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The Rolex Submariner is a classic design. The watch is instantly recognizable even for people who do not know anything about watches. In fact, if you wear anything that looks remotely similar to a submariner you will likely be asked “Is that a Rolex?”.
Although the Submariner is a timeless design, there are several companies that have made and manufactured similar dive watches. It’s likely that Rolex is credited with the submariner style since they have the most brand power and marketing influence. It was in fact after all, Blancpain who created the first modern divers watch in 1953. Their “fifty fathoms” model has changed since then, but you can still see the influence over 70 years later.
In modern day the price of a brand new Rolex submariner is over $8000. That is IF you can get your hands on one. The waitlist is so long that if you have no purchase history or inside connections, it’s highly unlikely you will see anything within the next few years. If you wish to go to the preowned market, you will pay even more money since the demand is so much greater than the supply.
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Cheaper Alternatives To The Rolex Submariner
If you have neither the money nor the patience to wait and purchase a full-price watch, fear not. There are many cheaper alternatives to the Rolex Submariner, some of which are under $100.
Many of these watches look exactly like a Rolex Submariner. There are often subtle design differences or different color bezels, depending on the design you would like to wear.
In addition to this, many of these watches are automatic, just like a submariner. There are many choices of both automatic and quartz movements. Obviously, there is going to be a difference between any submariner homage and the original. Rolex makes luxury watches and is a top-quality brand. Some people may say that they are not worth the money or simply not that good – but this is not true.
There is not really any other brand that comes close to the quality of a Rolex Submariner for the price and brand recognition. Submariners are so much in demand that used watches actually sell for more money than new watches due to lack of availability.
Practicality Of A Submariner Divers Watch
In modern day, a submariner (or any watch that looks similar) are primarily used as fashion watches. If you are an avid diver, you would probably prefer to use some kind of digital watch that has a lot more features and doesn’t cost thousands of dollars.
With that being said, all of these watches do offer screw-down crowns and water resistance. If you did want to use them as a divers watch, you certainly could do so. This is also true for a Rolex Submariner. If you really wanted to wear this whilst scuba diving it would not be a problem at all. The watch is very resilient and can survive underwater at great depths for a long period of time.
The 12 Best Alternative Watches That Look Like A Rolex Submariner
Cheaper Alternatives To A Rolex Submariner
Invicta Pro Divers Watch – Top Choice
Invicta is a very polarising brand, but they are really second to none for their budget divers watches. They literally have everything you can think of. Both automatic and quartz watches, very cheap prices as well as more styles than you can shake a stick at.
The Invicta Pro Diver looks almost exactly the same as a Rolex Submariner. The very obvious difference is the logo which does not look like the Rolex logo at all. Other than this, the watch is extremely similar. It has the same shaped markers on the dial as well as the minute separators from the 12 to 3 on the bezel. The only real main difference is that the crown guards are more squared on a Submariner compared to an Invicta Pro Diver.
At under $100 you really cannot get much better value than this. You will not find an automatic watch of this quality and finish for this price. There are cheaper and more expensive alternatives, but with Invicta, you really get good value for the money you pay.
Check The Price Of Invicta Divers Watches On Amazon
Seiko 5 Sea Urchin
The Sea Urchin does differ slightly from a sub. However, if you want a quality watch for a much cheaper price than a Rolex Submariner the Sea Urchin is a great choice.
It differs on both the dial and bezel. Firstly you will see that the Sea Urchin is a day date watch unlike a sub (which is just a date watch). In addition to this, there are second markers all the way around the inside of the dial, the submariner does not have these Secondly, the bezel has minute markers up to the 4 o’clock position, not 3.
Using the classic 7S36 Japanese movement, the urchin is very unlikely to let you down. This is a reliable automatic movement. It’s neither as high quality nor accurate as a Rolex movement, it is however trustworthy. For the price, getting a 40-hour power reserve is really quite a bargain.
Check The Price Of Seiko 5 Sea Urchin Watches On Amazon
Stuhrling Original
Stuhrling is another brand that makes cheap variations of the Rolex Submariner. As you can see the layout is very similar to the cyclops over the date window at 3 o clock. The markers on the dial are differently shaped to that of a submariner, and the hands are more angular.
Whilst Stuhrling makes a wide variety of dive watches, the one featured above is available in 10 different colors. It will keep solid time and not let you down since it’s powered by a Miyota quartz movement. This is not an automatic watch like a submariner, but it is significantly cheaper. At well under $100 it will not come close to breaking the bank.
Check The Price Of Stuhrling Watches On Amazon
Orient Ray II
At just over $100, the Orient puts its own stamp on a submariner homage. In all honestly, this is a very high spec watch for the price and looks something mixed between a Rolex Sub and a Citizen Promaster.
The bezel is quite a bit thinner than a submariner and has a serrated edge for added toughness. The dial of the watch has very similar hour markers to a sub, although its hands and date display are very different. Orient has opted for a day date on their divers watch with no magnification.
Orient has made their brand reputation on making good quality automatic watches at knockdown prices – and the Ray II is no different. It will be very difficult to find an automatic divers watch at this price point for the level of quality.
