Following on from our popular feature highlighting a fine selection of watches from £300 to £1000 on the WatchGecko Store, we thought it would be fun to take it to the next level and look at what you can buy if you can stretch the budget a little – from £1000 to £2000.
As before, the watches selected here represent outstanding quality at the price point, and we believe they bring something unique to a buyer and a genre.
£1000 - £1100
Squale 1521 Swiss Made Diver's Watch Black Dial Polished Case with Rubber Strap - £1035
$2,030.00 CAD
$1,975.00 CAD
The definitive Squale is as good an example of a dive watch as you will find for a fraction over £1000. The 1521 classic has been around in one guise or another for decades. It has all the expected Squale elements, such as the orange minute hand for quick diving use and the original "Shark" logo. Water resistant to 500m, this is a pure professional dive watch.
£1100 - £1200
Squale 1521 Black PVD Swiss Made Diver's Watch with Mesh Bracelet - £1160
Yes, it's another 1521, but this one looks so fundamentally different from the previous entry that you could be forgiven for thinking it was another watch or brand. These two watches typify Squale's outstanding design quality; they are the same series but so diverse. This 1521 is in black PVD and has a mesh bracelet, giving it a hugely sophisticated look as opposed to a standard steel tool watch. The matte PVD also provides an exciting alternative to Squale's traditional bold colours.
£1300 - £1400
Sinn 556 A Automatic Sports Watch with a Solid Bracelet - £1320
We must skip the £1200-£300 bracket because we don't have anything in stock at the moment, so let's move straight on to £1300 to £1400. Here, we find the quintessential aviation brand Sinn. The 556 is their entry-level model, representing a first step to outstanding technical specifications precisely as you would expect from Sinn. We've just recently reviewed this, and whilst it's intended to be a pilot watch inspired by aviation cockpits, we also said it made a cracking field watch. You'll be hard-pushed anywhere else to find a watch of this quality, with this heritage and lineage, for this price.
£1400 - £1500
Formex Essence 39 Automatic Chronometer with Steel Bracelet - £1435
The Formex Essence has been the backbone of their collection for many years. Following extensive reviews, which you can find in the WatchGecko magazine, we think this watch can stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the most famous Swiss models, costing four times as much. Parallels are naturally drawn to the Omega Aqua Terra, and we have put the watches head-to-head in one feature and one video. On balance, we judge that Formex is a better buy. A COSC-certified movement with exceptional build quality and a stunning dial make this one of the best one-stop shop high-end tool watches available today.
£1500 - £1600
Squale 1521 Bronze Diver's Watch with Blue Sunray Dial and Nylon and Leather Straps
Yet again, the venerable 1521 pops up. Because they are all around the same price point, it's fascinating to include several models in this study to see what that extra £100 buys you. In this case, it is a watch made from bronze—a material used for nautical equipment through the ages. The beauty of this watch is that the bronze will patina as you handle it and expose it to moisture, and very slowly, as your watch becomes a part of you, so will its colouring change. At 42mm, this watch will not be too heavy and retains the perfect dive size. It's also worth mentioning that a COSC-certified 1521 also fits within this price bracket and is available through WatchGecko.
£1600 - £1700
Sinn 104 St Sa I Automatic Sports Watch with Solid Bracelet - £1665
Back to Sinn but with a distinctly non-pilot watch. We have also extensively reviewed the 104 St on the Magazine. It is a general dive/sports watch with a more helpful bidirectional bezel. The white dial version is our favourite because, despite the traditional legibility issues with the white dials, the Sinn perfectly addresses this with black outline indices and hands. If the white is too stark for you, the 104 is also available with a blue and black tile. When we first tested the 104, the consensus in the office was that it was a close contender to the perfect watch: a watch that you could do anything in and deploy on any occasion.
£1800 - £1900
Formex REEF Automatic Chronometer
A strong contender for one of the best models we sell. The Formex REEF has been labelled as one of the most competent dive watches available today. Exceptional build quality comes as standard. Its thoroughly contemporary styling is innovative and puts to shame some Swiss giants at five times the cost. From its beautifully machined bracelet, sunburst dial, and unique bezel with numbers standing proud, the REEF and its COSC-certified movement truly represent a dive watch for 2024.
£1900 - £2000
Aquastar Deepstar II 37mm Vintage Black Dial Black Tropic - £1990
Housed in an eminently wearable 37mm stainless steel case, the new Deepstar II retains the ethos and proportions of the original Deepstar Chronograph from 1962. It has two of Aquastar's key identifiers: the rotating timing bezel bearing the brand's "no decompression" table and the "cyclops" mono-compax dial.
While based on an original design, the current Deepstar redefines the dive watch and slots beautifully into the current trend for vintage timepieces constructed for the modern age.
