Product Details
Product Code: DIV/82PVD/AU/D
These diver's watches are a remake of one of our 1980’s models in a black PVD Steel case, one of the variants of these watches was remade specifically for a U.S contractor who had secured a large sale to one of their clients, the watch has a robust black PVD stainless steel case and is equipped with a high performance automatic 24 jewel self-winding movement. We have made a number of upgrades to the original watch such as the shatter and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and increased water resistance rating.
The special covert matt black non-reflective PVD finish used for this watch is often specified in military contracts for many special forces units as well as by anti-terrorist units and for various covert operations. In the PVD process, the steel is not black all the way through because the colour is created by a special chemical PVD plating process which is vastly superior to the painted finish used on some lower quality watches which can easily fade or rub off. This PVD process means that the colour of the steel is altered at a molecular level, therefore it will not deteriorate even during heavy usage although it can be destroyed if the case is badly damaged by a piece of metal being gouged out or if the case is worn down by continuous heavy abrasion against rocks etc.
This watch is based on a 1980 UK MOD specification for automatic divers watches (DEF STAN 66-4 [Part 1] Issue 3), this specified a unidirectional bezel and a boldly marked dial with tritium paint and a mineral glass crystal. The MOD document from 1980 can be seen in the final 2 images. This watch is made in the spirit of the 1980 watches but with certain design aspects taken from its predecessors. This watch also has improvements over the 1980 specification such as the sapphire crystal referred to below.
These models represent excellent value and are very competitively priced for such a high-performance automatic watch of this type.
This watch measures 45mm including the crown and 40mm excluding the crown and uses Luminova for first-rate nighttime visibility, the strap is a standard 20mm NATO strap as used on a wide variety of military divers models so there are a substantial range of colours options available if you like to occasionally change the strap which you are using.
Dimensions and Specification:
- Water Resistance: 300m / 1000ft Water Resistant
- Crown: Screwdown Locking
- Screw Caseback
- Dimensions: Width Inc Crown 45mm (Exc Crown 40mm)
- Movement: 24 Jewel NH35A with 41-hour reserve
- Thickness: 15mm
- Crystal Type: Sapphire with Anti Reflective Coating*
- Crystal Diameter 31mm
- Lug to Lug: 49mm
- Weight: 89.5g
- Strap: 20mm NATO Webbing Strap
- Giftbox
* A lot of people ask us what are the benefits of sapphire crystal over a standard mineral crystal? The answer is that synthetic sapphire is by far the best material for watch crystals because it is very strong and also shatter and scratch-resistant, these characteristics make it very appealing to military and security personnel, police officers, and people who lead active outdoor lifestyles, these groups account for over 70% of our customers. To get things into perspective we find that when clients have accidents with watches resulting in a cracked crystal over 90% usually watches with mineral glass crystals, even factoring in that we use hardened mineral crystals they still do not come close to sapphire for durability under adverse conditions. The reason that sapphire crystals are so strong is that after the sapphire glass is manufactured it is also heat-treated to remove its internal stresses—which can cause weakness—it is then made into the watch crystals and two layers of anti-reflective coating are applied, interestingly sapphire crystal is now used on the latest iPhone. Of course, sapphire crystal comes at a price hence you find that it's normally only fitted to higher-end watches.
