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Ollech & Wajs C-1000 A
The first 1000m diver was manufactured by Ollech & Wajs and Jenny in 1964. 60 years later in 2024, OW recreated this legendary dive watch, the Ollech & Wajs C-1000 A. The original was a huge feat at the time, two small companies creating a 1000m diver when the big boys were working on 600m divers. Equipped with an ETA 2452 manual wind movement, an acrylic crystal, and a monoblock stainless case, the Caribbean 1000 was ahead of its time. 60 years later it has a screw-down crown and case back, a Soprod Newton PO92 automatic movement, that can be upgraded to a COSC version, and a double domed sapphire crystal. The one I have comes with a cadmium yellow RAF style strap and retails for just over $2000.
Specifications
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39.5mm Stainless Steel Case
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20mm Lug Width
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45.7mm Lug to Lug
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15.8mm Thick
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98.7 gramsย
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Screw Down Crown
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Screw Down Case Back
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Domed Sapphire Crystal
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1000m Water Resistanceย
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Soprod Newton Precision P092 Movement
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Cadmium Yellow RAF Strap
Current Price $2,070.51 USD
https://ow-watch.com/collections/ollech-wajs-watches/products/ow-c-1000-a
The original, shown below, was quite the achievement in 1964. To quote OW-
It was worn by commercial and military divers and tested by ocean explorers in the Red Sea, the North Atlantic and under the frozen Arctic ice pack.
These days, many watches are capable of depths of 1000 meters, and many have surpassed this as well. Something I did find interesting was another quote from OW, about the owners of the Caribbean 1000 and the depths it had seen-
Over 50 years on, many of those original watches are still fully serviceable and ocean ready. One or two may well be on the wrists of divers somewhere right now. However, given the majority of scuba divers never go below 40m (131ft) and even the most experienced saturation divers never exceed 300m (984ft), few if any of those โCaribbean 1000sโ have ever been within 700m of their limit.
Original OW Caribbean 1000m
The 1964 version was quite an attractive watch and even these days, as vintage is still all the rage, it is an attractive watch. This is why OW didn’t want to change too much in recreating this legendary model. The case is still very much round, and those extremely pointed lugs, vampire lugs as they were called by owners and fans of the original are here, but this is no longer a monoblock case, rather it has a screw down crown and screw down case back, which is pretty much the standard for modern production watches.
The large crown is signed, and if you opt for the COSC version, it will have a COSC destination on the crown, the crystal is still domed, but instead of arctallc, it’s sapphire of course, a very large doubled domed sapphire crystal. Even the bezel insert is pretty faithful to the original.
The dial of the Ollech & Wajs C-1000 A is a combination of old and new. The handset is mostly unchanged, but OW did opt for an arrow tipped second hand instead of a diamond. The dial layout is pretty similar as well, though the date is now located at the 6 o’clock position, it of course has the modern OW logo, and perhaps the biggest change is the indices. These triangle (applied) and rectangle (printed) indices are part of the modern OW lineup, quite attractive and easy to read. I like what they did here, they kept the essence of the original, while still making it look like a current OW model.
The crystal is sapphire as expected, these days I think it’s odd when a manufacturer uses acrylic. Yes, it would be true to the original, but there is a reason sapphire is used on modern watches. That said, this really is a big domed sapphire, and while it creates a lovely profile, it can almost act like a mirror at times, reflecting almost everything, including studio lights. Yes, it was a little tiresome photographing this piece at times, but when on the wrist, I never found it hard to read the time.
The case of the Ollech & Wajs C-1000 A is split up into a few parts, and while this is a thick watch at 15.8mm, I don’t find it to look or wear as such. The mid case is rather thin, then you can see where it bulges out underneath that to the case back, and then there is the sawtooth-like bezel and domed sapphire. If this was more all one solid chunk of metal, at almost 16mm thick, it would look like a hockey puck, instead, I find it rather refined.
