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The San Martin Vintage Sub should satisfy fans of vintage Rolexes and Tudors who are looking for medium size vintage diver homages. San Martin is a Chinese brand that has become increasingly popular because of its amazing value for money. This model can be seen as a very afforable diving watch with a similar style to the vintage Rolex Submariners like the “big crown” models the San Martin page on Ali Express mentions the 6200 reference, which is a famous Rolex Sumariner model with the 369 dial. The reference SN004-G has a black bezel insert with gold numerals and a black dial with a gilt chapter ring.

This watch can be for many an ideal balance between price and style: the diameter of the SN004-G model is 38mm, the lug-to-lug distance is 46mm and it is 13mm thick, making it a great fit for most wrists. It is powered by the reliable NH35 automatic (self-winding) mechanical movement, but the dial has no date, which might upset a few due to the first “ghost” position when pulling the crown to set the time. The water resistance of this San Martin Vintage Submariner homage is 200m, making it suitable for swimming and diving.

• Ref: San Martin SN004-G
• Diameter: 38.00 mm
• Thickness: 13.00 mm
• Lug width: 20.00 mm
• Caliber: Seiko NH35

The Seiko SNZF17 - part of the Seiko 5 Sports watches family and also called the “Sea Urchin” - can be seen as a very afforable diving watch with a similar style to the Rolex Submariner. The reference SNZF17 has a black bezel insert and a black dial, whereas the SNZF15 has a “Pepsi” (blue and red) bezel and dark blue dial.

This watch can be for many an ideal balance between price and style: the diameter of the SNZF model is 41mm and it is 13.2mm thick, making it a great fit for most wrists. It is powered by the reliable 7S26 automatic (self-winding) mechanical movement, offering a day-date complication. The water resistance of the Seiko “Sea Urchin” is 100m, making it suitable for surface swimming.

• Ref: Seiko SNZF17, SNZF15
• Diameter: 41.00 mm
• Thickness: 13.20 mm
• Lug width: 22.00 mm
• Caliber: Seiko 7S26

TThe Omega Seamaster 300 GMT 253X.XX series were made from 1998 to late 2000s for the 50th anniversary of the Omega Seamaster collection. 

Although it is the first GMT watch made by Omega this model has been forgotten and seems pretty underrated.

Let's have a look at this 20+ year old Omega model that could be considered as a great Rolex GMT-Master alternative. 

The bezel of the 2534.50 is black and white and seems to have a marmite effect in the watch community: some people would have preferred an entirely black one.

• Ref: 2538.50, 2538.20
• Diameter: 41.50 mm
• Thickness: 13.50 mm
• Lug width: 20.00 mm
• Caliber: Omega 1128

The Stowa brand has been a game changer since 1927 by producing watches with a timeless design. The Bauhaus design of its Antea collection has inspired many other watch brands ever since STOWA introduced it in 1937. At the time, not many companies realized the dramatic impact and success the Bauhaus design would have later on. Today, the Bauhaus design that Walter Gropius introduced in 1917 has become iconic and well established.

The current Antea design is based on the first Stowa 1937 model, reissued in 2004 by Jörg Schauer. The Antea Classic is produced unchanged and in different watch case sizes since then (36.5mm or 39mm) and with manual wind or automatic movement.

The watch has a polished stainless steel watch case. The silver-plated dial version has gorgeous blued steel-watch-hands, whereas a black dial version is available with silver hands.

• Ref: Antea Classic 365
• Diameter: 36.50 mm
• Thickness: 9.20 mm
• Lug width: 18.00 mm
• Caliber: ETA 2824-2

The Stowa Antea is very elegant and captivatingly beautiful. The Antea 390 offers reasonable dimensions with a diameter of 39mm and convenient a lug width on 20mm. The thickness of this Bauhaus timepiece is 9.20mm and it provides a 50m water resistance.

It wears quite big though, with a lug to lug distance of 47.80mm. If you have small wrists the Antea 365 is worth looking at.

The transaperent case back lets you admire the top version ETA 2824-2 movement equipped with magnificent looking blued screws. The rotor is handmade produly bearing the Stowa logo. The strap has a deployment buckle.

• Ref: Antea Classic 390
• Diameter: 39.00 mm
• Thickness: 9.70 mm
• Lug width: 20.00 mm
• Caliber: ETA 2824-2

Steinhart is quite famous for its homage models of the modern Rolex Submariner, but it also issued some watches inspired by some vintage Rolex Submariner watches, that have their own identity:

• The Ocean Vintage Military (OVM) (ref 103-065)

• The OCEAN One VINTAGE Red (ref 103-0657)

The dimensions of these vintage-looking models are: 42mm diameter, 13mm thick, 22mm lug width.

It is also worth noting that a limited edition with a 39mm of the OVM was launched by Gnomon watches, limited to 500 pieces. They are sold out but you can find some on the used market, with a little bit of patience and research.

• Ref: Ocean Vintage Military (OVM) 103-0658
• Diameter: 42.00 mm
• Thickness: 13.00 mm
• Lug width: 22.00 mm
• Caliber: ETA 2824-2/SW 200, élaboré

The lume on the dial and hands of those models is Super Luminova “Old Radium”, giving those new watches a vintage look.

The watch sports a classic yet reliable Swiss ETA 2824-2 (or Selita SW 200) élaboré ( +/- 7sec/day max +/-20sec/day).

Each of those models can be seen as a great alternative to the vintage Rolex models like the Rolex Milsub, or the Rolex Submariner 1680 (famous for its red text) - which are now prohibitively expensive. Despite their vintage look, those Steinhart models have a 300m water resistance!

• Ref: Ocean One Vintage Red 103-0657
• Diameter: 42.00 mm
• Thickness: 13.00 mm
• Lug width: 22.00 mm
• Caliber: ETA 2824-2/SW 200, élaboré