Check The Price Of Orient Divers Watches On Amazon
Parnis Submarine – Watch That Looks Most Like A Rolex Submariner
Parnis is quite a brave company. I say this because their reputation comes from pretty much copying every popular watch design and hoping that they get away with it. Whilst they do a very good job of this, it’s questionable whether this is what you want your brand to be best known for.
The company was only founded in 2005 and is already a very well-known brand for homage watches – especially submariners. As you can see, the layout of the dial and bezel are pretty much direct copies. As is the shape of the case.
This watch comes in a variety of different colors and is visually the closest match you will get to a Rolex Submariner. Inside is a solid Miyota automatic movement, which is nothing special, but reliable enough.
Check The Price Of Parnis Submarine On Amazon
Casio MVD106-1AV
Casio has thrown their hat into the ring with a divers watch of their own. This watch probably looks the least like a submariner on the entire list. Although we can clearly see where they have taken their inspiration from.
Powered by their ever-reliable in house quartz movement. This Casio model is a genuine divers watch and has a water resistance of up to 200 meters. The date window is very small when compared with a sub, although the watch does cost over 100x less, so you can’t complain too much.
Check The Price Of Casio Divers Watches On Amazon
Skagen Fisk
Skagen is a brand that is mostly known for its wide variety of minimalist fashion watches. Their own take on a Pepsi Submariner looks very stylish.
Whilst they certainly haven’t directly copied Rolex. They have put their own spin on what they think a submariner should look like. The hour markers are very large and the lumes are very strong. They also replaced the top triangle lume with 2 dots and placed a single dot marker at the bottom.
The crown guards on this watch are very small and the case is nowhere near as thick as that on an original submariner. They also opted for going with a mesh strap which is very common within the Skagen brand.
Check The Price Of Skagen Fisk On Amazon
Citizen Promaster
Citizen have designed this promaster with the specific idea of it being a divers watch. It has 200-meter water resistance and boasts that it is intended for “professional marine activities”.
Unlike most of the other watches in the promaster range, this model reverts back to the time-old tradition of having the crown in the 3 o clock position (as opposed to the 4). This alone makes it look more submariner-esque than a usual Citizen watch. The rest of the dial and bezel are laid out in a similar way, although it has its own sharp hour markers as well as hands. Which are somewhat different from those found on a Rolex.
Check The Price Of Citizen Promaster Divers Watches On Amazon
Bulova Marine Star
Bulova is a well-established Swiss brand known for making good quality watches. With that being said, they do cut costs a little by using Japanese quartz movements inside their marine star range instead of Swiss.
The marine star is generally a more diverse range than the submariner as it has a lot of different styles which fall under the “marine star” umbrella. With that being said, this marine star in particular looks a lot like a submariner. The bezel is almost indistinguishable and the dial has its own style. There is no cyclops like a sub, although the hands are somewhat similar.
Overall this is a fairly expensive alternative to a submariner as you’re mostly paying for the brand name. Unless you are a fan of the Bulova brand, you can get much better value for money elsewhere such as Invicta or Parnis.
Check The Price Of Bulova Marine Star Watches On Amazon
Pantor Sealion
The Sealion by Pantor is one of the most expensive watches on the list. It is however extremely well made compared to the other watches and well worth the extra money.
Unlike other brands, this is NOT a fashion watch. The bezel has been inserted onto a much larger and extremely solid case. The watch can take up to 300m water resistance which is coincidentally the same as a Rolex submariner.
On the left hand side of the watch is a helium escape valve which is a one-way mechanism to make sure the watch adjusts to decompression. This way your watch will be no worse for wear after being 250 meters underwater.
Not only this but the Sealion comes in 3 different colors and depending on how much you want to spend you can either get a Japanese or Swiss automatic movement.
Check The Price Of Pantor Sealion Watches On Amazon
Loreo
Loreo is a very similar brand to Parnis (featured earlier). Both are Chinese brands that make very visually similar watches to Rolex Submariners. Both use automatic movements and have almost indistinguishable bezels, dials and cases other than the text they use.
This watch is also available in a variety of different colors and has the usual spec you would expect for the price such as sapphire crystal, screw-down crown and a Japanese automatic movement.
Overall there isn’t too much difference between this and the Parnis. But perhaps Parnis is a more well known brand.
Check The Price Of Loreo Watches On Amazon
Timex Allied Coastline
Whilst the Timex is not a direct copy of the submariner. They have at least used a very similar dial layout with the same shaped markers. The first thing you’ll notice is that the case size is quite a bit smaller than a submariner and does not stick out as much.
The color scheme is also somewhat original as you don’t really see any divers watches other than some of the Japanese brands use an orange and blue coloring scheme. It has a standard Japanese quartz movement and 100 meters water resistance.
As expected, you’ll find it has the usual Timex Indiglo feature which can be used by pushing in the crown. This would be especially useful if you were in murky water or out somewhere late at night.
Check The Price Of Timex Allied Coastline Watches On Amazon
