Bremont, Sinn, Yema
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The Best New Tool Watches & Dive Watches of 2024 (So Far)
Divers, GMTs and chronos, these watches are built with purpose.
Published March 25, 2024
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Practically speaking, most of us don’t have much use for tool watches in our daily lives these days. At least, not when it comes to their original intended purposes anyway. The majority of us do not spend our days diving to the depths of the oceans, flying experimental aircraft or timing laps in our racecar. And yet, we still pine for purpose-built timepieces that were created in the crucible of adventure. We want watches that can be put through the wringer, even if said wringer is nowhere near where we hang our hat each day. We desire watches that not only look cool, but simply are cool, almost in a preternatural sense.
We like tool watches. Dive watches, chronographs, pilot’s watches, field watches, GMTs. These are watches that are meant to do a job, and even if we’re not all as adventurous as we’d like to imagine, these watches are still plenty useful even for mundane tasks. You can use a dive bezel to time your laundry, track a workout with a chronograph or use a slide-rule bezel to figure out what tip to leave your server at a restaurant. And you might just feel a little more interesting for doing so.
Below, we’ve rounded up all of the best new tool watches that have been released so far this year. We’ll be updating every month throughout 2024, so keep checking back and maybe you’ll discover your next adventure partner (or laundry partner, no judgement).
March
Omega
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional White
A clean twist on the classic Moonwatch, this version of Omega’s “Sapphire Sandwich” swaps out the printed matte black dial for a lacquered white dial with applied black indices and red accents.
Blancpain
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm
After nearly two decades of only being available as a 45mm behemoth in Blancpain’s permanent collection, the brand released a smaller 42mm version of its flagship Fifty Fathoms Automatique in a more wearable 42mm size. Available in red gold or ultra-tough Grade 23 titanium, the more compact version of the iconic diver is still powered by the impressive in-house Cal. 1315 movement with its five-day power reserve.
Breitling
Breitling Aerospace B70 Orbiter
To celebrate 25 years since the first non-stop balloon trip around the world, Breitling released this special version of the Aerospace. The titanium, orange-dial watch not only features the Breitling Orbiter 3 mission logo on the dial but also includes a piece of the actual balloon itself, visible behind a sapphire caseback.
Seiko
Seiko Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver’s Watch SPB453
A 2024 update to Seiko’s popular 2020 line of 1965-inspired dive watches, the SPB453 and its stablemates the SPB451 and SPB455 have smaller, thinner cases, higher water resistance and an increased power reserve over their predecessors.
Certina
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80
An update to Certina’s previous Powermatic 80-powered GMT, this version — which comes in Pepsi and two-tone variants in addition to the black and green — features a smaller and more wearable case size, a more traditional GMT design and an external sapphire bezel.
Luminox
Luminox Atacama Field 1960 Series
Inspired by the field watches of the mid-century but modernized for today’s expectations, this rugged field watch features an oversized case crafted from Luminox’s lightweight but tough Carbonox material, always-on tritium gas tube luminescence and a sand-textured dial inspired by its eponymous desert.
Fratello
RZE × Fratello Resolute Pro Contour
Titanium tool watch maker RZE linked up with Dutch watch publication Fratello for this inspired take on its Resolute Pro. Like all RZE watches, it’s crafted from titanium with a proprietary anti-scratch coating called UltraHex, but the topography-like dial made from forged carbon is exclusive to this edition.
Timex
Timex Q Timex Reissue 1971 Velocity
Timex continues to mine its 1970s past to great effect via its popular Q line. The Velocity is a modern reissue of a very sporty 1971 Timex, complete with a timing bezel and a motorsports-inspired checkered flag motif on the dial to go along with the bold burnt-orange seconds hand.
Nodus x Raven
Nodus x Raven TrailTrekker
A collab between two American microbrands, the TrailTrekker features a mix of DLC and Cerakote coatings for added durability and is powered by an automatic traveler-style GMT movment.
