Hands-On: Victorinox’s Latest Titanium Diver – The Dive Pro
Launched this past April, the Victorinox Dive Pro lineup is the latest evolution of the brand’s work in larger pro-spec dive watches following the continued success of the INOX line and its tough-as-nails dive offerings. Offered in both steel and titanium, this new generation of Swiss divers offers a consideration of the brand’s traditional focus on value and quality wrapped in a modern, distinctive, and downright tool-ish package.
The new Dive Pro models are all 43mm wide, and you have your choice of both the movement – automatic or quartz – and the case material, be it steel or titanium. This new line runs a price range of $800 to $1,500, depending on how you blend these two options. Zooming out a bit, Victorinox’s dive options start with the Maverick at $550 and top out with the Dive Pro Automatic at $1,500, so the Dive Pro line represents the diving flagship for the Swiss brand. For this review, I elected to borrow something from the middle of the Dive Pro range, a quartz example with a titanium case, a bright yellow strap, and a price tag of $1,100.
Personally, I am definitely in something of a quartz era (and don’t call it a crisis), and I really like the idea of a lightweight, action-ready, and fuss-free dive watch. But, if you’re not so inclined, you can save a few bucks on steel, or you can spend $400 more and go for the automatic with the titanium case.
Focusing specifically on the version at hand, this Dive Pro Quartz measures 43 x 14 x 54.2mm and weighs 96 grams. The case is grade 2 titanium and has a sapphire crystal, a closed caseback, a screw-down crown, a unidirectional titanium bezel, and 300 meters of water resistance.
The lug width is 21mm, and the rubber strap has quick-release spring bars for easy changing. For the quartz version, Victorinox has opted for a Ronda 715 quartz movement, and the automatic versions use a Sellita SW220 (which ticks at 4 Hz and has a power reserve of 38 hours). Automatic versions have a day/date display and a crown at four o’clock, while the quartz models offer a standard date and a traditional crown at three with crown guards.
The inspiration from the INOX divers is pretty clear in these new models, and, just as was my experience with those INOX models, this Dive Pro feels quite premium and represents solid sports watch value at/around $1,000-$1,500. The large crown is very nicely executed, and the bezel – while certainly very light in terms of effort – offers a 120-click ratchet that is easy to place and feels good in use.
Being an ISO 6425-compliant dive watch, the Dive Pro Quartz has a luminous pip on its distinctive bezel. The dial has been tuned for maximum legibility with large applied markers, minimal text, good lume, and a smattering of yellow accents. Between the strap, the bezel, and the hands, the yellow accents were a big part of what brought me to this specific model, and I think the color works really well with the warm and dark tones of the matte-finished titanium case.
Victorinox has long been a fascinating brand for me. As I grew up, the Swiss manufacturer became one of my first favorite brands after my grandmother gave me a Swiss Army Knife as a gift. A mix of good quality and fair pricing has always been at the forefront of what Victorinox does, and the brand maintains a careful and qualified perspective on Swiss-made products.
Yes, they are largely known for their excellent knives and cutting tools, but on a recent trip to see the brand’s manufacturing presence in Switzerland, I was impressed by Victorinox’s ability to translate elements of their knife production into their watches. Indeed, even the cases are made at their facility in Delémont, Switzerland. This is the same location where the brand does assembly and even quality assurance – which currently includes more than 100 tests and checks, and the watch leaves the facility with a five-year warranty.
Thousands of Swiss Army Knife scales at the Victoinox factory in Switzerland.
Swiss Army Knives in assembly.
A Victorinox employee operates a special hand machine designed to build a Swiss Army Knife in seconds (minutes, if it’s you’re first time).
Victorinox has essentially four pillars for its products (knives, luggage, watches, and fragrances), but the watches make up only a small percentage of the pie. That said, being a business that is currently run by a fourth-generation CEO (Carl Elsener, the great-grandson of the founder, and yes, they have all been named Carl or Karl) and a company that is owned by a mix of a family-led foundation and a non-profit organization, the brand can do what they want and has little reason to change a way of doing business that has worked since it was founded in 1884.
