 A
look at the latest wave of dive watches boasting a staggering arsenal
of functions
Cinema is a long-legged, moist-lipped, pneumatic-breasted,
raven-haired hussy with come-hither eyes and the dark soul of a she-devil.
She likes to manipulate us, then leave us emotionally spent, and bereft
of that elusive feeling called “satisfaction”. Jagger and Stones were
right: when it comes to the movies, we “can’t get no, oh no no no”
satisfaction. Because that damn celluloid alternate universe is populated
with the coolest wristwatches we’ve ever seen.
But try to buy these ticking masterpieces of cool and you’ll feel backhanded
by reality. ’Cause in the real world, watches like Tom Cruise’s Bulgari
multi-function super-computer from Minority Report or Roger Moore’s
buzz-saw bezeled Rolex 5513 Submariner from Live and Let Die simply
do not exist. That was, at least, up until 1999, when reality unleashed
a horological counterpunch that all but knocked cinema out for the
count. Because that year, the world bore witness to what was possibly
the coolest wristwatch ever created: a diving super-computer forged
from titanium and housing the first mechanical depth gauge ever found
in a timepiece. Even the watch’s name — the Deep One — smacked of a
John-Holmes-like hyper-endowment. The watch flung down the gauntlet,
stating: “Take that, cinema! We defy you to create something cooler.”
And the sad thing is, since then, cinema never has.
 THE
FIRST ACT IN THE DIVE WATCH REVOLUTION — IWC’S DEEP ONE
If you started with a blank page to create the
ultimate diving watch, what would you shortlist as your key features?
This was the question IWC engineer Richard Habring asked himself while
sitting on the deck of a dive boat during his holiday. Then, after
consulting with dive masters as to what would comprise the ultimate
submersible wrist instrument, an idea coalesced in his mind: it would
be made from titanium, that recently declassified military material
also used frequently in aviation, surgery and nuclear power plants.
Titanium was totally anti-corrosive with a strength-to-weight ratio
that was off the charts. The watch would have an internal rotating
bezel for the ultimate security in recording elapsed dive time. It
would also feature a depth gauge, so that if your dive computer failed,
you could use that as a vital backup tool. In short, in an emergency
situation, it would be perfectly equipped to save your life.
The next thing to be established was that the watch
would have to be 100-percent mechanical, in deference to the brand’s
history in  mechanical
timepieces. A purely mechanical watch was also dependable in a way
that an electric watch wasn’t. If well maintained, it would function
in perpetuity, while an electronic watch would need to have its battery
changed regularly. But beyond this, a purely mechanical watch would
never be a slave to the almost engineered obsolescence present in all
electronic devices. Such is the nature of the binary beast that in
a few years’ time, as with mobile phones, computers and now digital
cameras, it is guaranteed that superior technology will replace it.
A mechanical watch, even one with a depth gauge, could always be repaired
by a skilled watchmaker. With these in mind, IWC set out to go where
none had dared. How did it create a mechanical depth gauge for this
ultimate dive machine? It looked to one of the most proven techniques
of measuring pressure.
To understand how the Deep One works, we need to go back to the Industrial
Revolution. The era of steam engines allowed major advancements in
travel via locomotive, and industrial manufacturing. But steam engines
could also be dangerous if pressure was not regulated using blow off
valves. As pressure increased, it approached a threshold between efficient
energy production and explosive danger. To accurately gauge this threshold,
engineers turned to a device called the Bourdon Tube, invented in 1849
by a French scientist and watchmaker named Eugène Bourdon, and capable
of measuring pressure up to 100,000 pounds per square inch.
The principle behind the Bourdon Tube is simple: a closed metal tube
acts as a pressure-sensing element. The tube is coupled to a pressure
source, and once pressure enters, it causes the tube to straighten.
Conversely, less pressure causes the tube to coil. This motion is transmitted
via a special linkage system to a hand that indicates pressure on the
face of the gauge. Several of the components in this linkage come straight
out of a watchmaking textbook, including a toothed rack system, not
unlike that in perpetual calendars, and retrograde watches, proving
that Bourdon’s joint expertise in science and watchmaking made him
uniquely suited to transfer technology from one discipline to another.
As man began to explore the seas, he discovered that the Bourdon Tube
device allowed him to accurately read water pressure at different depths.
A Bourdon Tube depth gauge works in exactly the same way as a Bourdon
Tube pressure gauge. In the depth gauge, instead of pressurized gas,
water enters the sealed tube. At greater depths, when water pressure
is higher, the Bourdon Tube straightens out, placing greater tension
on the linkage system and causing the hand on the depth gauge to rise
higher. In shallower water where water pressure is lower, the tube
coils tighter, releasing tension on the gauge’s hand and causing it
to return towards zero.