Baltic
Baltic Hermétique Glacier
A limited edition of Baltic’s ultra-classy Hermétique field watch, the Glacier edition — available in both white and black — features an undulating, textured dial inspired by glacial ice.
William Wood
William Wood Fire Exit Watch
William Wood, which takes inspiration from firefighters for its watches, had a lot of fun with this unconventional release. In place of a traditional date wheel, the watch displays a fire exit sign man performing a different task for each day of the week. The watch is also color-matched to British fire exit signs and is mounted on a strap made from recycled fire hoses.
February
Tornek-Rayville
Tornek-Rayville Type 7B “Blakjak”
Tornek-Rayville’s reimagining of an obscure military-issue watch from the mid-’90s swaps the original’s quartz movement for an automatic, trades the tritium lume for Super-LumiNova and upgrades the mineral crystal to sapphire, but otherwise maintains its ancestor’s utilitarian design and bulletproof build.
Sinn
Sinn 103 Classic 12 H
The previous record holder for “best-looking Sinn ever” was the 103 Classic 12, a reverse panda chrono released as a limited edition back in 2021. But a new challenger for the crown has emerged in this new rendition of the same watch, now outfitted in a ’70s-inspired brown, cream and orange colorway as part of a collab with German watch magazine Armbanduhren.
Bremont
Bremont Bamford Aurora
Bamford and Bremont joined forces for this striking GMT based on the latter’s Supermarine GMT. Inspired by the Northern Lights, the watch has an ethereal glow thanks to generous helpings of bright-green emitting Super-LumiNova on the hands, sandwich dial and 24-hour sapphire bezel.
Yema
Yema Superman Slim CMM.20
Powered by Yema’s in-house CMM.20 micro-rotor automatic calibre, the Superman Slim is the only affordable dive watch on the market with this movement type — making it ideal for those looking to stand out from the crowd.
Tissot
Tissot PR516 Mechanical
A modern reissue of a Tissot chronograph from 1970, the PR516 is a rare, Swiss-made, hand-wound chronograph for under $2,000. It combines retro styling with impressive water resistance, a dual-function (and dual-color) tachymeter/pulsometer bezel and pleasantly restrained dimensions of 41mm across and 13.7mm thick.
Norqain
Norqain Adventure Sport Chrono 44 Limited Edition
This limited-edition version of Norqain’s Adventure Sport Chrono puts a colorful spin on the trademark Norqain pattern dial, coloring it a bright cerulean blue with a color-matched date wheel and adding black subdials to match the black DLC stainless steel case. The use of a Sellita-based movement in place of one of Norqain’s manufacture calibers also makes the watch more affordable than you might think.
Panerai
Panerai Luminor Due PAM01424
For a change of pace from your average Luminor, this special version of the lightweight Due features a fetching sunburst burgundy with a gradient effect.
Zenith
Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Sport Titanium
Another twist on Zenith’s bestselling Chronomaster Sport platform, this version sees the sporting chronograph get a case and bracelet made from matte titanium for a low-key and lightweight style.
Sinn
Sinn U50 S L
For this special limited version of Sinn’s U50 dive watch, the German brand paired a black PVD Tegimented German submarine steel case with a fully-lumed dial. But since this is Sinn, the dial is more over-engineered than you think. Rather than using typical luminous paint, the lume was forged into a ceramic disc which was then fused onto the metal base dial, resulting in bonkers luminosity.
Unimatic
Unimatic Modello Cinque
After first releasing a version of the Modello Cinque as a limited edition collab with Massena Lab, Unimatic released the 36mm dive-capable field watch on its own in two colorways. But, in typical Unimatic fashion, both are still limited editions.
Grand Seiko
Grand Seiko SBGE305
A welcome addition to Grand Seiko’s lineup of Spring Drive-powered sports GMTs, the SBGE305 combines a fiery red dial with a polished black ceramic bezel.