Every surface of this watch is satin brushed and that mid case, while not having much curve to it, is rather short, at only 45.7mm. The case width is 39.5mm, only .5mm larger than its vintage predecessor, though that large crown does make this watch look and feel like a 40 or even ย 41mm watch. I also feel this watch is much more balanced with the length and width of the case, compared to the modern incarnation of the Caribbean diver, the C-1000.
ย I’ve seen a few comments about the bezel, more specifically the bezel insert, but I honestly love both. The bezel itself is solid steel, coin or sawtooth edge, and I love how it tapers towards down into the teeth. It is 120 clicks, unidirectional, very solid and very precise.
The insert is again, pretty faithful to the original, with a slight tweak to add a 20 minute dive scale with the 12 hour feature. The dive scale and the arrows have a light orange color, which is pretty close to the cadmium yellow RAF strap. The insert glass is mineral though, which I do find a little strange for a watch built in 2024 with a price of $2000. The bezel insert isn’t very wide though, and the insert is pretty well, and along with that domed sapphire taking the brunt of the knocks, it should stay pretty scratch free.
Inside the Ollech & Wajs C1000-A, is the Soprod Newton P092. I have covered this movement in other OW watches and for the most part, I don’t recall ever having an issue with a Soprod movement at all. I know Ollech works closely with Soprod for these movements and they are regulated and tested whether they are COSC or not. This one’s accuracy has been averaging -4 seconds over a week, which isn’t too shabby. That all said, if you want to go COSC, it will cost you another $350. For me, it’s not worth it, but if you need that accuracy, it may be worth it to you.
This cadmium yellow RAF strap is lovely, and the color is a new favorite of mine. It’s a light faded gold color, and it just suits the retro vibe of this Ollech & Wajs C-1000 A so well. As many are probably aware, I don’t really wear nylon straps like this, or nato or Zulu straps, and that is true, but I like how this is a single pass strap, and that it buckles like a two piece strap, and I love these chunky, square OW buckles as well.
But this is a $2000 watch, $2340 if you upgrade to the COSC movement. At these prices, I would like to see at least a tropic rubber strap included with the RAF strap. The only bracelet available is again an extra charge, another $160, for the OW mesh bracelet, not a beads of rice bracelet that this reviewer hoped it would be.
I do love how this anniversary model wears on my 7 1/2 inch (19.05cm) wrist though. I have grown fond of this strap, more than I probably should, and honestly I never thought I would be so enamored with a nylon strap. Because it is one piece, and the way it buckles, even with this being kind of a fat watch, it balances well on my wrist and I don’t find it to be top heavy at all. I only have 2 holes left and I just made it into that stitched in large keeper, so again for those guys out there who prefer a smaller or vintage style watch, you’ll need to find a replacement strap.
Another thing I was happy to see was that all the indices are lumed on the Ollech & Wajs C-100 A. If you are not familiar with OW watches, you may find that to be an odd statement, as why would only some of the indices be lumed. That’s a good question that I can’t answer, but that’s how quite a few of the models I have reviewed were. Here, everything is lumed up, including the second hand triangle and that 20 min dive scale. Its not the brightest lume, and its not the longest lasting either, but its more than suffice, but if you are a lume junkie, if you need the brightest, most intense lume on a watch, this one still isn’t it.
Sometimes as a reviewer, you get to the summary, and you struggle with how you want to end the article. This one is easy. This is my favorite Ollech & Wajs I have reviewed to date, bar none. I generally like the look of the entire OW lineup, but this one does check all of the boxes. It’s very retro, it’s a recreation of a watch that marked a milestone in dive watches, and I really wouldn’t change all that much about it. Yes, I would like a flatter or even a top hat ctsytal, but that’s purely subjective, and the lume could be stronger, and hopefully they can pair it up with a BOR bracelet at some point, but as it is, it is absolutely my favorite OW and probably the best OW since they change of haneds in 2017.
What do you think though? Let me know in the comments. You can see more of this Ollech & Wajs C-1000 A in the video above or at the OW website.
