DUO We dove into the Atlantic off Tenerife with the new IWC Aquatimer and the Tudor Pelagos. How well did they perform during the rigors of several dives? BY JENS KOCH AND JENS KÖPPE PHOTOS BY FREDERIK FRANKE AND OK-PHOTOGRAPHY April 2015 WatchTime 87 COMPARATIVE TEST IWC Aquatimer Automatic vs. Tudor Pelagos Getting ready to descend: tanks of pressurized air, a dive computer and a watch on each wrist wimming with sea turtles, eagle rays in both directions, but for safety, the inner scale moves only when and barracudas can be so fascinating that a diver might forget the bezel is turned counterclockwise. The scale remains motionless Sabout time, so it’s a good idea to take a watch with you as well as when the bezel is turned the other way. This ensures that a diver a dive computer. We took two divers’ watches with us when we won’t shorten the indicated dive time if he happens to snag his went diving off Tenerife, in the Canary Islands: the new Aqua - wrist on a submerged rock, which could cause him to skip a cru - timer Automatic, the basic model in the Aquatimer family that cial decompression stop. The system also has another advantage: IWC updated in 2014, and the Tudor Pelagos, the professional the crystal protects the scale and its luminous coating against divers’ watch introduced in 2012 by Rolex’s sister brand. We tested scratches and saltwater. And we found this system easier to use the watches on several dives and also examined them on land. than a watch with an inner scale that’s operated with a second Our first dive wasn’t very deep: we simply wanted to do a lit - crown. tle fish watching. We checked and donned our equipment, Tudor’s unidirectional rotating diving bezel also works impec - rechecked the pressure in our air tanks, and fell backwards into cably. Narrow fluting makes this component even easier to grasp the water. To monitor our dive time, we turned the index on each than IWC’s. As on the Aquatimer, the Tudor’s rotatable bezel watch’s dive-time scale until it was tangent to the tip of the min - clicks into place in single-minute increments. The matte scale is utes hand. crafted from a ceramic material that doesn’t give scratches a The Aquatimer has a newly developed SafeDive bezel system chance. But the luminous coating on the scale is rather soft and that we found very user-friendly. The outer rotatable bezel turns could become scratched over the long term. another ring, safely positioned under the crystal and surrounding We began our descent and encountered our first school of gilt - the dial, on which the dive time is shown. The bezel can be rotated head seabream. We continued down to the seafloor and found two 88 WatchTime April 2015 The Tudor watch comes with a rubber strap and a titanium bracelet designed to shrink and expand automatically as the diver descends and ascends. SPECS IWC AQUATIMER AUTOMATIC Manufacturer: IWC Schaffhausen, SPECS Baumgartenstrasse 15, CH-8200 Schaffhausen, Switzerland TUDOR PELAGOS Reference number: IW329001 Manufacturer: Rolex SA, rue François- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date Dussaud 3–7, CH-1211 Geneva 26, Movement: ETA 2892 “Top,” automatic, Switzerland 28,800 vph, 21 jewels, stop-seconds function, rapid reset for the date, Reference number: 25500TN Incabloc shock absorption, Glucydur Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date balance, fine adjustment via regulator Movement: ETA 2824 “Top,” automatic, and screw, 42-hour power reserve, 28,800 vph, 25 jewels, stop-seconds diameter = 26 mm, height = 3.6 mm function, rapid reset for the date, Kif Case: Stainless steel, domed sapphire shock absorption, Glucydur balance, crystal is nonreflective on both sides, Triovis fine adjustment via screw, 38-hour dive-time ring can be reset via the bezel, power reserve, diameter = 26 mm, screwed crown, fully threaded stainless- height = 4.6 mm steel caseback, water resistant to 300 m Case: Titanium, flat sapphire crystal Strap and clasp: Rubber strap with is nonreflective on both sides, ceramic stainless-steel pin buckle bezel, helium valve, screwed crown, Rate results: fully threaded titanium back, water Deviations in seconds per 24 hours resistant to 500 m The IWC has a rubber strap that is textured Dial up +1 on the inside and outside. Strap and clasp: Rubber strap with titanium pin buckle and titanium bracelet Dial down +1 with stainless-steel folding clasp and Crown up +1 integrated extension Crown down +4 Rate results: Crown left +2 Deviations in seconds per 24 hours Crown right +2 Dial up +6 Greatest deviation of rate 3 Dial down +3 Average deviation +1.8 Crown up 0 Average