Green, loud and properly waterproof
By Tom Hargreaves, Falmouth, Cornwall ยท
Zodiac has been making dive watches since 1953, the same year as the Fifty Fathoms and the Submariner, and the Compression Diver is the one that looks most like it means it. Wide bezel, fat baton indices, a sunray green dial with a lighter green chapter ring. You will not lose this in murky water.
200 m, screw-down crown, sapphire, 40 mm on a 20 mm bracelet. The movement is the STP 1-21, made by Fossil's own Swiss movement company in Lugano. It isn't glamorous, but parts and servicing shouldn't be a drama.
My gripe: Zodiac doesn't publish a case height or a lug-to-lug figure on the product page, and for a 40 mm diver with a big bezel those numbers matter. Try one on before you commit if your wrist is on the slim side.
At $1,695 list, and usually less in practice, it's a fair price for a Swiss diver with real history behind the name. Pick it if you want colour. If you want restraint, look elsewhere in the range.