IWC Aquatimer

When the sport of diving increasingly generated popularity in the 1960s, the International Watch Company reacted by launching its first dive watch in 1967: the Aquatimer (Ref. 812AD) was the very first model in a line of successful diving watches. The original model was water-resistant to 200 metres and featured an internal rotatable bezel. The design of the men’s watch was kept in an elegant black, which explains why second-hand watches are currently in incredible demand when it comes to the first generation of the IWC Aquatimer.

In 2008, the International Watch Company presented an anniversary collection as a tribute to its first dive watch. The Aquatimer Vintage Collection (Ref. IW323101) is strongly influenced by the design of the original Aquatimer. Contrarily, however, a modern movement that is produced in-house with an automatic winding, ticks away at the heart of this timeless watch.

Another popular vintage watch is IWC’s Ocean 2000 (Ref. IW350001). The watch was the result of a memorable collaboration between Porsche and the International Watch Company and was presented in 1982. Its titanium case is waterproof to 2,000 metres and protects the watch from corrosion - a quality feature that can still be observed with used Ocean 2000 watches. The Ocean 2000 can only be purchased on the second-hand market as the production of the watch was discontinued in the 1990s.

Gold, steel, titanium: For many connoisseurs of the IWC brand, "GST" is a household name. Throughout the years, the luxury watchmakers have created a number of models that prove the Aquatimer as a highly durable and exceedingly sought after timepiece.

The latest Aquatimer collection offers a wide range of robust wristwatches that are directed at divers, but are also widely appreciated on land. Appealing to professionals as well as amateur divers, the International Watch Company has kept the new Aquatimer models in a more refined and elegant design, while the unrivalled IWC technology ensures that this watch is perfect on the inside as well.

The most noticeable change in the new Aquatimer series is the unparalleled IWC SafeDive system. Consisting of an external/internal rotating bezel, this mechanism ensures that the dive time setting cannot be changed accidentally. In spite of this innovation, the bezel can still be adjusted easily, even whilst wearing diving gloves. The IWC SafeDive system has an immediate impact on the design of the Aquatimer dive watches: the thick bezel is a relic of departed times while the watch face offers improved legibility.