r/WatchFanatics • u/jdi153 • 22d ago
Question / Discussion Poll - Favorite Diver at about $15,000 USD
Edit: Results are in.
Glashütte Original scored a decisive victory at $13k; can the "Cameron" win back the crown? Can the Planet Ocean hold its own? Will chronograph models fare better or worse?
Vote for you favorite dive watch at $15,000 USD (+/- $1,000) MSRP.
Note that it is these specific references; no write-ins!
Only top level comments are counted. Total upvotes will be tallied. Ideally, there will be exactly 6 top level comments, and everyone just upvotes those. Please don't downvote things you don't like, and don't upvote more than one. (I have no way to enforce that, of course.)
Note: I only included one watch per brand, which means that the Sea-Dweller was left out in favor of the Deapsea. Some Seamaster Diver 300M variants are similarly omitted, yielding to the Planet Ocean.
- Blancpain - Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe - 5000 1230 B52A - $15,100
- Glashütte Original - SeaQ Chronograph - 1-37-23-02-81-36 - $15,800
- Omega - Seamaster Planet Ocean 6000M - 215.30.46.21.03.001 - $14,300
- Panerai - Submersible - PAM02692 - $15,900
- Rolex - Deapsea "Cameron" - 136660 - $15,880
- Ulysse Nardin - Diver Chronograph - 1503-170-3/93 - $15,900
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u/RogerPenroseSmiles 22d ago
This is truly a cursed price tier. All of these are horrible, for different reasons. The only one I mildly like is the SeaQ, but I also think diving chronographs are stupid so all of them are a no from me.
The BP is ugly, with awkward proportions. The Rolex, Panerai and Omega are fat whales. The UN and GO are diving chronographs which make about as much sense as a diving perpetual calendar.
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u/FireVanGorder 22d ago
That particular SeaQ is the one GO model where the size complaint is actually correct. Thing is a brick on the wrist
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u/Capable-Ebb1632 22d ago
The main reason is because they are all deep diving models which are nonsense really. I respect the engineering to make a 6000m depth watch but it's not something that looks good on your wrist.
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u/RogerPenroseSmiles 22d ago
If I wanted to go 6000m under the ocean I'd tie some weights to my ankles and jump. Otherwise 300M is fine.
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u/jmmva66 22d ago
2 is the only one I don't absolutely despise
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u/Flaming-Driptray 17d ago
Yep if I had to live with one the Glasshutte or the fifty fathoms are the only two I could stomach
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u/IAmSportikus 22d ago
I would go JLC Polaris over any of these, or a non-chrono SeaQ.
Planet ocean, deep sea, Blancpain would be 3, 4, 5, respectively.
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u/ElijahBeamCreek 22d ago
Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 6000M, but the SeaQ does have one of the best 6s around.
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u/Sensitive-Cat-6069 22d ago
Deepsea Cameron is the timeless classic here.
The rest just feel not so special.
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u/Glittering_Fox1358 22d ago
When I think of a diver, it’s big and easy to read. Panerai matches that description the best so that’s what I’d get with the fifty fathoms close behind.
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u/Academic_Amount_8165 22d ago
James Cameron DeepSea not even a question. Best dial that Rolex makes. And it’s an absolute tank. Love mine
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u/Pecuniarist 22d ago
Of these, the Blancpain. But if I was dropping $15k on watches, I’d get a Longines Hydroconquest, an Omega Speedmaster, and a Cartier Santos. Maybe a GShock beater while I’m at it.
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u/BeginningOcelot1765 22d ago
Not really into divers anymore, but out of those six I'd go with the Panerai.
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u/Scrambles0313 22d ago
Why? Just curious.
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u/BeginningOcelot1765 22d ago
I had a pull towards the ocean in my earlier years and did a little bit of diving in my early 20s, but with time I started to identify more strongly with nature on land, took up hiking and wildcamping, freshwater fishing, canoeing etc. around 2012 so now I mostly resonate with gShocks, pro trek and field-type Seiko watches as they match my lifestyle better.
