I've been chasing my tail on a dive watch for what feels like a decade now, in reality only the past couple of years. I've had a Baume & Mercier dress watch for about a decade that has never gotten much wrist time, but a couple of years ago I got serious about purchasing another swiss watch. It was absolutely my intention at the start of my search for my purchase to be a diver. The search took many, many twists and turns from the Oris 65 to the BB 58 to the Sub C and so on. Ultimately I decided that the "perfect" dive watch (for me) does not currently exist. Well, it does, but it's a 14060m and for a number of reasons (including the mine field that is the pre-owned Sub market) I do not want to go down that route. I ended up moving away from divers altogether and purchased a 214270 from an AD and I absolutely love it. There is barely anything I would change about it.
All that being said, I now find myself right back where I started. I want to add a diver that I can wear during the summer to give my Exp a bit of a break. She's been in service for about eight months now and has rarely left my wrist, which means she's starting to pick up a fair amount of love marks. That's honestly fine with me, but I'd just like something to share some of the burden.
A little bit of background: I have a roughly 6.75" wrist, am 6'0", and am looking for something under 42 mm. I don't love ceramic bezels and don't like a lot of high polished details on a watch. My ideal is time only but can live with well-executed date windows. I have spent way too much time looking at divers online and have been unable to find THE one.
A few that I have had some interest in but ultimately eliminated:
Sub C - I was offered one by an AD but passed in favor of my Exp. It just does not sing to me. The execution of the ceramic makes it feel very "blingy" to me and the current case design makes it look too chunky (for me, anyway).
BB 58 - I just can't do all the gilt. It is a real shame because if you replaced the gilt with the dial and bezel from the blue BB ETA (which I'll get to in a minute), IMO you've got close to the perfect watch. The proportions on this are almost exactly what I'm looking for.
Oris 65 - I like the design, case size and proportions quite a bit but ultimately the specs (movement, WR) don't meet what I'm looking for.
Now, on to the two I'm currently obsessing over:
SMPc blue - the 41mm non-wave dial. What I like:
-The proportions are outstanding (47 L2L is about the best I've found)
-The color of the bezel and dial are just what I'm looking for
-The specs & heritage as a diver rank up there with just about anything
What I don't like:
-It has a ceramic bezel, although looking at photos it strikes me as less flashy than the SubC does. The numerals being painted in grey vs white give the bezel more of a matte appearance, at least from what I can tell having never seen it in person.
-The various high polished details. I don't understand the polishing on the lugs and the polished "ribbons" on the bracelet. I think I could learn to live with it, however.
-The look of the bracelet confounds me a bit. It just does not seem to fit a dive watch. The lack of any taper is something I'd definitely have to get used to coming from wearing an oyster bracelet every day.
-The HEV. Seriously, does anybody want this at this point?
-The placement of the date window at 3:00 and the fact that the wheel is in black on a blue dial is, well, not good. It's not a deal killer, but would look so much better at 6:00 with a color match background.
-I also don't really get the skeleton hands. Not exactly bad, but they certainly don't add anything of value for me. The hour hand looks far too stubby.
-Similar to the BB58, I can't help but be frustrated over what could've been. If you take this watch, remove the HEV and place a color match date window at 6:00, you've got an amazing piece - even keeping everything else the same.
On to the blue BB ETA. What I like:
-Handsome, understated blue aluminum bezel. No bling to be found here.
-Lovely matte dial with the rose & smiley, well executed snowflake hands, outstanding legibility.
-The classic oyster style bracelet with no "rivets"
What I don't like:
-I am concerned about the proportions. 50 L2L is likely stretching the limits for me. The sides of the case appear very thick, even with the ETA version being slightly thinner than the in house.
-The color match crown detail. I just don't need this. It's not exactly offensive to me, just seems a bit gimmicky.
-I kind of wish it had a blue dial to match the bezel. I like the dial a lot as is, but think this would've made it a more unique looking piece.
-I know I said I liked aluminum bezels, but they are inherently more fragile than ceramic. I am not one that needs to have my watches appear pristine, but will I begin to dislike the look of the bezel over time as it starts to pick up marks/fade?
-Does it look too much like a Sub homage? This is a superficial consideration that does not concern me a great deal, but the SMPC has the benefit of being unique whereas the BB does not.
Thoughts on my dilemma? As you can probably tell I've spent a fair amount of time thinking about it.
