Last Updated on May 5, 2021 by swisswatchreview
Looking For Quality Homage Watches? Check Out Steeldive Watches: It’s About Time!
Consumers on the lookout for an attractive watch they can also rely on — whether to add to a large watch collection or to depend on every day — now have plenty of options. Some might choose to fork out on a timepiece crafted by some of the world’s most well-known luxury watchmakers, but a whole range of brave, young, watchmakers can offer comparable quality for much more reasonable prices.
Steeldive is a relatively new microbrand from Guangzhou, China — founded in 2008 as a company that supplied other watchmakers, this exciting brand dove into the venture of independently producing customized dive watches only in 2018.As this company specializes in manufacturing high-quality homage watches, customers will gain an awesome timepiece aesthetically inspired by diver watches from times gone by.
The tech, on the other hand, is far from vintage — Steeldive watches are powered by Japan NH35 movement. That means that Steeldive’s range of watches has 21,600vph, 3Hz, 24 jewel automatic movement with a 41hr power reserve.
This young company is dedicated to its mission of producing reliable, durable,and aesthetically-pleasing, yet affordable, wristwatches. The mere fact that Steeldive is a Chinese brand might be a little off-putting to some readers. Some people looking for amazing budget watches may even have switched to another tab as soon as they learned where Steeldive comes from, but for those who are still reading, here’s a message. It doesn’t take a whole lot of internet research to find out that watch enthusiasts from all over the world give Steeldive watches one glowing review after another, while bad reviews are, frankly, nowhere to be found.
Customers who have previously ordered products from China only to wait for their deliveries for weeks will also be pleased to hear that all Steeldive watches are delivered via DHL, usually within three working days. As a bonus, customers will not be charged for shipping if their order is over $100. Customers who ordered a Steeldive watch only to find that the model wasn’t quite to their liking can, meanwhile, rely on the company’s 30-day exchange and return policy — and for those who love their new timepiece, there is a two-year warranty as well.
The watches this company produces are an homage to a number of different classic luxury watches, from brands such as Seiko, Rolex, and Blancpain, among others, and to be perfectly honest, the quality isn’t far off, either.
Well, after this introduction, it’s about time to actually check out some of the watches that Steeldive makes.
Steeldive SD1940 “Bronze Pilot Mark Xviii” Automatic 200m Diver Watch
This watch is an homage to the German Spezialuhr für Flieger — or in English, “special watch for pilots”. These kinds of watches made their first appearance at the beginning of the 20th century, following noveladvances in contemporary engineering. The idea was not only to make watches that resemble cockpit clocks, but also to ensure that the watches were large and the hands ultra-visible, so that pilots could easily tell the time.
Steeldive’s Bronze Pilot Mark Xviii is an elegant wristwatch, with a mid-century kind of vibe, that goes really well with a nice suit, or any type of formal apparel. The watch’s 39mm case features a date window, and the leather straps finish the look. The case’sthickness is 12mm, and the watch weighs 150g. The bezel, made with ceramic, is 120 clicks. It has a screwdown crown, sapphire crystal glass, and a screwback case.
The water resistance is 200m/20ATM, and, imagine this: once the wearer’s business dinner is over, this timepiece can easily be transformed into a diving watch for the next morning. This watch comes with extra rubber straps, and a tool to switch those straps in a matter of minutes! Aside from the amazing looks, this watch is also extraordinarily precise.
Now, as far as looks go, some people might argue that there’s nothing particularly special about this watch — but that’s part of the point. These types of watches were originally made to look like the chronometers used on early planes and boats. While everyone has seen watches of this kind before by now, discerning customers will know that, especially in black tie events, less is more — which makes this watch a perfect accessory as well as a trusted and practical timepiece.
Steeldive 1970 6105 Turtle Series
“Apocalypse now”, the multiple-award winning movie, is considered one of the best pieces of cinematography of all time. This classic, directed by Francis Ford Copolla, influenced popular culture in a great number of ways. A character called captain Willard (portrayed by Martin Sheen) used a Seiko 6105-8110 watch, which later became known as the “Captain Willard watch”.
While the movie that made these kinds of watches widely known came out in 1979, the production of the famous Seiko 6105 started back in 1968. A type of watch that has a manufacturing history of a grand total of 53 years (albeit not continuously), has to have something going for it, no?
This type of watch is also called the “turtle”, due to the fact that the case resembles this animal. The watch proved its quality as well. The famous Japanese explorer Naomi Uemura wore it on his 12,000km dogsledge run from Greenland to Alaska. He wore the same watch while descending the Amazon river by boat.
Steeldive’s 1970 6105 turtle series is a worthy homage to this awesome watch. The turtle watch shares some attributes with the pilot watch described earlier: it has the same water resistance (200m/20ATM), is made with sapphire crystal glass, and runs on NH35 movement. This is basically a Seiko movement, which means that customers get a really good Seiko replica with a Seiko mechanism, but for a significantly better price. What’s not to like?
The watch has a screwdown crown and a screwback 316L stainless steel case. The case is 13.5mm thick, and the diameter of the case is 44mm, which means that the proportions are exactly the same as those of the Seiko SPB153J1. The strap is made from stainless steel as well, with an additional rubber strap being included to enable users to participate in athletic activities. The weight of this watch is 140g, and it also has a handy date window. The bezel is 120 clicks. It is made with ceramic. The logo is positioned at 12 o’clock. The hour and minute hands are slimmer than the hour markers, and the second hand has a lumed marker as well. The caseback, the crown, and the clasp are all signed.
Steeldive 1975 Tuna Series
This series of watches represents an homage to the tuna diver watches, probably the most famous diver watches of all time. Still much-loved by wristwatch collectors around the planet, the name “tuna watch” isn’t actually an official name. Rather, it’s an endearing nickname given to this type of watch by the many fans of the timepiece, since the outer case resembles a can of tuna. The tuna watch is considered the perfect divers’ watch throughout the watch-lovers’ community.
Like the previous models, Steeldive’s tuna watches also feature a screwback 316L steel case, and a screwdown crown. This robust watch is able to withstand depths of 300m (30ATM) and has a Seiko NH35 movement (that is, 41 hours of energy storage). The watch mirror is made from sapphire crystal glass with AR coating. The case diameter (without the crown) measures 47.5mm, the length is 44mm lug to lug. The case is 15mm thick, and the width of the lug measures 22mm. The pips and hands are well lumed, using Swiss quality BGW9 super lum, which is pretty useful for deep dives. It has a two tone lume, the bezel being blue, and the hands and the dials being green. The bezel is made with ceramic, and it has a classic date window at 3 o’clock.
For customers who want everything these watches have to offer but who crave more interesting aesthetics, there is even a model depicts Hokusai’s Great Wave; a perfect homage not only to tuna watches, but also to the divers who may be using them.
All in all, Steeldive is a company worth keeping an eye on — both watch collectors and practically-minded consumers will find that this brand continuously keeps adding new offers to its existing collection of watches that are not only budget-friendly, but also genuinely awesome.
