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The Best New Tool & Dive Watches of 2023

From affordable to luxury, it was a banner year for purpose-built watches.

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By Johnny Brayson and Zen Love

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This story is part of our end-of-year series This Year in Gear, rounding up the most notable releases of 2023. For more stories like this, click here.

Nothing beats a good dive watch or tool watch. Rugged, good-looking and built with purpose, these are the timepieces we know we can count on in practically any situation. In 2023, there were dozens of newly introduced models that got our attention. From retro reissues and the continued downsizing of case diameters to unexpected complications and innovative materials, the following 14 dive watches and tool watches impressed us the most over the past year.

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Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic

Presented by Citizen

Citizen has been making powerful dive watches for decades. In 1983, a Citizen watch washed up on an Australian beach, still ticking despite being covered in barnacles. That seaworthy timepiece inspired the Promaster Dive Automatic. This model has a screw-down crown and 200-meter water-resistance. The Super Titanium™ black case has visual heft but a light feel, and the bright luminous hands and markers pop against the graduated gray dial. Sporty, technical and high-performance: This is a watch that lives up to its Citizen’s legacy.

Learn more about the Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic here.

Tudor Black Bay 54

In 2023, Tudor introduced an entirely new (and unexpected) line within its popular Black Bay collection. Referencing the Tudor Submariner reference 7922 from 1954, the Black Bay 54 feels like a Tudor for vintage purists thanks to its no-date dial and 37mm diameter, and it boasts enough changes to make it feel like more than merely a downsized Black Bay 58. In addition to being a killer new diver from one of the top dive watch brands, the 54 may be the harbinger of more midsize divers.

Learn more about the Tudor Black Bay 54 here.

Seiko Prospex Land Mechanical GMT

Rising from the ashes in 2023 was one of Seiko’s most beloved vintage sports watches in a new, modern guise. The Navigator Timer GMT, which was the Japanese brand’s first GMT with a rotating bezel back in 1968, returned as the ref. SPB411 in Seiko’s higher-end Prospex line. The new watch keeps the size close to the original (thankfully) while offering numerous upgrades such as a modern automatic movement, a sapphire crystal and increased water resistance.

Learn more about the Seiko Prospex Land Mechanical GMT here.

Longines Legend Diver 39mm

Longines has a number of models that could potentially qualify as its “flagship” watch (though, ironically, the Flagship probably isn’t one of them), but we’d probably give the nod to the Legend Diver. For over 15 years, it’s acted as the perfect bridge between the brand’s storied past and increasingly exciting future, and this year it got a major overhaul with a number of welcome adjustments, including a crowd-pleasing 39mm case size, vastly improved lume, COSC certification and a true bracelet.

Learn more about the Longines Legend Diver 39mm here.

Unimatic Modello Uno Pro-Diver

Unimatic took its signature Modello Uno diver in a less minimalist and more capable direction with its new ProDiver, which replaces the brand’s typical sterile black bezel with a maximalist timing bezel with markers at every minute. The bezel insert is in brushed ceramic with fully lumed numerals in blue, matching the blue-glowing minute hand, while the other hands and indices of the dial all glow orange. The watch, powered by a Swiss automatic movement from Sellita, comes in two variants: one rated to 300m and one to 500m, respectively.

Learn more about the Unimatic Modello Uno Pro-Diver here.

Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Ceramic Compression Diver

For years, Zodiac has been making quirky, often shockingly colorful variants of its historic and otherwise down-to-earth dive watches. Recently, though, the brand has been getting even more far-out, with 2023 watches including a skeletonized rainbow-bezeled Sea Wolf and another laser tag-themed version that glows under a black light. But our favorite may be this colorful diver with a case composed of a unique ceramic shell around a steel inner core.

Learn more about the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Ceramic Compression Diver here.

Vulcain Cricket Nautical

There’s so much that’s interesting about the Vulcain Cricket Nautical. It features a rotating dial controlled by the 4 o’clock crown and a mechanical alarm (the thing for which Vulcain is best known) that’s audible underwater for use when diving. Like other watches from Guillaume Laidet’s relaunched brands, the Nautical resurrects a design from 1961 (though it’s not the first reissue since then) — and the purpose behind that unusual dial design is meant to help determine divers’ decompression times.

