Fratello On Air: Six Divers Under €1,000 That Are Ready For Summer

Beating the heat with money to spare

May 31, 2023

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Fratello On Air returns with a look at six divers under €1,000 each. We could do this episode any time, but summer is the perfect time due to casual wear and loads of water-related activities. We’ve picked a fairly wide range of pieces from a wide array of countries. If rotating bezels are your thing, sit back and listen!

So, you don’t dive? Well, neither of us does either, but we do spend a fair amount of time in the water during the summer months. And hey, maybe one of us will dust off the snorkeling gear at some point. Regardless of actually strapping on a tank, divers have become a go-to practical watch for just about any activity these days, and that includes simply acting as a good watch. We’ve come together to name six divers that truly range in price, but all come in below €1,000. We hope you enjoy it!

Handgelenks Kontrolle

For those of you who don’t love blathering, we’re fairly light on the small talk this week and get right into the divers. Well, almost. Before the Handgelenks Kontrolle, Balazs discusses his profound admiration for the Tissot PRX. We think this would make a great summer watch because it pairs so well with some shorts and a rolled-up linen shirt. Balazs then talks about wearing his Doxa SUB 300T Sharkhunter, a watch that made the trip with him to his hometown in Hungary. Mike is sporting the newly released Aquastar Model 60, a 37mm skin diver that wears really well. He also discusses bringing the Tudor Black Bay 58 Silver and the Synchron Military Poseidon on a recent trip to Italy, a foray filled with pool and ocean activities.

Six divers under €1,000 for summer

We’re ready for the main topic and that means choosing six divers that all sell for below €1,000. Let us know what you think of these choices:

Certina DS Action Diver, a €975 43mm PVD-coated stealth watch that we loved during our recent visit to Swatch Group in Germany.
Yema Pearldiver, a €799 retro-styled diver with a thick Hesalite crystal and in-house automatic movement.
Nivada Grenchen Antarctic-Diver, a brand-new €815 retro diver with a Cyclops!
Seiko Prospex Solar Diver SNE573, this €499 watch has a no-fuss solar heartbeat, a great footprint, and is only 10.6mm thick.
Baltic Aquascaphe Titanium Blue, for €849, is a classic diver with a comfortable and lightweight case.
Citizen Promaster Mechanical Diver, for roughly €579, was a long time coming for the big brand, and it also brings a titanium case.

We hope you enjoyed today’s episode, and thank you for listening. If you have thoughts on future episode topics, please feel free to let us know!

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Fratello On Air: Six Divers Under €1,000 That Are Ready For Summer

No point spending more than € 579 to play the part as a drought out diver, the Citizen got the features and the pedigree. The fun is best taken care of with the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic. The lumed indices looks “vintage” similar to Gerards pick #4 Kuoe Kyoto Old Smith 90-002 in the allstar game. What I really like with the Antarctic is that there’s a lot of sharp details, yet it has kept legibility. Detailed but in order.

Never thought of the DSA 43 as THE strapmonster but the allblack seems to do just fine, as does the titanium ed. The new yachtmaster looks really good with a monchrome bezel, but….. that feature makes little sense to me. Might as well take it all the way like the Omega Seamaster Black/Black. The DS 2 titanium Turtle would be the Certina summer watch for me.

Should really pick the Citizen, but I’ll go with the Nivada. On second thought, summer means different straps all the time, right? Wouldn’t the Citizen be the better one for that?

When I was looking for an affordable, titanium mechanical diver for the Summer, both the Citizen and the Baltic came close, but the Certina DS-2 Turning Bezel Sea Turtle Conservancy won out in the end. All three are fantastic watches.

Really strong new options for 1000 and below. Choices are almost overwhelming if you’re willing to go slightly used too. Great time to be an enthusiast of divers!

I really enjoyed this episode of the show. The Baltic Aqauascaphe Titanium (in blue) is definitely my favorite and quite tempting. I enjoy a good diver on a rubber strap and titanium would make it even better. I’m inclined to wait for an eventual Pelagos 39 in blue to come out though. The fact that I just made a huge watch purchase also pushes me to wait too. For now, I’ve got my Seiko King Turtle on a Crafter Blue fitted rubber strap to be that no cares summer/beach watch.

BEWARE-HIDDEN FEES I purchased the Nivada Grenchen Antarctic diver on the first release (round). After receiving the watch and seeing the date magnifier, in person, I didn’t care for the look and attempted to return it. Their website banner reads “free exchanges and returns”. NOT TRUE. I was told I need to pay for return shipping and was quoted between $150 and $180 from FedEx, UPS and DHL. Also, received an invoice from Federal Express for $83.50 for import duties on a watch I am returning???!!!
Customer service refuses to help me so warning others.