View the Ball Engineer Master II Diver photo gallery.

If you're looking to put something a little different on your wrist, you owe it to yourself to consider a Ball.

I came across Ball watches when I was looking for something distinctive and unique; something that combines the tradition of a good automatic movement with modern functionality; something that stands out without being ostentatious. The result was the Ball Engineer Master II Diver you see here.

The best way to appreciate the Engineer Master II Diver is to consider its impressive list of features:

• ETA 2836-2 automatic movement.
• Tritium gas tube illumination (more on this below).
• Inner rotating timing bezel with gas tube illumination (more on this below).
• Beautiful domed sapphire crystal.
• Day and date, both large and readable.
• Shock resistant to 5,000Gs.
• Antimagnetic to 4,800A/m.
• Water resistant to 300 meters, or about 1,000 feet.
• Dual screwdown crowns (one for the movement, one for the inner rotating bezel), as well as a screwdown caseback.
• 42mm brushed stainless steel case, and a unique brushed stainless steel bracelet with a hidden clasp.

As you can see, this is an extremely impressive set of features for a $1,899 Swiss watch (Ball watches were once American made, closely associated with the emergence of the railroad, but the brand was purchased by a Swiss company in the 1990s). Of particular note is the tritium illumination system. The Ball Engineer Master II Diver has no fewer than 53 individual micro gas tubes, making it the most nighttime-readable and functional analog watch I've ever seen. Even the inner rotating bezel and bezel pearl use tritium tubes for diving in dark conditions.

View the Kobold Soarway Diver photo gallery.

I've wanted a Kobold watch for pretty close to three years now. The first Kobold I fell in love with was the Polar Surveyor since it has both a chronograph, and a 24-hour hand. When I went through a military watch phase, I was dying for the Kobold Phantom. And I've always been a huge dive watch fanatic, so the Kobold Soarway Diver SEAL was a big temptation. But when I was recently fortunate enough to get my hands on almost the entire Kobold collection at one of the very few authorized Kobold dealers, the one that seemed to make the most sense for me was the Kobold Soarway Diver (non-SEAL version).

Kobold watches are known for their substantial cases which are usually between 41mm and 44mm wide (without their prominent crowns), and 15mm to 17.75mm tall. That's a pretty big watch for my relatively small arm. The Kobold Soarway Diver uses the very slim ETA 2892 movement, however, which allows the case to be a mere 10.25mm high — in my opinion, the perfect size.

I was also lucky enough to find a very special Soarway Diver. It turns out that James Gandolfini of Sopranos fame is a big Kobold fan, so when the show ended last year, he ordered 400 custom made Kobold Soarway Divers for the cast and crew. A very small number of these watches ended up being sold by crew members who, having little appreciation for fine timepieces, decided they'd rather have the cash than the souvenir. Being a huge Sopranos fan, when I was lucky enough to come across one, I snatched it up immediately.

Ever wondered what the most accurate watch in the world is? It's probably not what you think.

You might guess a radio-controlled quartz watch like the Casio G-Shock Gulfman, or the Citizen Skyhawk. That's a good starting point. Atomic watches are very accurate if you can receive the radio signals. But there are large portions of the world where they don't reach (Central/South America, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, the poles, out on the ocean — even plenty of places that are technically within range, but for whatever reason, not conducive to signal penetration).

Another possible answer is a GPS watch like the Suunto X9i which works almost anywhere on the globe. Unfortunately, it has very limited battery life, and doesn't sync automatically.

Conventional quartz movements are generally accurate to ±15 seconds per month, or 3 minutes per year. That's good enough for pretty much any application, as evidenced by the fact that accuracy hasn't improved much since the 1970s. More modern technology has brought a few high-accuracy quartz movements:

• The ETA Thermoline movement, as used in some Breitlings.
• Seiko 8F and 9F movements, generally good to 10-20 seconds per year.
• And today's mystery contestant: the Citizen A660.

Say hello to one of the best wolf-in-sheep's clothing watches in existence: the Citizen Chronomaster (aka "The Citizen"). The A660 movement inside the Citizen Chronomaster is the most accurate in the world right now, rated to an amazing ±5 seconds per year. There's a variety of faces and hands, but the basic watch style is a very understated men's dress watch. The cost is around $1,100 - $1,300USD at present — not bad for such impressive technology and looks.