January
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer Carrera Dato
TAG Heuer’s back catalog is filled with quirky vintage favorites from Heuer’s mid-century heyday, and we’ve already seen the brand resurrect some recently — like the Skipper — to great acclaim through the retro-modern Glassbox platform introduced last year. Now comes the Dato, which combines a Destro date window with a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock for a unique layout. The teal dial brings it all together in gorgeous fashion.
Omega
Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8
The Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 Edition is a complete revamp of the original version that was released in 2018 for the 50th anniversary of the titular NASA mission. The 2024 iteration features a far more detailed image of the moon on both the front and back sides of the skeletonized movement, and the movement itself has been upgraded from the Calibre 1869 to the Calibre 3869. Both are manual wind chronographs, but the latter is a Co-Axial Master Chronometer, bringing the DSOTM more in line with other modern Omegas. Also, as a fun touch, the running seconds hand at 9 o’clock is now crafted from titanium in the shape of a Saturn V rocket like the one used on the Apollo missions.
Citizen
Citizen Promaster Air GMT
Citizen knows it has a winner on its hands with its in-house Miyota 9075/9054 “true” GMT movements, which is why the Japanese brand keeps coming out with more and more watches using the bargain-priced premium engine. The Promaster Air GMT combines Citizen’s trademark knack for creating big, functional pilot’s watches with the 9054 (the el to create a do-it-all flyer … slide-rule bezel included.
Huckberry
Timex x Huckberry Titanium Automatic Field Watch
A good-looking, easy-wearing field watch with a lightweight titanium case, a bulletproof automatic movement from Miyota and a dive watch-esque 200m water resistance? All for under $400? This may be the best collab Timex and Huckberry have ever come up with.
Oris
Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Father Time Limited Edition
Oris loves its baseball collabs, like its Hank Aaron edition or the ever-popular Roberto Clemente version, but for this watch, the independent Swiss brand teamed up with baseball’s cousin from across the pond for a cricket-themed version. The Father Time Limited Edition is a collab with London’s Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is themed after the club’s Father Time weathervane, a fixture at MCC’s home at Lord’s Cricket Ground for nearly a century. The fully bronze watch features an image of the weathervane on the caseback and includes both a matching bronze bracelet and Cervo Volante leather strap.
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Solargraph 34
TAG Heuer’s solar-powered Aquaracer Solargraph diver has been a big hit for the brand since making its debut in 2022, and in 2024 the brand has expanded the line to be more inclusive with a 34mm version. A true unisex dive watch, the smaller size is more than a scaled-down version of the original. It has a different bezel featuring throwback rider tabs that recall some 40-year-old TAGs, along with unique dial designs like the mesmerizing textured “Polar Blue” seen here.
Bulova
Bulova Lunar Pilot Meteorite
Bulova’s Lunar Pilot is based on a 1971 prototype from the brand that actually went to the moon, making it a great budget alternative to the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch from both a stylistic and historical perspective. This 43.5mm premium version includes upgrades in the form of a lightweight titanium case and a dial made from a slab of meteorite.
Bremont
Bremont x Argylle Jet
Inspired by and featured in the 2024 spy film Argylle, the Jet is based on Bremont’s U-2 pilot’s watch — a beast of a piece featuring the brand’s tough Trip-Tick case and dual-crown setup. This version also boasts black DLC coating and an argyle pattern on the dial to go along with the similarly-titled film.
Shinola
Shinola Ceramic Monster Automatic
Shinola continues to increasingly churn out watches that appeal not just to its core fashion-oriented customers but to watch enthusiasts as well. Take this ceramic version of the Monster Automatic, a Sellita SW200-powered dive watch featuring a steel case plated in black ceramic. It’s a similarly innovative setup to what we saw with Zodiac’s Sea Wolf Ceramic — one of our picks for the best watches of 2023 — and allows the watch to come in at a price lower than a full ceramic version would.