We've talked about American watchmaker RGM here before, and Roland Murphy's small company which produces exquisitely made high-end watches. It looks like RGM is now stepping into the very exciting world of professional dive watches with the new and beautiful RGM Model 300.

Features of the RGM Model 300 include:

• Brushed stainless steel case.
• Water resistant to 2,500 feet, or about 750 meters.
• 5mm thick flat sapphire crystal (that's extremely thick).
• Anti-magnetic casing.
• 43.2mm wide, and 15.7mm thick.
• Modified ETA 2892 movement.
• Double gasket screwdown crown, and double gasket caseback.
• Unidirectional ratcheting bezel with black aluminum insert.
• Date.
• Your choice of two different dials: glossy or matte.
• Available with a 22mm strap, or a brushed stainless steel bracelet with dive extension.

The price is $3,500 which is actually pretty good compared to some of its high-end competition like the Rolex Submariner, Sea Dweller, or Omega Planet Ocean. We're big fans of dive watches here at Watch Report, so we're very please to see RGM branching out like this. We'd love to get our hands on one of these and put it up against a Sea Dweller.

We don't usually talk about high-end dress watches, and even more rarely about custom-made mechanical pieces, so this article is a bit of an experiment for us. But RGM -- both the company and the watches -- is too unique not have some mention on Watch Report.

As amazing as it might sound, America used to be the preeminent watch maker in the world in the pre World War II timeframe. Brands like Hamilton, Elgin, Gruen, Benrus, and Illinois led the way in automated production and railroad-grade watches, producing high-quality timepieces at a broad range of prices. Their decline can mainly be attributed to the quartz revolution of the 1960s.

I'm explaining a bit of history to give you some idea of how unusual RGM is. Roland G Murphy, based in Lancaster PA, makes and sells high-end and custom mechanical watches for prices that are a lot less than the Swiss marques. Moreover, many of his creations are available with vintage American movements such as the Hamilton 921, making for a beautiful watch that is truly American made.

His company is called RGM (his initials), and is known for impeccable hand craftsmanship and the use of unusual techniques like rose-engine guilloché (an interwoven, ornamental pattern). As a small company, you can actually talk to Roland himself, which is not exactly an option with most watch companies. RGM also specializes in one-off custom pieces, so you can call up and get exactly the watch you've always wanted. That's not to say it'll be cheap, of course. From the RGM history page: