Fancy some deep-sea diving? Nah, me neither. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the sub-nautical charm of a good dive watch! Indeed, there are many affordable watches out there that offer great water performance in a durable steel package…but which are best? Well, I’ve selected ten of the best options that typically retail for below ￡200. In here, we’ve got a mix of sizes, brands and movements; with each of the watches housing a minimum of 100m of water resistance, which should cover you for most aquatic ventures.
First, we’ll go through some quartz options, then we’ll move onto some mechanical divers in no particular order.
Japanese brand Casio offer some of the most affordable dive watches out there, including some that you’ve likely never heard of. They’re always great value, so I have no hesitation in recommending them.

CASIO DURO MDV-106
First up is the venerable Casio Duro MDV-106. This legendary replica luxury watches is known to be one of the best value options on the planet, if you can locate it at retail price. For typically under 50 dollars in the US, you get a stainless-steel watch that boasts a mega 200m of water resistance and a surprising level of finishing, which includes precisely cut lugs and the marlin billfish engraving on the rear. This model also comes with a screw-down crown and unlike other models, there’s a silicone strap fitted by default. The standard colourway is black and silver, though they recently introduced some other colour variants, including the black and gold one I have here.
The Duro is a big boy, with a commanding 44m diameter, it’s not for the slim-wristed out there but certainly has the heft to feel like a quality item; despite the low production costs. Within is a basic quartz movement, to give good accuracy over long durations.
Unfortunately, this model is somewhat hard to come by at reasonable prices in the UK. Therefore, I’ve hunted down a great alternative below, if you’re willing to settle for 100m of water resistance.

CASIO EFV-130
This is the EFV-130. I previously covered the EFV-110 and was blown away by the value for money and this watch is from that same Edifice range. While not a true dive watch, with a yacht-timer bezel that lacks a lume pip, I think it’s close enough to make this list. Like the Duro, this features a screw-down crown and mineral crystal. However, the bezel action here is far better, with virtually no back-play to speak of.

Overall, the watch has a notably better level of finishing too, with this version having a beautiful blue sunburst dial that pops nicely when under direct light. Unlike the Duro, it also comes with a very well-integrated steel bracelet, that has a clasp with 4 micro-adjustment holes. It also houses a quartz movement and in low-light both Casio watches provide similar legibility. The luminescence isn’t very bright but does last a long time. At a hair over 42mm and with a slimmer case, it wears smaller than the Duro, though is still fairly large.
It’s another great watch but those with small wrists will need to look outside of the Casio brand to find something more well-tailored.
INVICTA PRO DIVER 9204OB
The first place I’d stop is, surprisingly, Invicta. This American (formerly Swiss) brand has a mixed reputation in the watch community, due to their experimental designs and questionable marketing tactics.

They’re also famous for making some of the largest watches in history, which makes it all the more the surprising that they are responsible for one of the best small divers. The unisex Pro Diver 9204OB is a dream for smaller wrists, sitting at a mere 37.5mm in diameter and with a 47.3mm lug to lug, it even looks great on my skinny 6.25-inch wrist. I was pleased to find it’s also rather slim, at 11.2mm, which is quite compact for a dive watch, meaning it sits nice and flat on-wrist.
As you can likely tell, this is a straight copy and paste from the Rolex Submariner, incorporating all of the same basic design cues. While far from original, it does pack a punch for the low price, which is often well below ￡60 in the UK. This includes full steel construction, as well as an advertised 200m of water resistance, with a quartz movement and a solid link bracelet that has no right being on a watch at this price point. Outside of the hollow end links, it’s a beast.
The 9205 stacks up surprisingly well versus the Casio Duro and provides another battery-powered avenue to go down. My only reservation with the watch is the Invicta inscription down the left side, which I think is totally unnecessary. If you can look past that, you’re getting a solid watch that will serve you well.

AUTOMATIC INVICTA PRO DIVERS
Funnily enough, there is also a selection of mechanical Pro Divers too, which come in at a slightly larger 40mm width. Arguably, these offer even better value for money, with their Seiko NH35A automatic movements; which are often found in more expensive swiss replica rolex watches.

The regular series is visually comparable to the quartz watch, with the same Submariner-esque design. These also come with a selection of bezels, I’ve found the coin-edged ones have by far the best grip. There are plenty of colourways available, I went for this blinged-out gold version, as I found the standard black version to be a little boring. Unlike the quartz version, this comes with a screw-down crown to give some extra peace of mind when submerged. You can also flip the watch over and view the movement through the exhibition window, which is pretty cool if you’re new to wristwatches.
INVICTA PRO DIVER ’1953′ SPECIAL EDITION
Invicta released a special version of this watch in 2022, which has proven to be highly popular. This 31290, also known as the ’1953′, is a direct rip-off of the original Rolex Submariner, released in that same year.

While it features the same movement and materials as the regular Pro Diver, it does look rather different. This has a different handset, bezel and case, the latter no longer featuring any sort of engraving, which is nice. In fact, the finishing on this edition seems to be a further improvement upon the original, with an attractive chamfered edge down each side and an elegant curved side profile.
While the diameter remains the same, the lug to lug sees a slight elongation, to 48.5mm; so it does wear a tad larger than the regular 40mm Pro Diver models.
Even so, the vintage aesthetics have proven to be incredibly popular, with the more subtle branding also being a hit. These sold out everywhere upon release and only around 12 months later are we seeing these make their way back into stock.