When it was released, the Deep One was a revelation. It was a space age-looking,
true super-computer for the wrist, achieved entirely through artisan watchmaking
techniques. Some controversy arose around the Deep One’s decidedly un-deep
depth rating of 100 meters, but it is important to understand that this
depth rating has nothing to do with the company’s waterproofing abilities.
By 1982, IWC had already achieved a staggering water resistance rating
of up to 2,000 meters with its Ocean 2000 titanium dive watch. Even more
impressive was that this watch achieved the rating without the use of a
helium release valve, as was found on the next deepest rated watch of the
time, the Rolex Sea Dweller. When asked how IWC was capable of this, the
company’s technical director Kurt Klaus told us, “Just make the watch well
enough that helium doesn’t enter it to begin with, and it becomes a non-issue.”
In fact, the 100-meters depth rating of the Deep One was stipulated in
order to protect the sensitive depth gauge mechanism. The logic is simple:
the Deep One uses an open-element Bourdon Tube device to measure water
pressure. The more water pressure exerted on it, the greater it deforms.
But if you look at the diagram of how the Bourdon Tube is placed inside
the watch case, you can see that space is tight. As such, there are limits
to how much the Bourdon Tube can alter its geometry. For this reason also,
the depth gauge mechanism is calibrated to read up to 45 meters — any further
deformation of the Bourdon Tube is not possible in the limited space. As
the manual for the Deep One explains: “To avoid possible damage, the depth
gauge is protected by a mechanical device from about 50 meters, and will
not register depths below this level.” But there is yet another reason
that IWC capped the depth measured by the Deep One to 45 meters: Bourdon
Tube depth gauges are most accurate in depths of 40 meters or less.
S o,
how do you use the Deep One? The watch comes equipped with an air pump
that is easily attached to the valve through which water enters. Before
each dive, you use the pump to fill the Bourdon Tube with air, to ensure
that the gauge is good to go. Just before submerging, you set the internal
rotating bezel to mesh with your minute hand to show elapsed dive time.
The depth gauge is made up of two overlaid hands in a configuration similar
to the hands of a split seconds chronograph. As you descend into the sea,
the hands will move together, providing you with a reading of your depth
on the perimeter of the dial. Once you reach the deepest depth of your
dive, the yellow deepest depth hand will remain in place, even after you
resurface. To reset this, you simply press the same crown used to set the
internal rotating bezel.
An interesting question is that of how varying altitudes could be compensated
for in the Deep One. As air pressure at sea level is greater than air pressure
at higher altitudes, this will have an effect on the Bourdon Tube device
in the watch.
Now that they had identified the technology on which to base their mechanical
depth gauge, how did IWC transplant the Bourdon Tube into a relatively
flat watch just 44 mm in diameter? For starters, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ultra-flat
automatic caliber 891 was selected to drive the timekeeping function. At
that time, both manufactures were headed by the same person — the legendary
Günter Blümlein. As such, sharing of calibers and technology was common.
The remaining work focused on building a super-accurate yet tiny Bourdon
Tube, which could still have enough space to vary its geometry according
to water pressure.
To compensate for these changes in altitude, the depth gauge hand can be
manually zeroed using the crown at four o’clock, which is integrated into
the valve for the Bourdon Tube. The Deep One begs the question: how would
Bourdon feel about the co-opting of his pressure gauge to create the world’s
first mechanical depth gauge-equipped timepiece? As Bourdon was a watchmaker,
we are inclined to believe that he’d be pleased with the reconciliation
of his industrial implement with the high alchemic art of haute horlogerie.
Launched in 1999, the titanium-cased Deep One rippled with innovations
beyond the depth gauge, including a rotating internal bezel activated by
an additional crown at nine o’clock. In watches with external rotating
bezels — despite the fact that these bezels are uni-directional — a hard
blow, or accidental contact with a reef, can cause the bezel to rotate
on its own. However, with an inner rotating bezel, the crown controlling
rotation is tucked out of the way. Beyond this, IWC arrived at a brilliant
system: once the watch is submerged beyond several meters, the water pressure
acts on the crown that controls the inner rotating bezel, so that it becomes
deactivated. Turning it underwater will have no effect on the preset timing
on the bezel. When you return to the surface, the crown is automatically
unlocked and you can once again turn it. This single innovation, though
rarely talked about, represents a vast measure of safety built into the
ultimate dive watch. Today, this feature is also found in all contemporary
IWC Aquatimer watches, which also feature internal rotating bezels.
Now, almost a decade after its launch, much has been made of the sensitivity
and need for servicing of Deep One watches. But here’s another take: the
vast majority of Deep One watches were purchased as investment pieces and
remained unused inside watch safes for several years. As with other complicated
watches, this is very possibly the worst way to store them. Those rare
few who have actually used the watches as they were intended, have found
the experience rewarding. As Arthur, a NAUI instructor based in Hamilton,
Bermuda, states, “Love it… 57 dives and still in great shape. Everything
works.”
