The Swiss military’s favourite luxury goods brand follows up last year’s updated Journey 1884 with their most sophisticated dive watch yet
Ever since its watch division took off in the late eighties, Victorinox has been steadily climbing the ranks of military and adventure-themed watchmaking, producing some of the toughest timepieces to ever leave Switzerland's borders.
This took a major step forward in 2022, when the brand announced a major horological push with 7 new collections all inspired by Victorinox’s own history, culture, and geographical roots — giving us pieces such as the latest famous Swiss Knife-inspired base I.N.O.X. model in mid-2023, the Journey 1884’s tribute to Alpine hiking trails, and the Professional Diver I.N.O.X. variant. This year, Victorinox ups its dive watch game with the upcoming Dive Pro.
As far as diving watches go, Victorinox’s latest comes ISO 6425 certified — good for dives of upto 300m and as expected from Victorinox, features extensive protection against sand and dirt. Given how important timekeeping accuracy is for divers — each second is precious when you’re well below sea level — the Dive Pro comes with ISO 1413 certified shock resistance and ISO 764 certified antimagnetic protection, both key factors in ensuring accuracy under extreme environmental conditions.
The aesthetics on offer are a slightly more mil-sim evolution of the I.N.O.X. Professional Diver, reflecting the Dive Pro’s greater functional capabilities. The case dimensions are slightly scaled back at a respectable 43mm diameter, fashioned in partially recycled stainless steel and titanium variants; both manufactured in-house at Victorinox’s Watch Competence Centre in Delémont. The scratch-resistant, anti-reflective sapphire crystal comes framed by a bold, angular and fluted rotating bezel for better grip in wet conditions. Designed for 20-minute gradations, they come with anti-scratch coating for steel models, with the titanium variants offer both sandblasted and black-PVC finishes.
The Dive Pro also comes in both quartz and automatic variants, featuring the famously reliable Ronda 715 quartz movement and a new Sellita SW 220-1 automatic movement, offering 38 hours of reserve power and a quick-setting day-date display. Apart from lowering the crown placement to the 4 o’ clock position, the automatic watches also come with texturised inner dials and an eye-catching second hand. A liberal application of Swiss Super-LumiNova® appears on the hands, indexes and bezel dot in both blue and green, enhancing low-light visibility. All models also come with genuine easy-change rubber straps or paracord bracelets, with unique yellow and orange options for the quartz and automatic variants, respectively.
The Dive Pro will be available at all Victorinox outlets across the country in late April this year, with a five+ year warranty. Prices are expected to range from Rs. 1,43,310 to 1,14,550 for the automatic variants and Rs. 1,09,760 to 66,620 for the quartz variants.
Image Credits: Victorinox India