amplitude: Crown down +7 Flat positions 295° Crown left +5 Hanging positions 253° Crown right +3 Dimensions: Diameter = 42 mm, Greatest deviation of rate 7 height = 14 mm, weight = 149 g Average deviation +4 Variations: With silver-plated dial; with Average amplitude: stainless-steel bracelet ($6,750) Flat positions 314° Price: $5,750 Hanging positions 288° Dimensions: Diameter = 42 mm, height = 13.5 mm, weight = 104 g Price: $4,125 April 2015 WatchTime 89 COMPARATIVE TEST IWC Aquatimer Automatic vs. Tudor Pelagos Our boat takes us to our first diving spot. THE AQUATIMER HAS A NEWLY DEVELOPED SAFEDIVE BEZEL SYSTEM. rays, moray eels and a seahorse. It would be easy to lose track of time, but our underwater regimen includes regularly glancing at our pressure gauge, which shows how much pressurized air remains in our tanks, and at our watch, where we can check the dive time. After 40 minutes, the pressure gauge reminded us to begin our ascent to the surface. A problem cropped up during our first dive: both watches’ straps were too short to fit comfortably over the sleeves of our 7-mm-thick diving suits. The Tudor’s rubber strap has a divers’ extension built into the clasp that looks like a little belt, but this The Aquatimer has a strap-changing system, but it doesn’t didn’t work for us: the extended strap fit too loosely, even on its come with an extra bracelet or extension. A steel bracelet can be smallest setting. We had no choice but to partially unzip the zip - purchased separately. pers on the sleeves of our diving suits and wear both watches The Pelagos comes with an additional titanium bracelet, which around our bare wrists. can be lengthened in three steps. The third step even contains a In all other aspects, the rubber straps and pin buckles worked spring-loaded self-adjusting mechanism that lets the bracelet well on both watches. They have different decorative patterns but adjust during a dive, contracting in deep water when the diver’s are equally well crafted. Both manufacturers have added some suit is compressed and expanding as the pressure eases during his texture to the inner surface of each strap to reduce perspiration in ascent. But a special tool must be used to change the strap, so we hot weather. Both clasps are neatly crafted and each has a milled only had the rubber strap to wear on our dive. pin, although IWC’s polished edges show a bit more time spent on Both watches were comfortable to wear on land. The steel fabrication. Aquatimer is noticeably heavier than the Pelagos with its titanium 90 WatchTime April 2015 At a depth of 30 to 40 meters, we found anchors dating from the era of Christopher Columbus. Both watches could be read easily under water. April 2015 WatchTime 91 COMPARATIVE TEST IWC Aquatimer Automatic vs. Tudor Pelagos We used a diving scooter on one dive, subjecting the watches to a grueling workout. In the dark, both watches glow brightly thanks to luminous material applied amply to the hands and markers. case. But IWC’s sturdy strap lugs ensure that the strap curves number 15 on the diving scale all glow in the same green color as downward enough to keep the watch from slipping and sliding on the minutes hand, while the hour hand and the hour indexes shim - its wearer’s wrist, even if he perspires. mer with a bluish tone. Tudor’s indicators are monochromatic but glow extremely ON OUR SECOND DAY, our diving route took us past impres - brightly in the dark. Blue’s the hue for the hour indexes and the sive fissured cliffs and gigantic canyons of petrified lava. At a hands on the dial, as well as for the triangle, the first 15-minute depth of 30 to 40 meters, we found anchors dating from Colum - indexes and the following 5-minute markers on the bezel. A typi - bus’s era that had come to rest on the ocean floor. This diving cal divers’ watch includes only a luminous dot on its rotatable area gave us a good opportunity to test how well our watches bezel, but the Pelagos and the Aquatimer offer considerably more. can be read under water. Both seconds hands glow in the dark and thus provide instant Both watches play in the major leagues. IWC accentuates the assurance that the watches are still running. dive-relevant functions on its dial with green luminous material: Half an hour into our dive, the pressure gauge showed that we the orientation triangle, the first two 5-minute indexes and the should begin our return to the surface. We ascended freely for the 92 WatchTime April 2015 When the Tudor’s strap was extended, it fit over our diver’s wetsuit, but it was too loose to wear for long. indexes and a sloping flange with recessed markers.