Desk Divers: Mainstream Conspiracy or a Proper Tool for Gentleman Bad-asses?

The first of my watch purchases were almost exclusively divers. James Bond wears divers, spec ops bros wear divers, who doesn't like a good dive watch?

I thought I was a cool guy, rocking my Casio Duro, enjoying the sense of superiority over my peers rocking G-Shocks and Apple watches. It was my daily driver for about a month, until I noticed the crystal looking like it had been assaulted by a diamond clawed bobcat. Not exactly the best look for a classy guy, is it? The green bezel did make for an interesting approximation of Lotus livery when I found the right yellow strap, though.

Next up was one of my first "real" watches, a vintage SKX007 with a tropical dial straight off eBay. That little "Diver's 200m" bit on the dial became my new favorite piece of text, right up until I realized the movement DESPERATELY needed a service. The water resistance certainly isn't to factory specifications anymore, given how often I take the case-back off to wind the movement manually (don't judge me it's too cool to let die slowly in a watch-box waiting for me to take it in. Speaking of, anyone know a good watch shop in DFW?). It's on the to do list, but its spot in the rotation was quickly usurped by diver #3, a Citizen Promaster Dive. 

Anyone who knows me (or pays attention at least a little) knows how much I adore my Nighthawk. Even a perfectly running automatic can't keep up with the simple ease of use of Eco Drive. Citizen has very easily worked its way into being one of my favorite manufacturers, and the Promaster Dive certainly solidified that opinion.  Ooh, what's that, it has that extra little "Diver's" in front of the water resistance rating? Wild. Green bezel? Chef's kiss. Tropic strap? Cooking with gasoline now. 

Now, whether or not an ISO compliant dive watch is really necessary for working the street or typing a report is another question entirely. I'm four hours from the nearest significant body of water, and I know I'm not the most landlocked dive watch enthusiast. Every desktop adventurer knows as well as James Bond does: divers can go there, do that, and get you the t-shirt. 

How do we know this? If they can get a 200m water resistance rating, I'm sure we won't stress it too much typing 30 words a minute on a government computer that was almost certainly bought under contract with Gateway. We're not going to ruin it going to the range less often than we tell Instagram (but still a lot I swear). We're certainly not even going to stretch its proverbial legs washing our hands, or taking a dip in the nearest insignificant body of water.

We might get a little nasty with it, unexpectedly of course. Be it wrestling an alligator, drunk frat boy, or the office copy machine that loves to eat your originals, divers can take the abuse and keep rolling with the punches. They'll do it while looking better than a G-Shock, too. Divers are the status symbol of the weekend warrior and the dedicated ass kicker alike, a bona fide more accessible and easily recognized than most others in this day and age. Anyone can buy into the Billy Badass lifestyle with a little superficial effort and access to social media. That same diletante buying a Forward Observations hat for three times market price off eBay won't buy scratches on his bezel, though. 

Admittedly, I've been almost exclusively rocking my Sangin Kinetic as of late, which has been beneficial both to the Sangin and the rest of my collection. Getting more time on wrist has helped me accept the Sangin for what it is, and has made it that much more enjoyable to wear my other pieces, perhaps my divers in particular. Throwing on the Promaster is a nice break from my internal insistence that I could have been a fighter pilot. The SKX is like that special desert from your favorite restaurant downtown, something exciting and remarkable, while still familiar and accessible.

We don't wear divers because we're all James Cameron searching for the Heart of the Ocean, or James Bond stealing souls and secrets, or some other James doing other wild stuff. We wear divers knowing that we could if we wanted to, and we're not going to have to leave our watch on the pool deck if we decide to act up. 

We can't all afford the coolest Seamaster, and most of us probably won't ever climb a wait list high enough to be permitted to touch a Sub. We can tap into that same energy with a Prime account and a triple digit savings account, though. There's nothing wrong with a little desk diving now and again, and no one is stopping us from taking them out for some extracurricular activity. They're certainly more than capable of keeping up. 

Dan from @noon.atyoursix is a North Texas street cop, Star Wars nerd, and Yankee carpetbagger just starting out on his watch journey. You can find him at a Stars game or or watching DCS videos, wishing he would quit finding stuff to spend more money on.