The one everyone's mate has, and fair enough
By Tom Hargreaves, Falmouth, Cornwall ·
Half the dive boats in Falmouth have one of these on board somewhere. It's the Bond watch, it's been around since 1993, and since the 2018 update it's better than it's ever been. The laser-engraved wave dial is back, the bezel is ceramic, and the case is a sensible 42 mm.
The thickness is 13.6 mm and the lugs are 20 mm. On the bracelet it's comfortable enough, though the integrated end links mean you're stuck with Omega straps or adapters if you want to change it up.
The Co-Axial 8800 gives you 55 hours and it's seriously antimagnetic. Which is great for someone who works next to MRI machines, and makes no odds to me, but nice.
The helium escape valve at 10 o'clock is the bit I'd grumble about. It's for saturation divers living in a pressurised habitat for weeks. Nobody reading this needs it. It's an extra crown to accidentally unscrew and leave open. I'm a creature of habit about anything on a case that unscrews.
The other thing is the open caseback. A sapphire back on a diver is a weak point in my book, and seeing the movement doesn't help me read the time at 20 metres.
So, all that said, would I buy one? Yes. The bracelet has a clasp extension that actually works over a wetsuit, the bezel is crisp and easy to grip, the lume is good, and at $5,900 to $6,400 it's a lot of watch for the money compared to a Submariner. If you want one serious dive watch from a big brand, this is a good place to start.