If you’re on a very tight budget and are looking for a fancy-looking dive watch that won’t start falling apart a couple of months after purchase, then look no further than this guide! In it, I’ve compiled a list of five best men’s dive watches under $100 that you can buy in 2024. All of them will, if properly cared for, serve you faithfully for a long time!
Read: The Best Men’s Dress Watches Under $100 (and Slightly Over) You Can Buy in 2023
#1 – Introduction
Before we carry on, keep in mind that …:
(1) … this article only covers men’s diver watches under $100.
(2) … the watches that I listed in this article were, as of time of this writing, priced under $100. That’ll certainly change during the coming years, as the Euro and the US Dollar (and the currencies that are pegged to them) are gradually losing their value due to multiple reasons.
(3) … I won’t get into too much depth about the specifications of each watch listed.
(4) … I’m not affiliated with ANY of the brands whose watches are listed in this article.
With that being said, let’s continue, shall we 🙂 ?
Read: THE BEST Women’s Dive Watches Under $100 (and Sligthly Over) you Can Buy in 2023
Casio MDV106B / MDV106-1A (Cheapest)
Casio was founded in 1946 in Tokyo by Tadao Kashio as Kashio Seisakujo, their first product being a yubiwa pipe – a finger ring that would hold a cigarette, which allowed its wearer to smoke a cigarette down to its nub while also leaving the wearer’s hands free. This gadget was a success which enabled his company to start production of musical instruments, electronics and quality watches like the Casio MDV106B and MDV106-1A. In the watch community, both models are often called “the Marlin” because they feature a marlin logo on the dial.
The Casio MDV106B is powered by a Casio 2784 quartz movement and is set in a 46.3mm wide, 49.5 mm long, 12.1mm thick and 92 g (0.25 oz) heavy stainless-steel case with a screw locked back that’s able to withstand a pressure of 20 ATM (making it ideal not just for swimming but recreational diving as well). It also features a …:
(1) … rotating aluminum bezel with anti-reverse, printed markings and a lume pip at 12 located within a trapezoid.
(2) … screw lock crown and a hardened mineral glass.
(3) … 22mm wide black resin band with a heavy-duty clasp buckle. From what I’ve seen on teh Interwebz, many people hate it with a passion of thousand suns because it’s boring and, for many, quite uncomfortable to wear. If you’re one of them, then I have some good news for you – there are plenty of options available.
(4) … dial with an iconic marlin logo and fluorescent round markers with variations at 6, 9 (rectangular bars) and 12 o’clock (halved trapezoid) positions and a date display at 3 o’clock position.
(5) … fluorescent arrow hands.
The Casio MDV106B comes in five distinct bezel colors – black/blue (aka Batman, seen at the beginning of this section), blue (with a blue dial), black/gold, blue/red (aka Pepsi) and coral green (seen in the picture above). All of them cost between $50 and $55 on Amazon as of time of this writing.
Casio MDV106B’s baby brother, the MDV106-1A (seen in the image above), is identical in all aspects but size – its case is 48.5 mm long and 44.2 mm wide. It comes only in a black bezel variant which costs around $75 on Amazon as of time of this writing.
If you are a frequent traveler or a recreational diver looking for a plain and inexpensive dive watch with an uncluttered dial, then the Casio MDV106B and MDV106-1A are worth of your consideration!
Interesting Fact: Bill Gates owns (or owned) a Casio MDV106B or MDV106-1A. If you plan to follow in his footsteps, the first thing that you should do is to buy one of them!
Read: The Best Rolex Submariner Homage Watches You Should Consider Buying
Casio MTPS110 (the Biggest & Solar-powered)
Of all the watches listed in this article, the Casio MTPS110 is the biggest and is also one of the few (I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the only one) solar powered watches that’s priced under $100 on the market (and the only on this list)!
Powered by Seiko’s VS43A quartz movement and cased in a 46.9 wide, 51mm long, 10.9 mm thick and 5.22 oz (86 g) heavy stainless-steel case with a screw locked back, the Casio MTPS110 is able to withstand a pressure of 10 ATM, making it suitable for surface swimming and snorkeling but not scuba diving (which is a little bit disappointing if we consider the fact they’re plenty of other under $100 dive watches that can handle more than that with no problemo on the market). It also features a …:
(1) … FIXED (!!) stainless-steel bezel with printed markings and a lume pip at 12 located within an octagon.
(2) … push-pull crown and a hardened mineral glass.
(3) … 22mm wide black resin band with a heavy-duty clasp buckle that’s easily replaceable.
