doing more mundane tasks, like cooking eggs and this sort of things.
Ulysse Nardin Marine Diver Monaco Limited Edition
Okay, here goes yet another limited-edition version of the Marine Diver collection. It is the fourth year in a row that the Swiss watchmaking brand sponsors the annual Monaco Yacht Show. This Ulysse Nardin Marine Diver Monaco (ref. 263-98LE-3C_MON) specifically celebrates this fact, which is only just considering that the diving companion looks like the best candidate for a nice trip on a newly bought vessel. The new version doesn’t differ too much from other Marine Divers, so I’ll be brief.