On my last review, I presented and reviewed a very unusual watch I bought for my wife. But she’s not the only one in our family who owns an unusual timepiece. The other person is, of course, me. :)
The very unusual diver’s watch I want to introduce today is the Deep Diver Tachymeter from the Zeno-Watch Basel company (hereafter referred to simply as Zeno).
Even though Zeno is a Swiss watch brand with quite a bit of history — the Zeno name was introduced back in 1922 — it remains a relatively unknown name globally. If you're curious about the company's history, you can find a short summary here.
Over the last two decades, I’ve had the chance to see several Zeno watches, mostly pilot models. I even owned two or three for a short time, but none of them were attractive enough to become permanent parts of my collection. Among other releases, Zeno also launched an interesting alarm watch — but again, nothing that tempted me to pull the trigger.
So, long story short: for me, Zeno had always been just another mid-range Swiss brand that didn’t offer anything particularly exciting. That is, until one day — out of the blue — I stumbled upon the Deep Diver.
Seeing this watch for the first time was a complete (positive) shock. It didn’t fall into any of my usual collecting categories, yet it was love at first sight. I immediately added it to my wishlist. From that moment on, I was simply waiting for the right time — or better said, the right price — to buy it. And just before Christmas, I finally found the perfect offer and decided to go for it.
So, what’s so special about this watch? The most obvious thing is: this watch is a monster. It’s a big and heavy watch.
It’s not even the width that makes it feel so massive — although its 46.5 mm diameter is nothing to scoff at. The real monster dimension is its height: 19.5 mm. And it’s not just that the watch is high at the peak of the glass — the glass is actually flat. It’s the entire case that’s thick all around.
Another highly unusual feature is the shape of the case — and the entire watch, for that matter. I spent some time thinking about how to best describe it. The most accurate comparison I can come up with is this: imagine a donut with a small cake placed on top. Or, perhaps even better, picture a miniature UFO from a late-1960s science fiction movie.
Take a look at the photos below:
Overall, the watch looks as if two separate layers were glued together. The dial sits at the top of the first layer, followed by the second — the bezel layer — which ends with the sapphire crystal. When you look at the watch from the side, you can clearly see how deeply the dial is recessed inside the case.
Interestingly, while the bottom layer has an almost 47 mm diameter, the second layer measures only 41 mm, and the dial itself is just 30 mm across.
As you can see in the pictures, the lugs are hidden within the case, which means that the lug-to-lug (L2L) measurement — despite the large outer diameter — is only 45 mm. This makes the watch much easier to wear than one might expect.
Since I’ve already mentioned how it sits on the wrist, you’re probably wondering: how can a watch like this even be worn comfortably?
Well, before I get into that, let me share another important piece of information — this watch isn’t just big, it’s also quite heavy. Just the watch head alone, without any strap or bracelet, weighs over 200 grams.
Why is this so important? Well, what I’ve noticed is that the biggest obstacle to actually wearing this watch isn’t its diameter (which, at 46–47 mm, is something you can expect and even find quite wearable), and not even its height (though yes, the watch really does stand out). The real issue is the weight.
Originally, the blue version of the Deep Diver comes on a blue NATO strap. The collection also includes yellow and orange versions (both on NATO straps as well), and a black version, which comes on a stainless steel mesh bracelet.
Since I bought the blue version, mine came with the blue NATO strap — and this turned out to be a very important factor when it comes to the overall comfort of wearing the watch.
In general, I’m not a fan of NATO straps — I rarely use them. In this case, however, the nylon NATO strap is actually okay: the color matches the dial nicely, the quality is solid, so no complaints there. But — the watch is simply too heavy for this type of strap.
The NATO strap doesn’t hold the watch securely enough; it tends to bounce around on the wrist. And because the strap itself doesn’t provide any counterweight, it feels less like you’re wearing a watch and more like you’re carrying a weight. As I said, I’m not into NATO straps, so I had already planned to replace it from the very beginning. The first few minutes of wearing the watch only confirmed my decision.