(4) … dial with fluorescent round markers with pentagon variations at 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions and non-fluorescent 13-24 markers on top of them and a day and date display at 3 o’clock position.
(5) … fluorescent plongeur hour and minute hands.
The Casio MTPS110 comes in two distinct colors – black (seen at the beginning of this section) and blue (seen in the image above). As of time of this writing, the black dial version costs around $85 and the blue dial version costs around $95 on sites such as Amazon.
If you are a looking for a big, cheap and low-maintenance watch, then the Casio MTPS110 is something worth considering!
Casio MTD-1053D-2AVES (Most Versatile)
The third watch on the list (and the last Casio, I swear 😀 ) is the Casio MTD-1053D-2AVES. Of all the watches listed in this article, this one is by far the most versatile. Does it fit all but the smallest wrists? Yes. Can you swim and dive while wearing it? Yes! Can it be worn on a casual night out? Of course! Is it appropriate for the office? Certainly!
The Casio MTD-1053D-2AVES is 142 g heavy, powered by a Japanese- made quartz movement (possibly Casio 2784 quartz movement – the same one that powers the Casio MDV106B and MDV106-1A) and is set in a 42,60 mm wide, 48,00 mm long and a 11,50 mm thick stainless-steel case with a screw locked back that’s able to withstand a pressure of 20 ATM (making it ideal for swimming and recreational diving). It also features a …:
(1) … rotating aluminum bezel with anti-reverse, printed markings and a lume pip at 12 located within a triangle.
(2) … screw in crown and a hardened mineral glass.
(3) … tough, durable and elegant 22 mm wide stainless-steel band with a push button deployment clasp and safety catch.
(4) …dial with fluorescent pentagon hour markers with Arabic numerals at 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions and a date display at 3 o’clock position.
(5) … fluorescent sword hands.
The Casio MTD-1053D-2AVES comes in two distinct dial colors – black (seen at the beginning of this section) and blue (seen in the picture above). As of time of this writing, both the black dial version and the blue dial version costs around $85.
Read. THE ULTIMATE Guide to Pulsar Watches (and Pulsar in General) IN HISTORY
Vostok Amphibia 710 (Self Winding Automatic)
Vostok (“East” in Russian) was founded in 1942 when the Second Moscow Watch Factory and its workers were moved from Moscow (which was close to the front lines at that time) to Chistopol, a small town in Tatarstan where it still remains today. It originally produced mortars and since 1943, watches. The Vostok Amfibiya 710 (Amphibia), the only high-quality automatic watch in this price range, is one of those watches. In the picture below you can see how it looks like.
Like most things Soviet, the Vostok 710 Amphibia is unattractive but robust and economical – it comes with an automatic, self-winding movement with 31 jewels and 31-hour power reserve (the Vostok 2415.01) that outperforms movements from timepieces well over $100. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Russian dive watches in general (not just the Vostok 710 Amphibia) are HIGHLY regarded among watch enthusiasts!
Powered by the aforementioned Vostok 2415.01 automatic movement, the Vostok Amphibia 710 is set in a 41 mm wide, 45 mm long ,15 mm thick and around 2.82 oz heavy stainless-steel case with a screwed lock back and is able to withstand a pressure of 20 ATM which makes it suitable for recreational diving (as well as its name). Some of its other key features are …:
(1) … bidirectional rotating stainless-steel bezel.
(2) … an acrylic glass (which is, at first glance, quite puzzling for a watch of this caliber but is there for a reason which is quite complicated to explain) and a loosely screwed down crown (the manufacturer claims that it’s intentionally designed that way in order to reduce the risk of the movement from being pushed back).
(3) … a turquoise dial with a scuba diver, fluorescent rectangular bars (two of which are joined at the 12 o’clock position) and a date display at 3 o’clock position.
(4) … fluorescent arrow hour hand and a pointed baton minute hand.
Interesting Fact: Older models of the Vostok Amphibia (not just 710) were made from chrome-plated brass instead of stainless steel.
As of time of this writing, the Vostok Amphibia 710 costs around $106 on Amazon (it used to cost less but that’s no longer the case due to the Ruble becoming stronger and the US Dollar becoming weaker) and is available in 28 versions, each featuring different strap colors and material. In the picture above you can see a version with stainless-steel strap (with a tang buckle).
In case the Vostok Amphibia 710 is too big for your liking or if don’t like the shape of its case, there’s a good alterative – the Vostok Amphibia 059. This line has a more rounded case, a different bezel and is slightly smaller (39 mm) in comparison to the Vostok Amphibia 710. In the picture below, you can see how a version with a stainless-steel band looks like. If you prefer a version with a different strap color or material, there are 11 more versions available on Amazon alone which cost around $106 on average as of time of this writing.
