SWC Diver

SWC Diver

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Manufacturer: Swiss Watch Company | Price: $450 USD (£360 GBP, €400 EUR approx)

Introducing the Swiss Watch Company Diver, a Swiss Made dive watch with really impressive specifications for the price including 300m water resistance, 20 layers of Super Luminova®, a sapphire crystal and a ceramic unidirectional bezel.

Specifications

  • Dimensions: Case Diameter – 43.4mm, Thickness – 13.2mm, Lug to Lug – 49.5mm, Lug Width – 22mm
  • Movement: Swiss Made Sellita SW200-1 Automatic, 28,800vph (4Hz), Hackable, Self Winding, 38hr Power Reserve
  • Case Material: 316L Stainless Steel with Polished Accents
  • Weight: 162g on Bracelet     Extras: Carry Case (Holds 3 Watches)
  • Bracelet: Brushed 316L Stainless Steel with Polished Accents, Solid End Links, Push Pins, Milled & Signed Clasp
  • Crystal: Domed Sapphire, 5 Layers of AR Coating 
  • Bezel: 120 Click Unidirectional, Ceramic Insert
  • Water Resistance: 30ATM / 300m / 990ft
  • Lume: Swiss Super Luminova® BGW9
  • Crown: Signed, Screw Down      Caseback: Screw Down Stainless Steel, Oil Pressed Logo
  • Warranty: 2 Years     Where to Buy: Swiss Watch Company
  • Options: Dial Colour: Black, Black & Orange, Blue, Green, White

The Case

The case of the SWC Diver is 43.4mm. The lug to lug is 49.5mm and the overall thickness, including the sapphire crystal I measured at 13.2mm. The entire case, bezel, caseback, crown and bracelet are all 316L stainless steel. The SWC Diver also has a water resistance rating of 300m / 30 ATM, thanks to the screw-down caseback & crown. The finish of the case is fantastic, with it being brushed with polished chamfered edges along the sides and the downward curved lugs. The proportions are, in my opinion, a bit large. However, due to the lug to lug length it will fit wrist sizes of 6¾” and above.

Bracelet

The bracelet of the SWC Diver is very nicely made and has all the features that all us watch enthusiasts love. Solid end links, pin & collar for resizing, a fully milled clasp that is also signed with the Swiss Watch Company logo. The links are all brushed with the centre links having a polished chamfered edge which all looks outstanding. Unfortunately, there are no micro-adjustment holes but there are half links to ensure a snug fit. The brushing on the bracelet is also done superbly and matches the case absolutely spot on.

The overall fit & finish of the case and bracelet is excellent and they actually look like they’ve been made for each other rather than some other companies that use off the shelf components. If I had to find any negatives of the bracelet, 100% it would be the pin and collar system that’s used for resizing. It is a total and utter ball-ache. I’ve had this before and when the watch arrived and I seen the bracelet and how it’s resized, there was a lot of swearing! Eventually though, I did manage to get the bracelet sized perfectly. It’s just as well you don’t have to size the bracelet very often. Once it’s done, you can forget about it and then of course apologise to everyone that’s come near you whilst you were trying to adjust it.

Movement

The chosen movement for the SWC Diver is the Sellita SW200-1 automatic. An excellent calibre that is a 28,800vph, 4Hz smooth sweep, 26 jewel movement with self winding and of course, hacking. Checking the accuracy after running the SWC Diver for a couple of weeks, mainly on my wrist and occasionally in my Barrington Watch Winder, I was more than happy with the accuracy, with it showing an average of +3.2 seconds per day.  Very nice indeed!

The movement has an anti-shock system that will protect its inner workings during a ton of different activities and impacts. The movement also has a 38 hour power reserve meaning a fully wound SWC Diver will last for almost 2 days while off the wrist. Why you’d want to take it off your wrist beats me though. I have loads of watches and the SWC Diver has barely left my wrist since it arrived.
 
The Sellita SW200 movement is by far my favourite compared to competitors. It’s very accurate from my experience, very quiet, reliable and easy enough to get serviced when the need arrives. Great choice SWC!

Dial & Bezel

The SWC Diver has a 120 click unidirectional bezel with a rather unusual ceramic insert. Don’t get me wrong, it is of excellent quality and everything lines up great. The bezel action is fantastic with no backplay. The insert itself is quite hard to describe, it almost looks a little cheap from a distance, but on close inspection you can see the quality.
 
The dial has very neatly applied indices, all of which are pumped full of lume. The logo is also applied and I think it looks great. The text on the dial is nicely printed and very legible. The hour and minute hands are also spot on in my opinion.
I do like the seconds hand too, with its fully lumed arrow head pointer that reaches out all the way to the minute track. If SWC ever make a Mk2 diver, mainly applicable to the white version though, I would love to see a black border around the indicies to make it far more legible during the day. It’s fine at night, because the lume is like a friggin’ torch!
 
One last niggle that I have regarding the dial, is the square textured effect bang right in the middle of the dial. I’m not sure it works if I’m honest. I’d have much preferred it if they pushed the textured effect all the way out to the minute track. Either that, or just have the dial with a flat, smooth texture across the entirity of the dial.

Conclusion

The SWC Diver is probably the best bang for buck watch I’ve ever had the pleasure of reviewing. The build quality and overall fit & finish is quite simply, outstanding! If you’re looking for a dive watch for under $500, I would highly recommend the SWC Diver. Colour wise, if it was me personally and my cash, I think on reflection, I’d choose either the black or the blue version as they are more legible that this white one is.
 
Swiss Watch Company – Excellent Job! If you made the small changes that I’ve previously mentioned regarding the dial, I’d no doubt change your score to a very worthy 10/10!
8.5/10
8.5/10 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
 
A huge thank you to Joshua from Swiss Watch Company for sending out the SWC Diver so promptly.
 
To view Swiss Watch Company’s website, or join their mailing list to be informed of new models etc, visit SWCUSA.com.
 
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