For those chasing this beast of a dive watch, very few of them were made,
as the amount of labor necessitated in setting up the Bourdon Tube device
made for extremely time-consuming assembly. Says Jonathan King, an avid
diver and IWC’s Hong Kong brand manager, “The Deep One was assembled in
the same room that we reserve for high complications, and we consider it
precisely this type of watch.” Those chasing the Holy Grail of dive watches
might want to take note that a disproportional large number of Deep Ones
made their way to Australia and New Zealand, where the diving culture is
rich. Jaeger-LeCoultre has since launched a dive watch replete with a brilliant
depth gauge device that registers depths of up to 80 meters, which arguably
represents the highest evolution of intelligent dive watches to date (until,
of course, IWC’s much rumored Deep Two emerges in 2009 to celebrate the
ten-year anniversary of the original watch). In the meantime, the original
1999 Deep One still represents immense historical value as the very first
and most significant act in the story of intelligent dive watches.
THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED DIVING WATCH — JAEGER-LeCoultre’s MASTER
COMPRESSOR DIVING PRO GEOGRAPHIC
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s history in dive watches stretches back to 1959, when
it created the world’s first dive watch with an alarm that could be set
to signal the end of elapsed dive time, named the Memovox Deep Sea. Then,
in 2007, Jaeger-LeCoultre launched an all-new dive watch that, again, catapulted
the manufacture to leading position in mechanical dive watches: the Master
Compressor Diving Pro Geographic.
With this watch, your eyes are naturally drawn to the left-hand side of
the titanic 46.3 mm case, where the pressure-sensing device for measuring
depth is placed. What Jaeger-LeCoultre refers to as the watch’s membrane
comprises 24 elements, and represents 1,500 hours of research and development.
It takes two hours to assemble, and provides a reading of depth to within
one meter, up to 80 meters. Look closely, and you’ll find a rectangular
opening devoid of sapphire crystal, exposing the alchemic inner workings
of the membrane.
Like the Bourdon Tube, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s membrane
system relies on varying degrees of deformation caused by water pressure
to derive a depth reading. But it differs from the Bourdon Tube device
in three very significant ways. First, the entire system remains outside
of the watch, meaning that water never enters the watch, as it does in
the Deep One. This eliminates the risk of debris finding its way into
the watch. Second, while the Bourdon Tube relies on the elastic property
of metal to return to shape consistently, constancy of the membrane’s
variable geometry is controlled by a special spring. This offers greater
ease in achieving consistency, and also greater ease in repairing or
calibrating the system. Finally, because the membrane system has a finite
travel, after which additional pressure has no effect on it, the watch
can be brought beyond its 80-meter maximum displayed depth, with no ill
effect.
 The
head of the system is fixed to a rail, which is what moves when water
pressure is exerted on the head. There is a transmission pinion that
translates the vertical travel of the rail into a dial-side reading
of depth. When you dive, pressure is exerted on the head of the system.
The deeper you descend, the more pressure is experienced. This causes
the rail to compress further, translating to a greater depth reading.
The maximum pressure that can be exerted on the head is 9.9 kg, which
corresponds to the 80-meter depth limit of the gauge.
What allows the systematic contraction and return of the depth gauge’s
membrane as water pressure rises and then diminishes? Surrounding the
rail mechanism is a specially calibrated spring that allows consistent
and accurate travel for the rail at all times. The correct functioning
of the entire membrane is dependent on the correct calibration of the
spring. If the stiffness coefficient is not high enough, the depth gauge
will show a reading greater than the actual depth; and if the stiffness
coefficient is too high, it will show a depth reading that’s less than
actual depth. Further, the stiffness coefficient of the spring must remain
constant over numerous contractions and expansions, and must also be
consistent throughout its range of motion.
The contracting membrane by pressure is innately connected to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s
history. One of the brand’s most famous innovations is the Atmos clock,
that requires no winding and which derives energy purely from tiny variations
in environmental temperature or pressure. Says the brand’s CEO Jérôme
Lambert, “Inside the Atmos is also a membrane that contracts and expands
according to environmental temperature. The only difference is that inside
the Atmos is a gas that expands or contracts. The solution that we have
achieved is a spectacular demonstration of how we’ve used our rich history
and the total integration of our manufacture to solve age-old problems
with totally new solutions.”
Every aspect of the depth gauge system has been optimized for robust
performance. The movement of the rail is translated via the transmission
pinion to a rack system. This rack interacts with a centrally mounted
snail cam through geared teeth, which drives the blue depth gauge hand
to sweep around the perimeter of the dial.
