Swatch Scuba Libre
Since the early 1980s Swatch has been the pop-culture face of wristwatches, constantly producing new designs and collections to entice customers and collectors. Last week the brand released its latest collection of brightly colored dive watches, Scuba Libre, just as the weather starts to warm up. Sure, we're not talking about indestructible, timeless tool replica watches here, but for under $100, Scuba Libre is worth a second look.
Scuba Libre On The Wrist
It's important to note up front that Swatch has never been about the intricacies of mechanical watchmaking or the production of timeless heirlooms. A Swatch is a piece of popular design that you wear on your wrist and can collect and change out at will. Scuba Libre is no exception.
The collection consists of a few different watches, with the different models mixing the main design elements in various combinations. The unidirectional, clicking bezels come with either dive-style markings and simple 60 minute markings, and there are a few variations on the silicone strap, including one that mimics the look of a linked bracelet (there is also one variation with a nylon strap). As for the dials, there are dials with round markers as well as those with arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9; both of these are also available with or without the date window at 3 o'clock. A few transparent dial versions show some gears at work, though they're gears in a quartz movement, not a mechanical one.
While the Scuba Libre replica watches are plastic with quartz movements, they are still sturdy, rated to 200m, and have uni-directional bezels. You're probably not going to take one of these on an actual dive, but the details are nice nonetheless for a day at the beach. They weigh almost nothing (especially if you're used to a mechanical watch) and the silicone straps are comfortable.
Scuba Libre will be available later this month for $90. Check out Swatch for more.
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