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Following the success of the Orient Mako II, the Orient Mako III (ref RA-AA0001B) is a fantastic diver. It is a great entry-level diving watch that retails at a price of around $250. It has a 42mm diameter and a thickness of 13mm.

This diver has its own identity, meaning it is not an homage and that it has an authentic, timeless and well-executed design. However, some might regret that the Mako III lost the numerals that were present on the dial of the Mako II. The hour markers and hands contrast well with the black dial, they are covered with some LumiBrite to ensure a high level of readability in the dark. The water resistance is 200m and the lug width of this watch is conveniently 22mm.

The SKX007/SKX009 is a very respectable diving watch that many people have in their collection. It is very affordable and easily found around $250 on eBay. It is very solid and is comfortable to wear.

The water resistance is 200m. It sports the Seiko 7S26 automatic movement which is a reliable workhorse and offers 40 hours of power reserve. Although this movement does not have handwinding and hacking capabilities, unlike the 4R36.

Diver watches tend to have large and thick cases in order to cope with the water pressure during diving activities. The SKX013 is a very much welcomed exception to that. It is simply one of the best dive watches below 40mm in diameter. It's ideally suited for smaller wrists.

This Seiko model has a 38mm diameter. It's a tough tool watch that can definitely follow in the depths of the ocean. The lug to lug distance of 44mm makes it idea an ideal dive watch for small wrists. The thickness of the watch is 13.1mm, which for a diver is within the expected range. The lug width is 20mm, making it easy to customize the strap of this watch. It is one of the best dive watches for small wrists that you will find.

It's also a very affordable dive watch and is in the same price range as its bigger brother: the SKX007. A perfect daily beater that has its own style.

The Seiko SARB017 aka Alpinist is a very well made watch. It has gained strong support from watch enthusiasts and is very often mentioned as a legendary watch. The SARB Series was introduced in 2006 and was discontinued in 2018, which made this watch even more desirable, contributing to a rather high price increase (ranging from 20 to 50%) in the last year or so.

The watch features a green dial with gold indices and lumed hands. It is a perfect watch for going outdoors and hiking, but looks very refined too. It even has a solar compass which can prevent you from getting lost - provided you know how to use it.

The first automatic chronograph in space is the 6139 from Seiko, which was worn in 1973 by the American astronaut William R. Pogue, the pilot of Skylab 4. Pogue spent 84 days on the Skylab Orbital workshop and returned in February 1974.

While training, Pogue needed a chronograph, but the Omega Speedmasters would be provided only near the date of the launch, so he bought himself a Seiko 6139-6002 in order time his exercises and tests.

As its name suggests, the Hamilton Khaki Field is a field watch. The Khaki field is a well built and rugged watch that will stand the test of time. Its simple yet effective design makes it very easy to read and use.

This watch is full of history: it was introduced in 1910, when Hamilton began to equip the American Army with military watches which were more precise. It became the official watch supplier of the US Army.

This model has seen many battles, and if someone asked us to show them what a field watch is, it would be our pick: it represents courage and honor.

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.

Squale is a family business based in Milano (Italy) since 1946. This company was providing cases and parts to a lot of other brands such as Tag Heuer or Blancpain.

Priced at $570 USD, this watch is about 2-3 times more expensive than a mid-range Orient or SKX divers watch. Looking at it from the other end of the price curve, it is less than half the cost of the Oris Divers Sixty five.

The Squale Atmos 20 provides, however, a lot of value and quality for its price. With a diameter of 40mm, 12.1m in thickness, 20mm of lug width, AR-coated sapphire glass, an ETA 2824-2 caliber, and 200m resistance... one must admit that it is a serious alternative!

The bezel is made of Ceramic, it looks shiny and gives the watch a premium feel. The dial is a glossy black with printed silver branding that looks nice and sharp. The polished indices contribute greatly to the premium look.

This watch also has a “maxi” version, which has a matte dial and printed indices. This latter has also a Ceramic dial, which we feel does not look as good as with the glossy dial and applied indices of the standard version.

The handset is nicely polished and appropriately sized. The inner chapter ring is brushed and simple, it seems rather plain compared to the Submariner's one that has “ROLEX ROLEX ROLEX” engraved all around.

This German-made homage to the Rolex Submariner is particularly well made and is providing amazing value for money in the world of mechanical watches.

The dimensions of the Ocean One are slightly bigger than its luxury counterpart: 42mm diameter, 13mm thick, 22mm lug width.

