Smiths Astral Diver.
Such a cool watch and the timing seems right with Seiko and Tudor releasing smaller dive watches.
Smiths Astral Diver.
Such a cool watch and the timing seems right with Seiko and Tudor releasing smaller dive watches.
Last edited by Rocket Man; 2nd September 2023 at 10:01.
I have one of these and despite making good money these days, it really isn't a good watch.Originally Posted by Rocket Man
Smiths Astral Diver.
Such a cool watch and the timing seems right with Seiko and Tudor releasing smaller dive watches.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Interesting, why isn't it a good watch? The case looks similar to the 62MAS.
Although I have read that the original 62MAS wasn't a very good watch either!
Last edited by Rocket Man; 3rd September 2023 at 12:29.
Built to look like that but with your specs it would be Eddie.
The hands never look right to me, far too small and skinny.
The movement is pretty decent/standard SmithS fare but so many period budget divers used this case, the operative word being 'budget'. For me as a pretty avid SmithS collector I have felt for many years that I can't justify the price that these fetch, given the quality of the case. They do have many fans though for sure. It would be interesting to see an aesthetically faithful 'Eddie' version with improvements. Mind you with the recent return of the PRS82 is another diver needed in the line up??
I really do love these, would like to see a well built reissueSmiths Astral Diver.
Such a cool watch and the timing seems right with Seiko and Tudor releasing smaller dive watches.
Sent from my SM-A217F using Tapatalk
Would love to see a good homage to this :
Thinking more about this, while the Torpilleur is certainly a strong candidate, the watch I'd most like to see hommaged is this one - the Heuer Bundeswehr. No date and full 43mm size - it just wouldn't work smaller than that.
Sinn did their own issued version of the Bundeswehr spec back in the day, and have reissued versions of it 'right' a couple of times (as in the Dark Star special edition from a few years ago), though mostly they've got it wrong with too many subdials in the wrong orientation, or coloured hands, or a date that unbalances everything. The simplicity of the original design wins out.
A cheapo version was made using a Chinese handwound movement a few years ago (the watch looks the part but isn't terribly well made or reliable) but I'd love to see this properly done with the two subdial Sellita movement (auto by preference, for convenience, though handwound is of course more original).
A close relative in design concept is the Zenith Chronometro Tipo CP2 (a generally faithful reissue of Zenith's Cairelli 1960s watch for the Italian airforce), which is more svelte and somehow smaller on the wrist than the Heuer/Sinn watches (despite its similar measured 43mm diameter) ... in may ways it's absolutely the perfect watch.
The smaller bezel gives a lovely sense of openness to the dial, and it's very slim thanks to the El Primero movement which adds to the sense of delicacy - Zenith's re-make is far less tool-watch than Heuer or Sinn's take, more dress-watch-with-toolwatch-design-cues, with its thin, polished case as opposed to brushed/blasted on the Heuer or Sinn. Wouldn't look right at all on a bund strap.
A quality homage based on either would work for me ...
Last edited by kk; 17th April 2024 at 12:38.
The good people at Sinn heard you, introducing the Sinn 155S Bright Star LE. From the looks of it, they have addressed all the issues you mentioned.Thinking more about this, while the Torpilleur is certainly a strong candidate, the watch I'd most like to see hommaged is this one - the Heuer Bundeswehr. No date and full 43mm size - it just wouldn't work smaller than that.
Sinn did their own issued version of the Bundeswehr spec back in the day, and have reissued versions of it 'right' a couple of times (as in the Dark Star special edition from a few years ago), though mostly they've got it wrong with too many subdials in the wrong orientation, or coloured hands, or a date that unbalances everything. The simplicity of the original design wins out.
A cheapo version was made using a Chinese handwound movement a few years ago (the watch looks the part but isn't terribly well made or reliable) but I'd love to see this properly done with the two subdial Sellita movement (auto by preference, for convenience, though handwound is of course more original).
A close relative in design concept is the Zenith Chronometro Tipo CP2 (a generally faithful reissue of Zenith's Cairelli 1960s watch for the Italian airforce), which is more svelte and somehow smaller on the wrist than the Heuer/Sinn watches (despite its similar measured 43mm diameter) ... in may ways it's absolutely the perfect watch.
The smaller bezel gives a lovely sense of openness to the dial, and it's very slim thanks to the El Primero movement which adds to the sense of delicacy - Zenith's re-make is far less tool-watch than Heuer or Sinn's take, more dress-watch-with-toolwatch-design-cues, with its thin, polished case as opposed to brushed/blasted on the Heuer or Sinn. Wouldn't look right at all on a bund strap.
A quality homage based on either would work for me ...
The good people at Sinn heard you, introducing the Sinn 155S Bright Star LE. From the looks of it, they have addressed all the issues you mentioned.
Just checked it out. Was completely unaware. Thanks for letting me know.
I agree, it's a great looking skin diver, a well built modern reissue would be fantastic.....
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