The scale for depth is printed on the chapter ring, which has been divided
into sub-sections of 20 meters, each distinguished by a different color.
The segmentation was suggested to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s design team by professional
divers, so that at a glance, you can determine your approximate depth.
In addition, the predominant color used for key indications in the Master
Compressor Diving Pro Geographic, as well as other watches in the dive
collection, is blue. Why blue? Because studies have determined that at
between 30 to 60 meters below sea level, blue is the only color that
still remains chromatically true.
This entire rack system is not tucked away behind the watch dial, but
on full display; adding to the visual pyrotechnics on the dial, yet in
a way that it does not distract from the critical time- or depth-reading
functions. Says the watch’s designer Magali Metrailler, “Owners want
to have interactivity where they can see how their watch functions. With
the tremendous innovation of our mechanical depth gauge, we were very
enthusiastic to place the mechanism on display.”
While much has been made of the fact that pressing the head of the gauge
allows you to demonstrate the principal of this extraordinary function
to friends, a critical benefit to this has been somewhat overlooked.
In other watches with depth gauges, the wearer must actually descend
to depth or be fitted with an additional apparatus to determine if the
depth gauge is functioning. With the simple yet innovative design architecture
of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s depth gauge, you can test if your depth gauge is
functioning by simply pressing on the head of the system and observing
the movement of the depth gauge hand. This adds a huge margin of safety
during pre-dive safety checks.
THE HYBRID OPTION — PANERAI’s LUMINOR 1950 SUBMERSIBLE DEPTH GAUGE
 While
IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre have had long histories as high watchmaking
brands before creating depth gauges, the story of Officine Panerai reflects
an inverse pattern. Founded in 1860, Panerai first developed its expertise
in patented luminous substance and the creation of military devices,
one of which was the depth gauge. So successful were Panerai’s depth
gauges that they formed the cornerstone of the trittico: a combination
of dive watch, compass and depth gauge that was standard-issue equipment
for Italy’s naval commandos during the Second World War.
Panerai’s depth gauges were calibrated in two versions, both using the
Bourdon Tube system, which is the most reliable and accurate at shallow
depths. The first version read depths to 15 meters and was used primarily
for attack missions where divers would swim out to enemy objectives at
relatively shallow depths, to either place ordinance on hulls, or guide
their torpedoes to deadly destinations. The second version was rated
to 30 meters and used for what the Italian Navy termed “defense missions”.
The idea of combining two of the key components of Panerai’s legendary
trittico was certainly not lost on its dynamic CEO Angelo Bonati. He
explains, “We started working on the Submersible Depth Gauge five years
ago. It took such a long time because we wanted to attain the certification
as a professional diving instrument from the Swiss Federal Office for
Metrology (METAS) in Bern. That’s why we used the electronic mechanism
for the depth gauge. We also worked for a long time on a fully mechanical
watch, including the depth gauge. But because it is a highly innovative
system, I’m not sure when we will release it. For us, if we create a
diving watch with a depth gauge, it has to be certified as professional
equipment on the same level as any of the dive computers used by recreational
scuba enthusiasts.”
 Bonati
had tested several mechanical depth gauges before deciding on an electronic
one. The Luminor 1950 Submersible Depth Gauge watch, at 47 mm in diameter,
features a titanium case and a uni-directional rotating bezel. The
depth gauge registers pressure using a silicon diaphragm that interacts
with water pressure through the thin fins in the watch back. But the
movement driving the time and date indications is mechanical — a reliable
Valjoux-7750-based caliber with the chronograph functions suppressed.
The depth scale is located on the outer perimeter of the dial. At the
end of the scale is the “off position” resting place for the depth
gauge. When you press the small push-piece at ten o’clock, the gauge
is activated, and its hand automatically travels to the deepest dive
reading during the previous dive. Press it again for six seconds; it
returns to zero, and you can begin your dive. The watch takes a measurement
for depth every 1.25 seconds with a margin of error of about 20 centimeters.
At any time during the dive, you can check your maximum dive depth
by pressing the push-piece at ten o’clock. After six seconds, the hand
will return to your current depth. The maximum dive time is four hours,
and the battery of the depth gauge mechanism is good for 500 hours.
When battery life is diminished, the depth gauge hand will move slowly
between the off and zero positions.
 While
the implementation of electronic technology is markedly different from
the depth gauges created in its past, Panerai’s history in the creation
of the devices gives it great legitimacy to create this type of timepiece.
When asked if there was a further project to unite the trittico in
one watch, Bonati states, “Basically, we have a project for this, but
I don’t think it is the right moment for us to release the watch. Maybe
we won’t have all three complications in one watch, because you risk
becoming a little bit excessive. But the combination of compass and
watch, yes, we have already done, and you will see it one day.”
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