Specifications for the model shown to the right, the The Citizen Chronomaster CTQ57-1022 (our favorite):

We've never covered a Wenger watch before, but with the introduction of the AeroGraph Countdown Chrono at Basel this year, with it's interesting combination of style and functionality, we figured it was finally time.

At first glance, the Aerograph Countdown Chronograph seems like a pretty standard watch: quartz movement, stainless steel case, 3-dial chronograph, and a date visible at the 4 o'clock position. However, take a closer look at the bezel, and you'll see that the numbers count down instead of up! We've only seen this on a very unusual Seiko dive watch, the Kobold Phantom, and the Sinn 103 UTC.

Most bezels count up. In other words, you rotate the bezel until the 0 is aligned with the minute hand, and as the minute hand moves, it counts up to a maximum of 59 minutes. With a countdown bezel, on the other hand, you rotate the bezel to a start time, and then when the minute hand hits zero, time is up. Simple, useful, quick, and honestly, probably more useful than a traditional bezel since you don't have to remember the target time once the bezel is set.

Wenger is marketing the AeroGraph Countdown Chrono to pilots, but it's equally handy for (light) diving, cooking, parking meters, or simply "call me back in 25 minutes".

Here are the specifications:

• 316L stainless steel case.
• Quartz movement.
• Three-dial (60sec/30min/12hr) analog chronograph.
• Date at the 4 o'clock position.
• Waterproof to 100m (330ft).
• Four versions:
  • Brown dial with a leather strap.
  • Black dial with a bracelet.
  • Black dial with a leather strap.
  • PVD-coated black with a black and orange strap.
• "'Scratch-proof" crystal (almost certainly mineral glass).
• Unusual count-down bezel (our favorite feature).
• SuperLuminova-coated markers and hands (should be very readable at night).
• List price of 450 - 530 Swiss francs (about the same in dollars right now).

For a change, I actually really like the brown-dial version, but I suspect the PVD-black version (which we couldn't find a picture of) would be gorgeous. The price isn't bad, either. We promise to keep more of an eye on Wenger in the future.

By Paul Hubbard

Breitling's newest watch to come out of Basel this year is the Avenger Seawolf Chronograph. Combining the versatility and reliability of the Avenger line with the water resistance of the Seawolf, Breitling seems to be getting as serious about diving as they are about aviation.

Breitling is touting the new Avenger Seawolf as the worlds only chronograph to be water tight and operational at depths up to 1,000 meters (3300 feet). This is impressive, but not entirely true. The Sinn U1000 also has the ability to remain operational at the same depths as the Breitling, but that just means they are in good company.

Breitling has developed new proprietary technology that makes their calibre 73 SuperQuartz operational at extreme depths. By using magnetically activated pushers, the pushpieces can be activated through the case with no direct contact with the module inside, keeping the watch perfectly sealed. The SuperQuartz movement is also thermo compensated which means it can account for the changes in temperature that make most quartz modules lose or gain time. The result is that the Avenger Seawolf is some ten times more accurate then a standard quartz movement.

In addition to the standard chronograph feature, the Breitling Avenger Seawolf has a "regatta timer" that will measure in ten minute scales for the beginning of a yacht race. The case is brushed stainless steel, and incorporates a helium release valve for extreme saturation diving, and a sapphire crystal.

Being a diehard Breitling fan, I really think they have a winner on their hands as this piece is gorgeous, functional, understated, and impenetrable.

By James Stacey

There aren't a lot of people who need a watch that can survive the airless void of space, but Richard Garriott happens to be one of them. He's headed for the International Space Station and some extra-vehicular activity (spacewalking). Garriott could have just chosen to wear the vacuum-rated Omega Speedmaster, or maybe a Fortis Cosmonaut, but instead he turned to one of my favorite watchmakers: Seiko.

Seiko has a long tradition of creating limited-edition watches for explorers in extreme environments. They've made some extraordinary watches, and routinely use the lessons learned in later production models. For example, they made Landmasters for trips to both poles (the GMT hand goes counter-clockwise for the Landmaster South Pole!), an amazing shrouded diver for commercial divers, a ceramic and titanium masterpiece for Mt. Everest, and even a watch specifically designed for hikers of Japan's mountains. As most of these are limited editions, they are tragically hard to find, and rarely even seen.

