SWC Diver BLACK Review

Stephen Roemer has fulfilled a very special dream. The Swiss comes from the watch capital Biel and developed a passion for watches at an early age. SWC Diver BLACK Review.

He learned the craft and gained insights into many other areas of a watch manufactory over 15 years at the Swatch Group. He has been self-employed since 1996 and founded the Swiss Watch Company, SWC for short. He runs the company with his sons. After years of manufacturing mainly for other watch brands and armies, SWC made its breakthrough in 2018 with the help of the Kickstarter platform. SWC Diver BLACK review. For some years now, the platform has been known as a platform for watch start-ups and microbrands.

A campaign launched on Kickstarter raised over 45,000 US dollars – far more than enough to finally launch its own visible brand with self-designed collections. Stephen Roemer and his sons have since specialized in diving watches and chronographs. A really successful SWC diver’s watch is still the focus today. More precisely, the SWC Diver in black. If you want to know more about Stephen, SWC and the story behind it, I recommend my interview with Stephen and his son Josh. And now have fun!

My new SWC Diver BLACK – a Bad Ass!

As you may know, I am a big fan of diver watches. So it’s no wonder that I’ve become weak in this piece. The diver of the Swiss Watch Company looks stunningly good at first sight! And evil – because I configured it completely in black. The black dial with the white luminous markings, the dark shining stainless steel bracelet, the black ceramic rotating bezel… Wow! Almost a real Bad Ass. And with the robust, nautical design also extremely lovingly detailed. But well, let’s go into detail! SWC Diver BLACK Review.

The housing…

…consists of 316L stainless steel and is therefore of course stainless, which you can expect from a good diving watch. With its diameter of 44 millimeters, the case has a size beyond good and evil, which is also noticeable on my rather narrow wrist and leaves a real impression. The crown, which is also made of stainless steel, and the case back are screwed together. 

My hidden highlight (and anyway only one of ten others, which I will mention shortly) is the case back. According to Stephen Roemer, these waves reflect the typical characteristics of a diving watch, i.e. durability and robustness, but at the same time they are also part of the precise and nautical design. In addition, the SWC’s characteristic logo is engraved in the centre and other specifications are engraved on the edge of the case back. The same applies to the water pressure specification, which is 30 bar. Our diver therefore remains tight to a depth of 300 metres. This should also be enough for the hardcore divers among you.

The movement – Swiss Made as it should be

Under the black dial beats a Sellita SW 200 Swiss Made automatic movement with 26 jewels. That’s the best quality; and that with a watch that isn’t even expensive, but more about that later. 

The dial – SWC Diver BLACK

The front consists mainly of the diving bezel and the black dial. The nautical design, which I like very much, is also found here: integrated in the middle of the dial is a striped square with a three-dimensional effect. Stephen Roemer explained to me that the square design has the function of taking the sheer size out of the SWC Diver. So it doesn’t look quite as bulky and heavy on the wrist. The markings are geometric shapes: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11 o’clock have a white circle, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock have a white rectangle and at 12 o’clock there is a triangle on the head. The markings are large enough to be easily read under water.

In addition, the dial is printed with fine minute markings on a black chapter ring separating the dial and bezel. The hands are also white, sharply cut and silver edged, which makes a lot of difference. At 3 o’clock, a rectangular date window in white has been set in. Fine prints and the logo under 12 o’clock round off the dial. The family watch manufactory has done a really good job here. SWC Diver BLACK Review

As far as the lighting is concerned, the SWC probably designed its diver according to the motto “don’t spill, don’t pad”. All indices are painted with 20 layers of Swiss Super-Luminova, which creates a very bright and radiant light. If you go diving with the SWC Diver, you should get an enlightenment at any time. Everyone else like me can admire the beautiful contrast to the black dial.

Sapphire crystal glass is robust, resistant and durable. So you don’t have to worry about the durability. The Bad-Ass can withstand a lot! And for optimum readability, the sapphire crystal has a fivefold anti-reflective coating. So nothing stands in the way of your dive anymore.

The diver’s bezel – SWC Diver BLACK Review

The SWC Diver has a unidirectional diver bezel, so it can only be turned in one direction. The special highlight: The bezel ring is made of ceramic and is finely grooved, which is a beautiful design. The glossy black numerals on a matt background make a great impression. You can set the time very precisely: The bezel has 120 steps, so you can set the time to half a minute. The last 15 minutes are marked by black dots. 

The bracelet…

…rounds off a successful watch. Like the case, it consists of polished and brushed stainless steel and has three parts. This means that the middle link of a single bracket is slightly raised, which gives the watch a special grip in design. Overall, the bracelet looks very smooth, clean and classy. Capsa pens make it easy to shorten or lengthen. At the end, the SWC has an integrated diver’s buckle, which ensures that the watch still fits after a diver’s suit is worn. 

Conclusion SWC Diver BLACK Review

My conclusion is extremely positive. A diver’s watch, which couldn’t bear a more concise name, is beautifully designed and offers a very good quality. 

You have to bear in mind that the start-up has only existed in its current form since 2018 – set up by a watchmaker and his sons. The SWC Diver looks more like a sophisticated watch from a larger manufactory with a budget of well over $45,000. If you think about the price again – 450 dollars are very cheap, then you get quite a lot of watch here. 

I have already taken my black diver to my heart. If this version is too bad ass for you, you will surely find it on the homepage with the different color variants of the chapter ring.

You find Swiss Watch Company® here:

Interview with SWC @ WATCHDAVID

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