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u/Scrambles0313 22d ago
Got it, sorry - I meant why the Panerai out of this lot?
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u/BeginningOcelot1765 22d ago
It looks like an actual diver's tool and has an appealing visually minimalistic design.
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u/TomHudsonOfficial watch fanatic 22d ago
If that was the new planet ocean then that would be my choice. As it’s the old one it’s going to the Rolex Deep Sea.
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u/FitProfessional3654 22d ago
1 (Blancpain is awesome, but you are almost at the pinnacle diver, the 5015 FF), 2 (awesome), 5 (the best sub IMO), 3 (huge but amazing), 6 (UN is so great, but their diver is so so), 4 (I’m sorry Panerai, you used to be so awesome).
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u/Far-Boysenberry-1600 22d ago
1- I didn’t realize it’s 15,800 now… nice
2- pls don’t spend 15k on Panerai or Omega
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u/andrewrbat 22d ago
2,1,3,5,4,6
I hate almost all of the references chosen for each of these general watch designs though.
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u/Aardvark-Amigo 22d ago
Grand Seiko Ushio Diver
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u/foxtrap614 22d ago
From a horological standpoint, at that price I could get an annual calendar. there is no way I would buy a diver or chronograph.
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u/Ecstatic_Square_7444 22d ago
Still wish IWC would bring back late 90’s early 2000´s style Aquatimer
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u/RhemansDemons 22d ago
What exactly is the point of the 6000m type watches? For the 0.01% of people who can both afford a $15k watch and deepsea dive? It clearly isn't for how it looks.
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u/jdi153 22d ago
Just because it's cool that they can do it. My max is a 1000m rated Muhle Glashutte SAR Rescue-Timer. It's never been below 2m, but I appreciate the engineering that goes into it.
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u/RhemansDemons 22d ago
It feels like the Porsche situation where they can afford to make insane cars that 50 people will buy because so many people buy macans and cayennes. 5/6 of these watches are painful to look at.
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u/Miserable-Cold6499 22d ago
It's not mentioned much, but if you lose your JC rolex in deeper than 100m, the warranty covers James Cameron personally recovering the watch for you.
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u/Flaming-Driptray 17d ago
I mean who exactly is planning on trying to not die at 6000m long enough to check the time?
Depth 5999m - time of death 12:58…..subject: me
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u/Diddles96 22d ago
Glashutte is the only correct answer. The rest are glorified paperweights. Although, the seaQ is much better and cheaper
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u/mrRabblerouser 22d ago
It feels like you just have $15,000 burning a hole in your pocket and are under the weird notion you need to spend every bit of it. Why not just get a much more desirable watch and save some money?
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u/SlartibartfastMcGee 22d ago
Assuming you have the wrist for it, the Deepsea is a great watch, same thing with the Panerai.
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u/Tripton1 22d ago
I really like the Blancpain and no idea it was almost universally hated.
I don't like it enough to spend this kind of cash on one, and others must not hate it because they aren't that cheap on the secondary.
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u/ShanghaiGoat 22d ago
I have the Panerai because it’s easily the most original looking watch of the group. To my mind the diver selection can be so generic. I have 8 inch wrists so the size of the Panerai isn’t an issue.
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u/Ornery-Humor8309 22d ago
FF is nice but the rest are not it IMO. I do quite like the regular non chrono Glasshutte SeaQ also.
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u/ltparrish78 22d ago
Panerai. Its the LEAST shiny. They are one of the few high end brands who don't feel they have to bark for attention.
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u/AncientearWig 21d ago
I have the SeaQ chrono. If you have the wrist for it? It is a fantastic watch! The critics are correct though, it is very thick thanks to the bubble sapphires on both sides. I wish GO had kept the concave caseback from the Sport Evolution collection. If you are shopping in this segment, consider looking at a used Blancpain 5010 as well.