For Garriott, Seiko has designed a true masterpiece introduced this year at BaselWorld: the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk. Have a look at these features:

• Spring Drive 5R86 movement for accuracy under the extreme temperature swings of space (-20° to +70° Celsius, or about -4° to 160° Fahrenheit).
• Titanium case with the sides etched out by a new CNC (computer numerical control) machine that Seiko built in order to help get the weight down to only 92.5 grams.
• Completely air-tight case capable of surviving direct exposure to space.
• Oversized buttons for use while wearing space gloves.
• Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.
• Waterproof to 100m, or 330ft (in case of a water landing, I guess).
• 12-hour chronograph.
• GMT hand for 24-hour UTC time (which is used in both space and aviation).
• New luminescent material that Seiko says is three times as bright as a typical luminescent watch.
• A special dial and hand design for maximum readability.
• 53mm by 15.2mm which is huge.
• Limited edition of just 100 watches (price not yet announced).

They made some interesting design decisions on this one, and I'm smitten by the results. The dial is ultra-readable, with unobtrusive chrono hands, a subtle but still readable "there if you need it" blue skeletonized GMT hand, and bold white hour and minute hands reminiscent of the 6S37 Flightmaster. The power reserve subdial is subdued, and the date window is symmetric with the 9 o'clock marker. Blue makes a low-key accent, carefully placed to be non intrusive. The sculpted case and top-mounted buttons and crown (referred to as a "bullhead" design) make for a stunning and unique timepiece.

The Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk is to space what the new Rolex Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA is to the ocean. Even at 53mm, I'd happily wear it. It's gorgeous, functional, and built like a titanium tank. Let's hope Seiko introduces a production model soon.

Update (June 15): Richard Garriott gives us an update on how the Seiko Spacewalk is performing so far during training.

At BaselWorld 2008 this year, Rolex announced an update to their already amazing, top-of-the-line diver: The Rolex Sea-Dweller. They're calling the new model the Rolex Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA. The DEEPSEA has several changes from the original Sea-Dweller:

• As with the new Yacht-Master 2, it's more heavily branded. The previous Sea-Dweller was notable for its restraint; this one adds the "ROLEX" repeated around the chapter ring, additional blurbs on top of the "ringlock", and "DEEPSEA" above the center. At least there's still no cyclops (date magnifier), and thankfully, they did not add polished center links like the new GMT Master 2.
• As with the Anniversary Submariner and new GMT Master 2, the Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA gets the new "maxi-dial" which means that the hour markers are larger, and both the the minute hand and the hour hands are slightly wider.
• The depth rating increases from silly to ludicrous: 1,220m (4,000ft) on the original to 3,900m (12,800ft) on the DEEPSEA.
• The crystal goes from flat thick sapphire to domed thick sapphire.
• New super-hard ceramic bezel with platinum-filled numbers. We first saw this design on the new GMT Master 2.
• Much-improved ratcheting clasp that increases in 1.8mm increments.
• The caseback goes from flat stainless steel to a titanium/steel alloy.
• The new "Ringlock System", which is a stainless steel ring under the crystal that absorbs some of the pressure.
• New blue-colored lume on the dial and bezel dot — very cool!.
• Larger case with slightly updating styling.

As before, it has a helium escape valve, which only matters if you do saturation diving. The movement is the same 3135, but with the addition of the new antimagnetic Parachrom Blue hairspring which we've discussed before on the Rolex Milgauss.

Price was not announced, but expect it to be steep. The Sea-Dweller has always been one of their more expensive models, and these updates certainly won't make it any cheaper. (We'll update this article when pricing is available.)

I was honestly a bit surprised to see this update. Rolex is usually slow to revise or introduce new models, and they've done several in the past year or two: The Anniversary Submariner, The Rolex Milgauss, The new Yacht-Master 2, the new GMT Master 2, the Cellini, and now the Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA. While I don't always like the results, I'm delighted to see Rolex increasing the pace and updating their classic styles. Bravo!

By Paul Hubbard