However, a 39mm version is available on some models, notably the Ocean One 39 black ceramic (103-0981) which is a serious affordable alternative to the Rolex Submariner. Those 39mm models are perfect for smaller wrists, although they have a similar thickness to the 42mm ones, they have a lug width of 20mm.

The Seiko SARB033 ($350 On the used market), also called baby Grand Seiko due to its similarity with its big sister (SBGR001 retailing in the $2k range on the used market). Discontinued in 2018, this watch saw its value increase by up 25% in a few months. This model was only available on the Japanese domestic market (JDM) but is easy to find on eBay. It is still very desirable to this day.

The execution of the black dial is classy and the design is timeless. The watch features a date window at 3 o'clock. The automatic mechanical movement 6R15 - which can be seen through the see-through case back - is the same as the one used in the Seiko Brightz range, priced at the upper $1000 level. The 6R15 movement has a generous 50-hour power reserve. The diameter of this watch is ideal to me, 38mm makes it wearable in all conditions, whether it's while wearing a suit, or going for a walk on a sunny day. The thickness is 11.2mm.

The Everest (PRS 25) from the Smiths brand by Timefactors is an interesting and affordable watch. The Oyster case design, the black dial, and Mercedes hands remind us a lot of the Rolex Explorer, this watch is very simple yet elegant.

For $350, you get a Miyota 9015 automatic movement in a comfortable 40mm wide and 14.5mm thick case. The water resistance is 100m and the glass is acrylic so it can scratch but you can easily polish it.

The Seiko 6138 series are automatic chronographs produced in the early 1970s. In the 1970s, a lot of the chronographs produced were around the theme of motorsports and featured very colorful dials as well as very audacious case designs. Those very funky designs are very much sought after by collectors, and Seiko's vintage chronographs are no exception.

In that era, Seiko released the 6138 and 6139 series, as a set of very cool looking automatic chronographs, including the legendary models “Pogue”, “Bullhead”, “Panda“ and “Kakume”.

The vintage Seiko chronographs offer amazing value and are amazing vintage collection starters. A lot of them can be acquired under $500 on eBay, however, prices have been rising over the last few years, as more people are getting aware of them.

In 1965, Seiko introduced the 62MAS, its first dive watch. The design of the 62MAS has become a point of reference to other dive watches and has influenced the style of Seiko watches and other brands ever since. The stainless steel case has a diameter of 37.5mm and a thickness of 14mm.

There are 2 main versions of this watch:

• The early 6217-8000 was produced in 1965 only for a few months and has a small crown and a dolphin engraved in the case back.

• The 6217-8001, which has a bigger crown and a more simple case back, was produced from 1966, earlier versions still have a dolphin on the case back whereas later ones have a Seiko signed "Horseshoe".

Christopher Ward is a relatively new brand that offers amazing value for the price. Their C60 Trident Pro 600 divers watches are very slick and have great features: ceramic bezel, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, 600m resistance, SuperLuminova SLN-T-C1 lume, date function, signed crown.

The watch sports the automatic movement Sellita SW200-1 which is very reliable and offers 38 hours of power reserve.

The original Strela Sekonda was worn by Soviet/Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov who became the first human to walk in space during the Voskhod 2 mission in 1965. The first Strela chronograph model was introduced around 1959 and at first, it was only available to the Soviet Air Forces and a few higher-ranking officials. Leonov was wearing Strela chronographs during mission preparation, flight training, and missions.

The now famous Russian space watch is housing the hand-wound column-wheel chronograph caliber 3017 - based on the Swiss Venus 150 / 152 calibers. The 3017 movement was later replaced by the 3133 manual wind chronograph movement made by Poljot (formerly First Moscow Watch Factory).

The Seiko 7A28 is an iconic watch because it represents the first quartz powered analog chronograph ever produced. The 7A28 was introduced in 1983 and can be found in 42 different variations of which some were produced for the army (South African Air Force and UK's MoD).

In the 1980s, the Swiss industry was suffering from the quartz crisis. On the other hand Seiko was being very successful during that period and raised the bar very high by issuing this model. The 7A28 movement is not like today's cheap modular and plastic quartz movement, it is a well-engineered, good looking 15 jewel metal caliber that was built to be serviced like a normal mechanical movement.

The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra (AT) is a fantastic watch that is very versatile and is a strong candidate for your one watch collection. It was released in 2003, sporting the first co-axial movement developed by Omega: the Omega 2500.

This first AT model got discontinued in 2010, it was available in 3 sizes:

• 42.0mm (2502.XX)
• 39.5mm (2503.XX)
• 36.0mm (2504.XX)