The best dive watches under £1,000 in the UK (2026)

The best dive watch under £1,000 for most people is the Tissot Seastar 1000 Powermatic 80: Swiss, rated to 300 metres, with a sapphire crystal and an 80-hour automatic movement. Under £500, our pick is the Citizen Promaster Diver, which Citizen says meets ISO 6425, the international standard for diving watches. If you actually dive, the Tissot Seastar 2000 is certified to that standard and rated to 600 metres.

A dive watch is built to be read underwater and to time a dive, with a one-way rotating bezel, a bright luminous dial and serious water resistance. Most people who buy one never go scuba diving. They buy it because a dive watch is tough, easy to read and fine in the sea, the pool or the shower. This guide covers both: the watches that are certified for real diving, and the ones that are better for swimming and everyday wear.

All the watches below are sold new by Goldsmiths, a UK authorised retailer. Prices are Goldsmiths' own on the date shown, and they update when we re-check them.

How we chose

Every watch had to cost £1,000 or less new at a UK authorised retailer, be rated to at least 200 metres (with one exception, which we explain), and have a rotating timing bezel. We read each brand's own product page for the movement, crystal, thickness and any diving certification, and where the brand and the retailer disagreed, we used the brand's figure. We only call a watch ISO 6425 certified when its maker says so.

Best overall: Tissot Seastar 1000 Powermatic 80

Best overallTissot Seastar 1000 Powermatic 80 T1208071105100 · 40mm · Automatic · 300 m water resistant £685Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The Seastar 1000 Powermatic 80 is the dive watch we'd recommend to most people with up to £1,000 to spend. Tissot's page lists 30 bar (300 metres) of water resistance with a screw-down crown and case back, a sapphire crystal, and the Swiss Powermatic 80 automatic movement, with a Nivachron balance spring and up to 80 hours of power reserve. That means you can take it off on Friday night and it will still be running on Monday morning. At 40mm across and 12.48mm thick (Tissot's figures), it suits most wrists, and the bracelet has quick-release pins so you can swap it for a strap.

Browse all 361 Tissot watches£245 to £1,875 at Goldsmiths→

Good to know: Tissot doesn't say this model is ISO 6425 certified. It's more than enough for swimming, snorkelling and holidays, but if you scuba dive regularly, look at the Seastar 2000 or the Citizen below.

Best under £500: Citizen Promaster Diver

Best under £500Citizen Promaster Diver BN0266-07E · 41mm · Solar (Eco-Drive) · 200 m water resistant £319Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

Citizen Promaster 16 watches at Goldsmiths, £299 to £895. Shop the Promaster

This is a proper diving instrument for a very fair price. Citizen's page says it's ISO 6425-compliant and water resistant to 20 bar (200 metres), with a one-way rotating bezel and a sapphire crystal. It's an Eco-Drive watch, charged by any light, and Citizen quotes a power reserve of 365 days on a full charge, so it will never need a battery change. The polyurethane strap is ideal in the water.

Good to know: it's a quartz watch powered by light, not an automatic, so its seconds hand ticks once a second rather than sweeping. For most divers that's a plus: it's more accurate and needs less looking after.

Best for serious diving: Tissot Seastar 2000 Professional

Best for serious divingTissot Seastar 2000 T1209071704100 · 44mm · Automatic · 600 m water resistant £870Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

If you dive seriously, this is the one. Tissot's page says it's certified to ISO 6425:2018, water resistant to 60 bar (600 metres), with a helium escape valve (for saturation divers, who live in pressurised chambers), a ceramic rotating bezel and an automatic movement with up to 80 hours of power reserve.

Good to know: Goldsmiths' specification table lists 300 metres; we've used Tissot's own figure. At 44mm across and 15.29mm thick, it's a big watch, best on larger wrists and not one for under a shirt cuff.

Best for smaller wrists: Certina DS Action Diver 38

Best for smaller wristsCertina DS Action Diver C0488071105100 · 38mm · Automatic · 300 m water resistant £790Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

Many dive watches are 42mm or more. Certina's DS Action Diver puts a Swiss Powermatic 80 automatic (as Goldsmiths' product title says) into a 38mm steel case, water resistant to 300 metres according to Goldsmiths. It suits smaller wrists, and Goldsmiths lists it as unisex. (See also our best watches for small wrists.)

Browse all 42 Certina watches£400 to £1,230 at Goldsmiths→

Good to know: we couldn't read Certina's own product page, so the details here are from Goldsmiths only. The guarantee is two years.

Best automatic under £300: Rotary Seamatic 300

Rotary Seamatic 300 RGB05430/04 · 42mm · Automatic · 300 m water resistant £299Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

For the price, the Seamatic offers a lot on paper. Rotary's page lists 300 metres of water resistance, a sapphire crystal, a black ceramic bezel and a Miyota 8215 automatic movement with a 40-hour power reserve, on a steel bracelet.

Browse all 35 Rotary watches£149 to £329 at Goldsmiths→

Good to know: at 14.7mm thick (Rotary's figure), it's a chunky watch. Neither Rotary nor Goldsmiths says it's ISO 6425 certified, and the guarantee is two years.

Best solar diver: Seiko Prospex Solar Diver

Seiko Prospex Solar Diver SNE597P1 · 41mm · Solar · 200 m water resistant £500Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

Seiko made Japan's first diver's watch in 1965, according to Goldsmiths' description, and this is a modern, slim take on the idea. Seiko's page calls it a 200-metre diver's watch, with a one-way rotating bezel, a sapphire crystal and a solar movement that keeps running for about 10 months on a full charge. It's just 11.3mm thick (Seiko's figure), so it's easy to wear every day. Goldsmiths' description gives its accuracy as plus or minus 15 seconds a month.