Tissot Sideral

The Tissot Sideral S offers striking retro style and several bright colors that should make it a go-to for every summer going forward, but it’s also got a backstory. Back in the 1970s, the original Sideral was the first watch to feature a case made of fiberglass. In the same vein of alternative materials, the modern version has a case made of forged carbon fiber — and although it’s not breaking new ground to use carbon material in watches, it is notable for its price point. That colorful scale on the dial (echoed on the bezel)? That’s a regatta (yacht race) timer, just for the fun of it.

Learn more about the Tissot Sideral here.

Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic ‘Fujitsubo’

Citizen is strong in dive watches (you know, for actual diving), but the Promaster Dive Automatic is especially watch-enthusiast-friendly. Why? It’s pretty much got it all. A higher-tier (Miyota 9000 series) automatic movement, premium materials like titanium and sapphire crystal and interesting proprietary tech with the brand’s own “Super Titanium” scratch-resistant hardening. It’s also got a story, as the modern model is based on a watch recovered from the ocean in 1983, still ticking. We can’t help but be excited about this version in a sleek, black DLC coating on a full bracelet.

Learn more about the Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic ‘Fujitsubo’ here.

Seiko Prospex Marinemaster

After disappearing from the brand’s catalog five years ago, the Marinemaster is back on a dial at Seiko — and it’s a pretty big deal. Worthy of its storied moniker, the Prospex Marinemaster is intended to be Seiko’s new flagship diver, taking stylistic cues from the 62MAS diver from 1965 but offering a number of modern improvements. First and foremost is the 6L37 slimline movement, which makes this the thinnest automatic dive watch from the brand. And in another first, you can see the movement — no other Seiko diver has an exhibition caseback. Finally, the bracelet is all new and is finished to a level we’re definitely not used to seeing on Seiko divers.

Learn more about the Seiko Prospex Marinemaster here.

Longines Spirit Zulu Time 39

We were excited when Longines launched the original Zulu Time in its pilot-oriented Spirit collection two years ago. But with a 42mm diameter and longish lugs, we thought to ourselves, “This would be absolutely killer if only it were a little smaller.” Now, the Zulu Time comes in those ideal proportions we dreamt of, making it one of the easiest GMT watches to recommend at its price point (and even above) with features like a ceramic bezel insert, a chronometer-certified traveler’s GMT movement and even a two-tone option in steel and yellow gold.

Learn more about the Longines Spirit Zulu Time 39 here.

Mido Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer

A bezel decorated with city names doesn’t make this dive watch an actual worldtime watch. But what you do have is an incredibly captivating look based on a legit vintage model, with GMT functionality, a funky and colorful decompression scale and excellent sizing at 40.5mm. It also comes in two equally delightful colorways for pretty reasonable prices.

Learn more about the Mido Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer here.

Zenith Pilot

Zenith completely reinvented its pilot collection this year. Gone is the classic look that nods to early 20th-century watches, and in its place is a distinctly modern, lifestyle-oriented watch. Yet, it retains nods to the classical design and convincingly recalls the brand’s aviation history. In addition to this handsome and well-finished time-only version, there’s a flyback chronograph variant, and both are available in steel or ceramic cases.

Learn more about the Zenith Pilot Automatic here.

Omega Seamaster Ploprof ‘Summer Blue’

In 2023, Omega released an entire range of watches in its Seamaster collection, each with a gradient blue dial to celebrate the line’s 75th anniversary. Whereas the color was the main novelty for most of the watches, the Ploprof got its first new model in years, and it features a monobloc case in the brand’s O-Megasteel alloy that’s been sized down from the previous generation (by 3mm, vertically). We hope it’ll be only the first of a revived collection of this funky watch we can’t help but love.

Learn more about the Omega Seamaster Ploprof ‘Summer Blue’ here.

Rolex Yacht-Master 42 RLX Titanium

Rolex finally released the titanium Yacht-Master many had anticipated since a prototype was spotted in 2021. It comes on a full (RLX) titanium bracelet and takes the otherwise swanky, yachting-themed collection in a decidedly sportier and more tool-watch direction with a monochromatic, Submariner-like aesthetic. Lightweight, tough and sporty, the watch points to an exciting new future for The Crown.

Learn more about the Rolex Yacht-Master 42 RLX Titanium here.

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