I love watches. I have had a strong interest in them since being a very young child. I had only just entered my teenage years when the quartz watch revolution started and I remember lusting after a Texas Instruments plastic LED quartz watch and having to save my pocket money for many weeks before I could afford to buy one. I also remember being disappointed with just how long the battery would last before it had to be replaced. Many watches later I decided to spend a significant portion of my then weekly wage and purchased a Citizen Chronograph (can't actually remember the model number - it has long since disappeared from the market). That watch remained with my as my single and only watch for quite a few years - in fact a couple of decades - right up until my 40th birthday when my wife offered to buy me a watch to celebrate getting bloody old.
Strangely at about the same time I remember seeing an advert on the back page of a Sunday supplement for the Citizen Skyhawk Eco-Drive Analogue/Digital pilot watch. I thought at the time it was the coolest looking watch I had ever seen (I still think it looks good mind you). I also remember it seeming to be like having a manhole cover attached to my wrist as it was so big. Strangely, although it's still actually a large watch, it really doesn't seem like it any more - how times change.
The search for the Citizen Skyhawk at a good price triggered this very old passion of mine and there started off my obsession with them all over again. Between then and now (nearly 20 years) I have owned, worn and subsequently sold a number of really nice watches - some of which are listed below:-
Seiko Black and Orange Monster, SNA413 Alarm/Chrono Pilot, Spirit SARB033, Sportura SNA481 Analogue Pilot, Sportura H23 Analogue/Digital and Blue faced Samurai Titanium.
Citizen (my first good watch), Skyhawk Ti, Ray Mears Eco-Drive Tough Perpetual Calendar.
Casio G-shock GW-3000 Analogue Pilot, G-Shock GWM530, G-Shock MTGM900DA, G-Shock GW7900B, (plus countless others).
Omega Seamaster Pro, f300 Genève.
Marcello C Nettuno 3, Samsung Galaxy Watch Frontier, Avia Dailytime, Steeldive Tuna…… to be honest, the list is embarrassingly endless.
The reason why I've listed some (God help me - no where near all) of the watches I've owned in the past is to sort of prove that I know what a good wristwatch looks and feels like. For example, out of those listed, the cream of the crop for me were the two Seiko Monsters, Marcello C Nettuno 3, the Seamaster Pro, Ray Mears Eco-Drive Tough Perpetual Calendar and the Steeldive Tuna. Well now I can add the Steeldive 1953 Sub homage to this list too.
This Steeldive comes supplied in a Pelican-style case. Whilst it's not really anything special, it's still a nice touch. The watch also comes supplied with an additional rubber strap with two additional spring bars. Mine also came with a basic tool for adjusting the bracelet (which works really well btw). Whilst it's not something that I will use, again, it's a nice touch. There's also a spring bar tool which is also a nice touch. This is a very impressive package considering the price of the watch and definitely something that other brands should consider including with their products.
Obviously this model is closely based on the Rolex Submariner - although to me there are some significant differences between the two. The lack of lume pip, the fully lumed bezel insert, the 6 beats per second movement, the case back, the bracelet clasp and, lastly, the completely different feel to the Rolex. The case back on my watch differs from that shown on the Steeldive website - and to be honest I’m glad because it’s compatible with regular case back tools unlike the Rolex design. The flat sapphire crystal has a subtle anti-reflective coating on the inside and seems surprisingly resistant to fingerprints. The cyclops is nicely positioned, straight and appears to offer 2.5x magnification which is great news for my tired old eyes. The case and bracelet features really nice fine polishing and brushing and is far better than what I was expecting. The end links fit perfectly in the case without unsightly gaps and, another piece of great news, the centre links on the bracelet are also brushed rather than polished. For a rugged watch this is something that is most welcome. Whilst the bracelet isn't perhaps the very best you can get, I didn't really have any problems with it and when worn, is perfectly fine and comfortable. Can you imagine if Steeldive had perfectly replicated the stainless steel bracelet supplied on the early Rolex Submariners’ - they’d never live it down.
Of course the real selling point of the Steeldive range has to be the excellent lume. I absolutely love it! Bloody keeps me awake at night staring at it (c'mon I can't be the only one….. can I? Even with the comparatively thin Mercedes hands, the lume shines through clearly and after a decent bit of exposure to bright light - shines super bright - long enough for most recreational dives at least! After the Chernobyl-like initial lume, it dims down to a lowish level and then seems to stay like that for the rest of the night. Perfectly legible with night-adjusted eyes.
This is my second Steeldive watch - the other one being the black-faced Tuna. The lume on the Sub is as good as on the Tuna - quite impressive when you consider the difference in the size of the hands. As for any other differences, the Sub and the Tuna offer pretty much the same degree of both finish and timekeeping. I think the bracelet on the Sub is very slightly better than the one supplied with the Tuna - perhaps not being quite as sharp. Like the Tuna, the Sub also comes supplied with a Steeldive silicon strap but I think the watch looks best on the stainless steel bracelet - although the Sub looks great on a NATO too - I have a few in my collection and fully intend to try it out at some point in time.
As far as I know Steeldive use the Seiko NH35 movement in all their watches and this one is no exception. Having worn the watch for the last 24 hours it appears to run about 2-3 seconds slow per day. Whilst I would rather have a watch run slightly fast rather than slightly slow, to be honest it's not really something I'm all that bothered about - my quartz watches will always be more accurate than my mechanical watches. The NH35 supports both hacking and hand winding but I do find the crown a little difficult to screw back down afterwards - not something I've experienced with their Tuna model (which screws down really well), I'm hoping that over time this will become leasier but at the moment I feel that I have to be so careful not to cross-thread the mechanism. This may be due to the crown having a gasket fitted to assist with water resistance. It does kinda encourage me to keep the watch running and in all fairness, it's accuracy is more than good enough to ensure it would probably only need adjusting once a month or so - yeah right! With my OCD anything more than 30 seconds out of whack and I start to feel queasy - but you get my point.
I would very much like to thank Matthew at https://www.steeldiveuk.com for providing such a prompt service. He’s very passionate about his products and we had a great chat on the phone before he suggested the black-faced SD1953. It’s really great that there’s a local contact for this Chinese brand and it’s reassuring to see a company stand by their products by providing a personal phone number. I shall definitely be buying some more watches once my wife has released my knackers from the vice.
In case you haven’t realised by now, I really love this watch. What appeals to me is the overall quality for the price. The specifications are very impressive - sapphire crystal, super-lume, decent inexpensive movement that offers surprising accuracy and a really nice ‘feel’. I know some watch enthusiasts consider this homage a step too far - I don’t. I certainly don’t think of it as a replica - there are way too many differences between the Steeldive and the Rolex Sub for this to be considered a replica in my opinion. I’m tempted to get another Steeldive for my collection - I can’t decide between the Pilot watch or perhaps one of the more colourful Tuna’s. On Steeldive’s international site, they’re showing an interesting looking Sea-Dweller type diver. Not keen on the multi-coloured lume on this new one but everything else about it looks great - especially the red and black dialled version. Anyone thinking of getting the Steeldive shouldn't hesitate - just go for it - I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
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