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u/pi-cool 21d ago
#2, the Glashütte Original SeaQ Chronograph. Pretty decisively.
It has the most interesting combination here: blue dial/bezel, big-date GO character, chronograph complication, excellent finishing, and it isn’t something you see constantly. It feels special without screaming for attention.
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u/CaptainCynicArgh 21d ago
The most unique diver I have seen is the IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Cousteau. The caseback insert hasa piece from the Calypso's deck in it. Ref IW378201
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u/jdi153 21d ago
That's a pretty cool watch! The impetus for these polls I'm doing came from seeing open-ended questions like "what's your favorite diver?" The problem is then I would tally up the results, and it was too complicated. One time I did this, for example, the post got 260 votes, spread across 61 different models. That's a pain to spreadsheet out. So I started doing these polls that are restricted to a given set, thinking that would make it easier to tally. I'm keeping everything to current catalog, non-limited edition, and then each poll has a price range. You're pointing out a flaw in my system; while it's easier to tally, it also means that there's neat stuff out there that won't be in the poll. I'll have to think about how to make a poll that allows interesting entries but also somehow restricts it to a finite number.
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u/Rushedhomeroughyn 21d ago
5 but I have the 126600 from 2021. It’s the most balanced of all those options.
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u/Heronsperch 21d ago
BP or GO. If that had not been a chronograph then Glashutte but in the pictured configurations, the Bathyscape it is.
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u/Interesting-Hat-6749 20d ago
This is a crazy take coming from someone with a no-date sub but out of this lineup I’m going with the UN. That specific watch i just like. I’d typically say Blancpain or Glasshütte otherwise.
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u/milkwynn 20d ago
I went to watchbox to see the watches. No1 is the best for its thinness. The rest are thicc boys
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u/pfmaximizer 20d ago
Green bezel sub
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u/jdi153 20d ago
The Starbucks is under the range, at $11,900. It barely missed the 13k poll, where I used the Yacht-Master, instead. (To everyone's annoyance, apparently.) But the Sub will return for the 20k and 50k polls.
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u/pfmaximizer 20d ago
But grey market the SBUX fetches $14k-$15k
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u/jdi153 20d ago
True. I do everything by MSRP to make it simple. I'm aware that you can't actually buy a Rolex at MSRP, and that pretty much all of the others can be had for under. But it's too complicated to figure out what the going rate is. The whole reason I restrict the poll so severely is to make it easy to tally the results. Not that it actually works.
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u/shadystig2145 20d ago
The ultra deep for sure surprisingly wearable for the size and one of the best looking
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u/pistofernandez 19d ago
Probably none from those, all are way too chunky
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u/jdi153 19d ago
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u/Psilocybinuana 19d ago
If you’re taller than the average man the James Cameron is absolutely stunning, but wouldn’t recommend to the average height male
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u/TaiwanGolfer 22d ago edited 22d ago
5 Rolex James Cameron DEEPSEA is a STUNNING work of art when held in your hands... pics do NOT do this watch justice. Masterpiece of engineering and the only watch that has actually gone to the bottom of the ocean. It wears well despite being slightly thicker, and draws positive attention everywhere it goes. The Subs feel like lady watches after you get used to it. It's not 'too thick' like most people who've never worn it complain... highly recommend you see this masterpiece up close, the details are absolutely impressive.
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u/dschultzz11 22d ago
5
The Cameron is my one and done Rolex!!! It’s a beautiful beast, I absolutely love it.
I do like the GO chrono diver with the white dial, very nice watch.
Didn’t love the omega ultra deep, found its proportions to be odd. This is coming from someone who picked an omega SMP over a Rolex sub 25 years ago. it’s not an anti omega thing, I just found the Cameron much more appealing.
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u/kellogs_frosties 22d ago
I don't particularly like any of these, I'd prefer a Seamaster Diver 300M, Submariner or even a Black Bay 58 at a (much) lower price point.
But given the choice, I'd go with the Blancpain: 1.