Good to know: its 48.8mm lug-to-lug length (Seiko's figure) is quite long for a 41mm watch, so check it against your wrist.

Best slim Swiss diver: Tissot Seastar 1000 Quartz

Tissot Seastar 1000 T1204101104100 · 40mm · Quartz · 300 m water resistant £425Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The quartz Seastar is just 9.97mm thick, according to Tissot, which is remarkably slim for a diver. You still get 30 bar (300 metres) of water resistance with a screw-down crown, a sapphire crystal and a one-way rotating bezel. As a quartz watch, it's accurate and only needs a battery every few years.

Good to know: like the automatic version, Tissot doesn't say it's ISO 6425 certified.

Best classic Seiko diver: Seiko Prospex "Turtle"

Seiko Prospex Turtle SRPE93K1 · 45mm · Automatic · 200 m water resistant £390Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The Turtle gets its nickname from its cushion-shaped case. Seiko calls it a 200-metre diver's watch, with a one-way rotating bezel and the 4R36 automatic movement (about 41 hours of power reserve, with day and date). It comes on a rubber strap.

Good to know: at 45mm across, it's a big watch for larger wrists. The crystal is Hardlex, Seiko's hardened mineral glass, which scratches more easily than sapphire.

Best under £200: Accurist Dive

Accurist Dive 72005 · 42mm · Quartz · 200 m water resistant £129Price at Goldsmiths, 28 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

A dive-style watch for well under £200 that doesn't cut the corner most cheap watches cut: Goldsmiths lists a sapphire crystal. It's a 42mm quartz watch, rated to 200 metres, on a steel bracelet. Goldsmiths lists a two-year guarantee, plus three more years if you register it on Accurist's website.

Good to know: we haven't checked these details on Accurist's own site, and there's no claim of ISO certification. It's a good swimming and holiday watch rather than a diving instrument.

The best dive watches under £500

• Citizen Promaster Diver (£319): the only watch under £500 here whose maker says it's ISO 6425-compliant. Solar, sapphire, 200 metres.
• Rotary Seamatic 300 (£299): the best automatic diver for the money, with ceramic and sapphire.
• Tissot Seastar 1000 Quartz (£425): Swiss-made and very slim.
• Seiko Prospex Turtle (£390): the classic automatic Seiko diver, on the large side.
• Seiko Prospex Solar Diver (£500): slim, solar and with sapphire.
• Accurist Dive (£129): the least expensive, with a sapphire crystal.

More dive watches worth a look

• Seiko Prospex 4R Compact Diver (£580): an angular 41.7mm automatic that Goldsmiths' description says combines two famous Seiko designs, the "Samurai" and the "Shogun". Seiko calls it a 200-metre diver's watch. Seiko lists a 49.5mm lug to lug, which is long, and a Hardlex crystal.
• Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto (£790): a Swiss automatic with an 80-hour power reserve and sapphire crystal (Hamilton's figures). It's rated to 100 metres, our one exception to the 200-metre rule: a stylish swimming watch rather than a diving tool.
• Rotary Seamatic GMT (£329): an automatic GMT rated to 300 metres. Goldsmiths' description says the red and blue bezel turns both ways and is marked for a second time zone, so it's a travel watch first, not a dive timer (see our best GMT watches).

Side by side

Which of these are ISO 6425 certified?

ISO 6425 is the international standard for diving watches. A watch that meets it has passed tests for water resistance, reading in the dark, timing a dive, and resistance to shocks and magnetism. A watch can be water resistant to 300 metres and still not meet it. Here's what each maker says:

If you're buying for recreational scuba diving, an ISO-certified watch gives you peace of mind, although many divers today rely on a dive computer and wear the watch as a backup.

Dive watch vs field watch: which should you buy?

Both are tough, legible everyday watches. A dive watch has a rotating bezel and higher water resistance, and is usually thicker. A field watch is simpler, slimmer and often lighter, with clear numbers and less water resistance (often 50 to 100 metres). If you swim often or want one watch for every holiday, choose a diver. If you want something that slips under a cuff and works with everything, a field watch like the Hamilton Khaki Field in our men's watches under £500 guide may suit you better.

What to check before you buy a dive watch

Water resistance

Ratings come from pressure tests, not real diving depths. As a rough guide, 100 metres is fine for swimming and snorkelling, and 200 metres or more for scuba diving. Before you get in the water, make sure a screw-down crown is screwed fully in.

The bezel

A proper dive bezel turns only one way (anticlockwise), so a knock can't make it show less time than you've been under. Ceramic bezels, like the Tissot Seastar 2000's and the Rotary Seamatic's, resist scratches and fading better than painted steel or aluminium.

Size and thickness

Dive watches tend to be big. Check the thickness if you want it under a cuff, and the lug-to-lug length (from the top of the watch to the bottom) if your wrist is slim. We list both where the brand publishes them.

Automatic, quartz or solar?

An automatic is mechanical and winds itself as you move. Quartz is more accurate and needs a battery every few years. Solar, like the Citizen and the Seiko Solar Diver, is quartz charged by light (see the best solar watches). Our movement guide explains each, and our guide to the best automatic watches under £500 has more automatic divers.

Where to next

For the luxury end, see TAG Heuer vs Longines and our best Omega watches. For every Tissot and Seiko diver, our best Tissot watches and best Seiko watches. Prefer something plainer? Best field watches.