Best Dive Watches Under $300

1. Seiko SKX007 Dive Watch

The SKX007 is one of the most popular diving watches from Seiko and at the same time one of the most reliable and good looking timepieces you can get in this price range. As you can see in the image above, the illumination is one of its strong points coming with Seiko’s famous LumiBrite paint that glows brightly in the dark. Since visibility underwater and in the dark is one of the biggest concerns when deciding on a diving watch, Seiko took assurance so that you do not have any reasons to look somewhere else.

The stainless steel case has a nice feel on the wrist along with the polyurethane band that fits surprisingly well despite some concerns I had with its shape. Other than that it features a unidirectional bezel with a luminous point on top and a mineral crystal window that is resistant to scratches and low-intensity shocks. And all of these nice features combined with the low price makes it one of the best dive watches under $300 that you can buy right now on the market.

It is important to mention that this is an automatic dive watch, so the way the mechanism works is by using the movement of your wrist to power up the watch. That is why you should probably not expect precision by the second especially if you will not wear the watch permanently.

More on the Seiko SKX007 here.

– Best Dive Watch around $300 –

2. Citizen “Eco Zila” BJ8050-08E Professional Dive Watch

Best Dive Watches Under 300

The Citizen Eco Zila comes with an impressive 48 mm bold case made of stainless steel. This is the perfect watch for those who want performance in a mid-priced diving watch. It comes with a 300-meter water resistance or approx. 1000 feet and features some of the best functions available on the watch market in this price range.

The illumination is great, the hour markers and index hands are bright and bold, making the watch visible during dark conditions. The watch also features a high-quality mineral crystal window which is resistant to most shocks and scratches that can occur in a diver’s daily routine. The bezel is unidirectional so you won’t have to worry about its reliability underwater and the screw down crown is pretty basic as you may have seen on so many other watches.

Other than that the Eco Zila from Citizen comes with a pretty basic rubber strap in my opinion. I always prefer a stainless steel bracelet over rubber for diving watches but that is more of a personal taste. Anyways, the band which comes with the watch features a buckle closure and feels pretty good on the hand overall.

Worth mentioning is the Eco-Drive technology developed by Citizen which basically means self-charging from any light source. This way you can forget about worrying about swapping batteries and all that stuff.

For the money, you get a highly reliable, big, bold, stainless steel diving watch that offers all the necessary features for a great everyday diving experience.

-Best Dive Watch Around $300-

3. SEIKO SKA371 STAINLESS STEEL KINETIC DIVE WATCH

Important note: While the watch in the picture above has a leather strap, the one shipped by Seiko usually comes with a stainless steel bracelet.

This Seiko is a great choice when it comes to design, reliability, and quality of materials. While you won’t see fancy features or crazy innovations, it rocks a solid stainless steel case that can last for decades, big, bold luminous hour markers / index hands and a great stainless steel bracelet with a clasp lock.

The window is made of mineral crystal, the same as the SKX173 from above. This material is resistant to scratches and shocks adding to the overall toughness of the watch.

Speaking of feel on the wrist, the watch offers great comfort in every situation. The stainless steel band and the case will not get sticky when wet as rubber does. Considering the watch is relies on a quartz movement precision will not represent a problem.

I definitely consider the Seiko SKA371 one of the best dive watches under $300 that you can currently buy.

Read the full review of the Seiko SKA371 here.