long-term watch review: victorinox swiss army dive master 500m black ice mechanical

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Long-term Watch Review: Victorinox Swiss Army Dive Master 500M Black Ice

Mechanical

By Meor Amri Meor Ayob

Photos from writer’s personal collection

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Victorinox is over a century old company, made famous by its folding penknives. In 1989, the

company decided to try its hands on another important Swiss industry – making watches. For

the last two decades, a number of notable watch designs were introduced.

One model that got me interested in this brand is the Dive Master. In 2012, I got myself the

500m Black Ice Mechanical in blue.

This watch has a diving capacity of 500 meters. Built to exceed the ISO 6425 standard for dive

watches, this watch has been manufactured to such high tolerances that a helium escape valve

is not deemed necessary. To top it all, it comes with a display case-back! Both the front and

back glass windows are made out of sapphire crystals.

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Instead of the using the standard ETA 2824 movement, Victorinox chose instead to use the ETA

2892.A2 which has a higher production specification than the 2824. Not sure whether

Victorinox will be affected in the coming years as ETA starts to restrict the usage of its

movements to other watch brands that are not under the Swatch umbrella.

A relatively large watch with a 43 mm wide casing (excluding crown). Made using the 316L

stainless steel alloy, the casing is coloured black using the PVD method. Meanwhile, the crown

is a screw-down and protected from knocks by two ridges.

Although the watch is a dive watch, some elements of an army watch has been added. Apart

from the main indexes that are lumed, there is also an inner dial with numbering from 14 to 22

(the numbers 13, 23 and 12/24 were excluded due to lack of space). The uni-directional bezel

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has numbers that have been cut into the metal but not enhanced – a form of camouflage

perhaps.

An interesting element about this watch is the standard rubber strap provided. The strap is a 22

mm standard strap but with such thickness that you have to see to believe. What more

surprising is the fact that it’s made in Switzerland.

My experience wearing this watch is thoroughly pleasing. Not only is the movement accurate

(yet to formally test the accuracy. If you are anal to the last second, a mechanical watch is not

for you anyway - get a digital!!), the strap is very comfortable. I wore this watch during a jungle

trekking expedition in the state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Despite the appalling

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conditions of heat, humidity, mud, water, sweat and the constant bashing into trees etc, this

watch came out pretty much unscathed.

The lume is not as good as what you can find on the Seikos though. Nevertheless, it’s adequate

for the job at hand.

Overall, I would recommend this watch to anyone who wants a real value-for-money

workhorse.

End.

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Appendix

URLs of photos – full blown HD (arranged as they appear)

1. http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii604/meoramri/Watch%20Collection/Victorinox

%20Dive%20Master%20500%20Black%20Ice%20Mechanical/P3140520.jpg








%20Dive%20Master%20500%20Black%20Ice%20Mechanical/PC130659_zpsdb73e35a.jp

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%20Dive%20Master%20500%20Black%20Ice%20Mechanical/PC130660_zpsbc691865.jp

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long-term watch review: victorinox swiss army dive master 500m black ice mechanical

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