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Diving Watch

A diving watch is a watch designed for underwater diving that features, as a minimum, a water resistance greater than 10 ATM, the equivalent of 100 meters (330 ft). The typical diver's watch will have a water resistance of around 200–300 meters (660–990 feet), though modern technology allows the creation of diving watches that can go much deeper. A true diver's watch test standards and features for watches suitable for diving with underwater breathing apparatus in depths of 100 m or more.

Diving Watches are marked with the word DIVER'S to distinguish diving watches from look alike watches that are not suitable for actual scuba diving. Early dive watches were often developed in response to military and professional needs. Omega SA is credited as the creator of the world's first diving watch, the Omega "Marine", introduced in 1932.

As supplier to the Royal Italian Navy, Panerai offered underwater Dive Watches in the 1930s, which were not only waterproof at 650 feet (200 m), but luminescent as well. In addition, a large number of "canteen" style dive watches by Hamilton, Elgin or Waltham were made to military specification during and after World War II. However, these watches were made in small numbers, and were not intended for large-scale commercial distribution. Today, interest in these watches is limited to collectors.

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