The MAIN drawback of the Vostok Amphibia 710 and the Vostok Amphibia 420 is, shall we say, logistics. Due to multitude of reasons, it’ll take AT LEAST SEVERAL MONTHS for this puppy to arrive from Russia (from where it ships from) directly to your door. Before you cross it off from your to-buy list because of this, remember the old adage that affordable automatic diver watches with high quality movements only come to those who wait!
Read: Where are Seiko Watches Made?
Fossil FB-01 (Most Stylish)
Have you ever tried to make fun of your dad by renaming your company after his nickname? I didn’t but Tom Kartsotis did after his company, then known as Overseas Products International, began to evolve from a small import/export business to one of the biggest watchmaking businesses in the world. One of their products is the Fossil FB-01 – the last under $100 dive watch on this list.
In comparison to all other watches that are included on this list, the Fossil FB-01 is the most stylish of them all – almost all of its variations can be worn on all occasions including formal ones (the variant with a blue/black dial seen in the image below certainly won’t go unnoticed). However, it’s not as versatile as the Casio MTD-1053D-2AVES because it’s way too stylish – in my honest opinion, it would be a waste to swim and dive in this watch despite it being more than able to handle those kinds of activities.
The Fossil FB-01 is set in a 42 mm wide, 12 mm thick and around 5.04 oz heavy stainless-steel case with a screw locked back that’s only able to withstand a pressure of 10 ATM (which is perfectly reasonable considering its looks) and is powered by a Japanese quartz movement (from Miyota). It also features a …:
(1) … fixed stainless-steel bezel (again, not a big deal considering its overall aesthetic) with printed markings and a lume pip at 12 located within a triangle.
(2) … screw in crown and a mineral glass.
(3) … dial with rounded fluorescent hour markers with variations at 6, 9 (rectangular bars) and 12 o’clock (triangle) positions and a date display with a cyclops at 3 o’clock position.
(4) … fluorescent sword hour hand and a pointed baton minute hand.
As of time of this writing, there are 12 variants of Fossil FB-01 available in almost every dial and bezel color imaginable – the blue/black dial variant (seen at the beginning of this section), the blue/red variant (aka Pepsi, seen in the image above), the silver/gold/blue variant and many others. There are also sportier (and much less versatile) versions available like the white dial chrono version with a silver mesh strap seen in the picture below (which can be had for $85 on Amazon).
In case you want your Fossil FB-01 to be a memento of some special event (graduation, wedding and so on) or a TRULY special gift to someone you appreciate and/or love, then I suggest buying it from Fossil’s official store instead of Amazon. Why? Because they offer free engraving. In the picture below, you can see how an engravement on a Fossil FB-01 looks like.
Read: All About Seiko Astron GPS Solar Watches (and Hands-on Review)
#2 – Frequently Asked Questions
Which Men’s Dive Watch Under $100 is the Cheapest?
The cheapest men’s dive watch under $100 is the Casio MDV106B, which costs around $50 on Amazon. You wont lose any sleep if it gets too damaged or stolen.
Which Men’s Dive Watch Under $100 is the Biggest?
The Casio MTPS110 is the biggest sized watch on this list and one of the biggest men’s dive Watches under $100 currently on the market.
Which Men’s Dive Watches Under $100 are the Best for Diving?
With its incredibly resilient build, 20 ATM water resistance and a 31-jewel automatic movement, the Vostok Amphibia 710 and the Vostok Amphibia 059 are currently the best men’s dive watches under $100 for diving (recreational) currently on the market. And on this list, of course 🙂 .
Which Men’s Dive Watch Under $100 is the Coolest and Best Looking?
With its attractive blue/black bezel color and design, the Fossil Fb-01 is absolutely certain to turn heads anywhere you go.
Which Men’s Dive Watch Under $100 is the Best for Job Interviews?
With its attractive blue/black bezel color and design, the Fossil Fb-01 is more than appropriate for job interviews – blue and white collar alike.
Which Men’s Dive Watch Under $100 is the Best for a First Date?
With its attractive bezel colors and design, the Fossil Fb-01 is certain to leave a positive impression from your date (unless she’s, of course, a gold-digger). Good luck!
Which Men’s Dive Watch Under $100 is the Most Durable?
The most durable men’s dive watch under $100 is the Casio MDV106B, which costs around $50 on Amazon. If you look for a daily beater that won’t break your bank, look no further than this watch.
Thank you for reading. If you’ve liked this article and want to see more like them, make sure you bookmark this blog and to follow me on Instagram!
Until next time.
Your man,
-Leon
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