I tried several options that were available to me — basically whatever I had in stock with 22 mm lug width. First, I tried a new leather strap. Total miss. The strap was new, still stiff, and the watch sat about a centimeter above my wrist. Definitely a no-go.
My next attempts were much more successful — this time with a rubber (silicone) strap. I only had a grey 22 mm strap, but it immediately showed me that rubber could be a very good option. I also have a similar strap in blue, which would have been a perfect color match, but unfortunately it's only 20 mm wide. I wore the watch for a few minutes with that blue strap, and the overall feel was great. But the 2 mm gap between the strap and the lugs bothered me, so I decided to try something else.
Since the original black version of the watch comes on a mesh bracelet, I figured I’d give that combination a go as well. I have several mesh bracelets from Molnija (yes, the Russian Molnija company), which are surprisingly well-made, quite soft, and available in the right size.
The result was shockingly good. The bracelet fits the watch perfectly. And because it's a mesh bracelet, I was able to micro-adjust the clasp so that the watch stays securely on the wrist — no bouncing around — yet it’s not too tight either.
The bracelet also has its own weight, and that helps. It counterbalances the heavy watch so that the overall weight is distributed more evenly around the wrist. Altogether, it is certainly heavy equipment, but no longer unwearable. I managed to wear the watch for 48 hours straight without any serious consequences :) My wrist is still intact and functioning just fine. Another positive side-effect: any watch you put on after the Deep Diver feels feather-light.
Nevertheless, a word of warning: this watch will be noticed in public—you can’t expect to fly under the radar. Its shape and size invite comments, both positive and negative. So if you’re not ready for jokes about your watch, don’t buy this one!
I also owe you some additional technical details about the watch.
The most important one: this watch is supposed to be a diver. It has a water resistance rating of 500 meters, and the bezel — which is unidirectional with 90 clicks — features a tachymeter scale. Will anyone ever actually use it for diving? I doubt it. Still, it features excellent Luminova that easily lasts through the entire night.
The watch is powered by — well — one of the Swiss movements. Honestly, I have no idea which one exactly. According to the official website, it could be either an ETA 2824-2, a Soprod 024 (which is a clone of the ETA 2824), or a Ronda 150. Without opening the case back, I can't say for sure which one is inside my watch. All three movements share similar characteristics (28,800 bph, hacking, and date function), so I can only guess it's the ETA 2824-2. Why? Because the watch is extremely accurate. It runs between -2 and +3 seconds per day depending on position, but during 48 hours on my wrist, it gained less than one second in total.
The crystal is sapphire, of course.
The watch is limited to 300 pieces, with the individual serial number and the Zeno logo engraved on the case back.
Speaking of the logo — as you can see, it's huge, and the company name is quite a long one. There’s nothing wrong with either, as long as they’re printed on the case back. But on the dial, the logo and full text are simply too much. Thankfully, on the Deep Diver, Zeno at least used a small font size. (On some of their pilot watches, the logo and brand name fill the entire upper half of the dial!)
I also have to praise the date window. Even though the dial sits deeply recessed within the case and is relatively small, the date display is simple yet perfectly legible. It actually serves its purpose — you can read the date without effort. That’s not as common these days as it should be.
One more pleasant surprise: the packaging. All the Zeno watches I’ve owned before came in a simple leather pouch. This one, however, arrived in a proper presentation box — a nice bakelite inner box and an outer cardboard box.
The original factory price for the NATO strap versions was 878 CHF, while the black version with the bracelet was priced at 988 CHF. With all duties and taxes included, shipped to an EU country, that comes to around 1,100 EUR for the NATO versions and about 1,200 EUR for the bracelet version.
In my opinion, that’s a decent price.
It seems the watch wasn’t a huge commercial success, and nowadays it can be found for much less. So if you’re one of those “crazy” people who enjoy “crazy” watches, this one definitely won’t disappoint you.
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