MEET THE WATCH: Victorinox Swiss Army Dive Master 300

Before Victorinox Swiss Army created their wonderful Dive Master 500 series of watches, they made a battery-powered dive watch named the Victorinox Swiss Army Dive Master 300. These often overlooked, but highly collectible watches might be considered Swiss Army’s first true iteration of a dive watch (not counting the Lancer 100 or Lancer 200). Before you write them off as “cheap quartz watches”, at least take the time to learn about what makes them worth collecting. If you like comfortable and cool dive watches, then keep reading.

The first thing you will notice when holding a Swiss Army Dive Master 300 watch is that it’s well-proportioned. Many dive watches are extra chunky blocks of steel and glass. This is either by fashion to create a “tacti-cool” appearance, or by necessity to survive crushing water pressure at great depths. Regardless, many designers of dive watches err on the side of caution and go large. I’ll admit that there is a time and a place for giant dive watches on a critical underwater mission such as visiting the Marianas Trench in a sub wearing a Rolex, but sometimes plus-sized watches are too much of a good thing for everyday use. The Swiss Army Dive Master 300 makes a compelling argument that dive watches can be both svelte and tough.

Swiss Army Dive Master 300 watches are arguably a perfect size. If Goldilocks was picking her dive watch, this would likely be her choice because it is not too large nor too small at only 9 mm high and 41 mm wide. It is not too heavy or even too light at 128 grams on a bracelet. Yes, surprisingly some people complain about featherweight watches! Go figure?

More importantly, the magic lug-to lug width is narrow at a comfortable 45 mm. This last measurement is because the Dive Master 300 does not really have protruding lugs. The bracelet litereally connects into the case itself, essentially removing the extra width of lugs. Lack of lugs gives these watches the distinctive look and tames the size on your wrist.

By namedropping Goldilocks, I am not implying that the Swiss Army Dive Master 300 is only a lady’s watch. On the contrary. This watch is the ultimate unisex timepiece and could be worn by any gender. Below is a comparison with the Victorinox Swiss Army Dive Master 500 Midsize that is only 38 mm wide. The 41 mm yellow watch almost looks smaller or at least similar in size to the 38 mm purple watch. It is interesting what having a lugless design does for the perceived reduction of a watch’s size.

If you are wondering how the Victorinox Swiss Army Dive Master 300s compare in size to the wide variety of Victorinox Swiss Army Dive Master 500s, then you are in luck. From left to right you have two Dive Master 300s (41 mm), a Dive Master 500 60/60 quartz chronograph (42 mm), a mechanical Dive Master 500 (42 mm) and a midsize Dive Master 500 (38 mm).

I reckon that the Swiss Army Dive Master 300 can be worn by smaller wristed people and maybe even thick wristed folks as long as they do not have Hulk-sized wrists. As long as there are enough links to add to the bracelet, multiple sizes are possible. However, finding individual links might prove difficult since this watch has been out of production since the mid-2000s (or so). Only the bracelet is currently available for this watch, even though there was a synthetic/plastic bespoke dive strap that had the same metal connecting link. Please note that these are not to be trusted given their age and tendency to become brittle and disintegrate. Go with the metal bracelet if you can. Visit Reflections of Infinity, my favorite source for Victorinox Swiss Army watchbands, if you need a replacement metal bracelet for the Dive Master 300.

Speaking of the bracelet, the ones on the Swiss Army Dive Master 300s are special and unique to the watch. First of all, the end-links are integrated to the case so forget about aftermarket options. They don’t really exist, even if I once saw a one-of-a-kind leather strap created by a crafty strap maker. Secondly, I’ve owned a lot of Victorinox’s watches, and there is an upscale quality to the one fitted to the Dive Master 300s. The fit and finish are exceptional beyond what I expected.

The bracelet attaches to the case with a long pin that is inserted into drilled “lugs”. Because of this, the watch has that slim lug-to-lug distance making it comfortable to wear, even on small wrists. The bracelet falls directly down from the lug making the true width 45 mm. This is better than some watches with an integrated (non-hinged) end-link that sticks out further beyond the case that makes the lug-to-lug distance “feel wider” than you might suspect.

The shape and size of the special end link are visually repeated throughout the bracelet as rounded polished links between squarish brushed links. The brushed links are best described as the shape of gold ingots that have been rounded on the vertical walls. This is the only bracelet that I can think of that Victorinox Swiss Army designed with this look. I bet that these were a pain to assemble. The quality of the bracelet is undeniable, and this is only enhanced by the twin trigger, locking deployant clasp that is fitted. This watch will remain securely on your wrist. There is also a diver’s extension built into the clasp for wet suit or overcoat duty.

The Dive Master 300’s clasp is a combination of stamped and milled stainless steel parts that fold down to only 7.5 mm high. This proportional size is unlike many milled clasps that tend to be too chunky for the watch. It is the perfect counterweight for the watch head to balance the watch on your wrist. In other words, the watch will not feel top-heavy and rotate on your wrist.

Notice the interlocking shapes in the clasp make it strong, yet thin. The male and female locking parts can be seen here so don’t let the kids view this blog post alone! haha. The “rounded ingot” shape of the links can be seen here in profile.