However, where Swiss Army knives are ubiquitous, the watches are a more recent move that kicked off in 1989 and was only strengthened when the brand acquired Wenger – Victorinox’s closest Swiss competitor – in 2005. As I hinted at above, I have very fond memories of rare trips to Hamilton, Ontario’s Limeridge Mall, where I was always keen to stop by House of Knives to take a look at Victorinox’s offerings. In my early days, I rocked a Timex Ironman, but often dreamt of having a sleek black Victorinox on my wrist. You know, something to match my Swiss Card, which was essential EDC for 12-year-old James.
This is all just to say that I have been a long-time fan of Victorinox. It’s a brand that does things its own way, and, as it turns out, being a steel-obsessed brand with a ton of know-how when it comes to making knives is also a pretty solid footing for making a good sports watch.
But back to the watch at hand… I am impressed by what Victorinox has put together here, especially in titanium, for just over $1,000. The product feels like a step up from much of what I’ve explored at the price point, with the bespoke case design and the distinctive bezel execution that is both quite complicated in terms of its shape and nicely finished in terms of being without an insert but still having an engraved surface and painted markings.
The modern, industrial (almost stealthy) case and bezel shape are accented by a straightforward and nicely made dial with a central circular accent that blends with the date display at three. The matte black dial looks good and is matched by a black date wheel with white text. The oversized and semi-skeletonized hands finish the look with plenty of lume and a small yellow flourish for the tip of the minutes hand.
The strap, too, is a natural rubber design with vents, a pair of keepers, and a tang buckle. Victorinox offers additional strap options, but I have to give the nod to the rubber, as it’s a very nice option that matches the watch nicely without being overly bulky (a common problem with FKM straps these days). Comfort is good, and as a note to folks out there with watches that have 21mm lugs, Victorinox does plan to sell these separately and makes a handful of options for the 21mm sizing.
If there is an elephant in the room for the Dive Pro, especially when it comes to the enthusiast element, it’s going to be the sizing. While the 43mm width is fine for my 7-in. wrist, the ~54mm lug-to-lug is quite long. And though I wore this watch a lot (including while hiking in the Swiss Alps) and found it to be quite comfortable, it’s not a small watch. That said, outside the enthusiast mindshare, 43mm is a pretty normal size for a watch, and the titanium does a great job of keeping the watch from being entirely too much on wrist. That said, you need not take my word for it, as Victorinox is not a tough brand to find in brick-and-mortar retail. Just try one on if the sizing feels too big on paper.
As an extension of the sizing conversation, I would take a moment to implore Victorinox to make a smaller version of the Dive Pro, especially in titanium. In some ways, the Dive Pro is to Victorinox what the Pelagos is to Tudor, and switching between the Dive Pro and my Pelagos 39 underlines the appeal of a smaller, mid-sized option.
In short, I like the watch a lot, and I like what it represents for Victorinox even more. But, alongside the above push for a smaller iteration, I am not without some constructive criticism. First would be the movement, where, if I’m willing to go quartz, I want a genuinely high-spec movement. The Ronda 715 is an adequate movement, but I think the appeal of this model at $1,100 (or even up to $1,200) would be strengthened by something high-accuracy, like the ETA F06.412 that Marathon uses in the steel navigator. If you’re going quartz, go all the way.
Also, if you’ll allow me to be extra picky, I think the action on the bezel could be a bit heavier, and I think the experience would be elevated by going for a 60-click action instead of 120. Picky enough? I hope so.
As the latest evolution of the brand’s work in the world of dive watches, I really like the direction Victorinox has taken with the Dive Pro in 2024. The option of quartz and titanium, the modern (even somewhat intense) styling, and the price point come together to form a nicely considered, value-forward, and fun-to-wear Swiss-made dive watch.
Which is just what Victorinox should be making.
For more, visit Victorinox online.
Hodinkee
