Interesting subject..
Over the last few weeks, when I was shopping around for a dive watch to replace all the dive watches I disposed off, I went to JLC Starhill to check out both the JLC Navy Seals Diver Automatic and Diver Alarm.
The cases are really beautifully finished. I was also of the opinion that they are titanium Grade 5 and PVD finished.
At the end of the day I ended up buying the GS SBGA031 J1 last week due to following:
i) it was only slightly more than 65% the cost of the JLC Diver Alarm which was the more expensive of the 2 JLCs.
ii) the GS SBGA031 was also titanium Grade 5 and even more refinely finished compared to the 2 JLCs, including both the dial and case. I also liked the light grey case/bracelet against the subtle gold lettering on the dial so had to pay RM3K premium over the stainless steel SBGA029 J1.
iii) JLC is more rugged and tool-like whereas the SBGA 031 is more of a desk diver but the GS can easily handle the job as competently
iv) Finally I've been spoilt by the extreme precision of the Spring Drives which no conventional automatic can hope to rival.
BTW I'm also a JLC fan owning a Master Control Master Moon in white gold and Reverso Grande GMT. I sold off my JLC Master Control RDM recently. The JLCs are really nice but I feel that JLC has been increasing their prices to a level where its no longer attractive to me....
I've been diving for >20 yrs and have 4 certifications from NAUI, SSI, TDI including Rescue & Nitrox Technical certification. No one needs a dive watch that exceeds 100m...its only for bragging rights. Even tri-mix diving only requires at most 200m penetration, so you don't need 600m or 1000m capability unless you like to strap your watch to the outside of a submarine whilst you are sitting in it, in which case you have no watch to check your time…OR you love over-engineering and at the same time love paying through your nose for it...
Over my >1,900 logged dives, I've never flooded any of my dive watches be it the Sinn, SMP, Planet Ocean which are rated only between 200m-600m. The maximum for compressed air diving is 200 ft or 60m. Below that you need to go for tri-mix helium dives. Only a handful of hard core divers in Malaysia have reached this stage. Most of the time recreational divers reach at most 55-60m deepest. COMEX divers may dive deeper but still not 200m. That's another subject.. They dont really dive very deep but they stay much longer as they do u/w work such as welding, etc. For really deep water COMEX uses remote control submersibles.
Anyhow serious divers use 2 dive computers for safety ( 1 for main use, the other as backup) not dive watches, which are only for time reference which the dive computers also provide.
BTW I use 2 Swiss-made Uwatec Aladin Pro-Nitrox dive computers, programmable for variable air-mix ratios.They tell me not only the time but my body temperature, ambient temperature, air consumption rate, remaining dive time, dive profile,warn me of exceeding non-decompression dive times, provide decompression times in the event the non-decomp is exceeded and plan my next few dives for the rest of the day. The dive watch is just to show off to those on land that you're a diver...
, much like how some people love to stick those dive related stickers all over their car, as if diving is such an elite and exclusive sport.