The body of the watch is extremely compact heightwise. The shape of the Dive Master 300 is almost two straight slabs when viewed from the side. The bottom slab is the brushed case and the top slab is the polished diver’s bezel. There are no fancy bevels to speak of, only crisp edges. Integrated crown guards flank the polished screw-down crown and protect it from being sheared off. Screw threads and gaskets in the crown stem help maintain 300 meters of water resistance, which is a basic requirement for a dive watch.

Another prerequisite for a dive watch is a unidirectional dive bezel. The Swiss Army Dive Master 300’s bezel is fully marked from zero to sixty with extra detail from zero to twenty. This is because scuba divers often use their watches to time safety stops in minutes… not intervals of 5 minutes like the majority of the bezel is marked. The zero-marker has a luminous pip that performs strongly (and longly) once charged by the sun. The bezel is smooth and has circular brushing and enamel filled engravings on the surface. The shape is slightly domed as the edges are lower than the top of the bezel near the sapphire crystal. Luckily, Swiss Army added small extensions to the bezel that slightly overhang the body of the watch. These nubs give you just enough grip to manipulate the bezel which gives you a satisfying 120-click ratcheting action. I am not going to say that this is the easiest bezel in the world to turn, but I have had little problem using it. Fat fingered gents may not agree.

The dials of the Swiss Army Dive Master 300 run the gamut of popular dive watch colors from basic black and blue to tropical yellow and orange. Given the option, I will choose brighter Carribean colors every time. They remind me of diving trips to Mexico! Having a dive watch with knock-your-eyes-out-yellow or retina-searing-orange is just par for the course with dive gear. Many scuba divers (including me) love some color in our kit. The yellow would be on par with my Doxa Poseidon 300T and the orange might also remind you so some Doxas. However, I think that the orange might be susceptible to fading, which is not uncommon for dials exposed to a lot of UV. I have 2 specimens of the orange Dive Master 300, and one is not as vibrant so I assume that it slightly faded in the sun.

I noticed an interesting phenomenon when wearing a yellow dialed watch, and maybe the same goes for bright orange. You would think that these colors would be difficult to own because they do not match clothing that you are likely to wear. Unless you are Big Bird or Bruce Lee, this yellow color may not be your thing. However, by not matching anything, a yellow dive watch can be worn with almost anything. In other words, it can stand on its own and does not have to match your shirt. I’m not saying that this watch would pair with a tuxedo, but if James Bond can wear a janky NATO strap on his Rolex while wearing a tux, then I can darn well do what I want to, right? hee hee

The SWISS ARMY shield and indices are applied to the dial. That means that tiny bits of mirror-polished metal are applied to the front of the dial and soldered from the back. Each marker is then filled with powerful Super-Luminova. The reflective parts of the dial give the watch a variety of looks in a different light. Even turning your wrist slightly can change the reflected surfaces and from dark to light as seen below. This is a lively and visually interesting watch.

The lume performance on the Swiss Army Dive Master 300 is excellent and may actually surpass some of Swiss Army’s more modern dive watches like the I.N.O.X. Professional Dive Watch. This is my gut feeling and not a side-by-side comparison so take that with a grain of salt. My point is that some of Swiss Army’s older watches should not be overlooked because they have been replaced by a newer model in a catalog. A good watch is a good watch no matter the vintage. The Dive Master 300s are from the mid-2000s so admittedly, they have some age on them.

The Dive Master 300’s hour hand is a two-part arrow and the minute’s hand is a baton. Obvious advantages of this are that they are easy to differentiate from each other in dark situations where all one can see are the indices, hands and bezel pip. Even the ticking second’s hand has a lollipop pip of lume. My dial glows well into the night.

Notice that indices at 6:00 and 9:00 are larger, and along with the shield logo at 12:00, help the wearer orient the watch for proper time-telling in the dark or in murky water. A Cyclops magnifier is located at the 3:00 spot where the black on white date window appears. This is a welcome addition to my aging eyes and this magnifier makes interesting light beams seen in many of the photos in this article. Swiss Army watches don’t use a cyclops that often so that is another interesting characteristic of the Dive Master 300.

While it is true that the Swiss Army Dive Master 300 is powered by a Swiss quartz caliber ETA 955.112, but this should not be seen as a disadvantage. Quartz movements are generally much more accurate than even high-end mechanical watches. That is a fact that many watch collectors do not want to admit, but it’s irrefutable. This quartz movement has seven jewels and a 78 up to 108-month lifespan on one battery (depending on which is installed) so it is low maintenance too. And finally, it has an EOL (end of life) indicator so you know when it is time to change the battery.

The Swiss Army Dive Master 300 is rugged, is water-resistant, has a long-lasting battery, has the benefit of a one-hour bezel timer and looks great. If this is not the textbook definition of a grab-and-go watch, then I don’t know what is. I already got my favorite yellow and orange models on the bracelet in my collection so I am set.

I wear these watches a lot as my Instagram feed shows. I just cannot help myself because the color and comfort always make me smile. I feel no shame in wearing a quartz watch, and I have a large collection of them proudly next to my mechanical watches. There is no law saying that you cannot enjoy opera and Metallica in the same playlist. haha If you fit into the same category, then the Swiss Army Dive Master 300 might be for you too.