deep blue deep star 1000 vs tauchmeister 1000 meter
Updated: Feb 18, 2020
My first watch battle posting, and my intent here is to give my subjective impressions of two comparable timepieces, in style and functionality. My comparisons will be based on the following criteria: 1. Dial Presentation / Clarity, 2. Case Design, 3. Bracelet / Strap Design, 4. Wearability, 5. Value, and 6. Movement Accuracy. Each timepiece will be compared against the other in the 6 aforementioned categories, and the timepiece that checks the most boxes as having the advantage, will be crowned the winner! And just like in boxing, after going to the scorecard, ties are valid.
So let’s get it on!
Dial Presentation / Clarity
The most important feature of a dive watch, given the need to view the dial and receive all of the pertinent information at a glance, and possibly in low-light situations, is clarity. Clarity is probably more important to a Pilot versus a Diver, but being able to quickly discern the time, or time remaining, is important, even if you aren’t participating in deep dive exploration. The Deep Blue features a deep dish dial, with dial markers clearly visible and unobstructed. The date window is positioned between the 4 and 5. The use of colors gives the Deep Blue Dial a more subdued look, but this is the downfall of this model, as it allows the hands to blend-in with the dial markers.
The Tauchmeister uses simple contrast, white numerals and index markers against a black matte dial, to give dial clarity. The dial on the Tauchmeister featurs a dual-time, 24-hour scale which makes this dial a little busier than your standard dive watch, utilizing a red pointer hand to mark the dual-time. At a glance, the white hands against the black dial simply “POP” on the Tauchmeister; advantage: Tauchmeister 1,000.
Case Design
The Deep Blue’s cushion case gives this watch a bit of a retro / vintage feel. The 120-click, unidirectional, ceramic bezel is fairly easy to manipulate, and the watch features a recessed helium release valve. The caseback on the Deep Star reveals a nice combination of beadblasted and brushed surfaces, with a raised, embossed motif of a diver, and limited edition status engraved on surface.
The Tauchmeister features more of a round case design, and a unique raised bezel-guard system around the bezel to protect from accidental movement of the bezel. Fortunately, this does not add substantially to the profile of the timepiece on the wrist, but can make advancing the bezel challenging. The watch features a crown position at the 4 o’clock position and a manual helium release valve at the 9 o’clock position, which protrudes even when in the screwed-down position. Another crown to forget to screw-down, affords another potential entry point for water to gain entry into your 1,000 meter water resistant timepiece. The caseback on the Tauchmeister is high-polished sporting the Tauchmeister diver's helmet logo engraved; advantage: Deep Star 1,000.
Bracelet / Strap Design
The Deep Blue mesh bracelet (pictured at left) screams quality. At about 4 mm in thickness it’s a pretty impressive hunk of steel. The thickness does give the bracelet more stiffness and rigidity than a normal mesh strap, but I think that was intentional. The bracelet is a push-button, deployant, with a safety clasp, so there is very little chance of the Deep Blue leaving your wrist.
The Tauchmeister Milanese mesh bracelet is very well made also, with a smooth as silk feel. It comes in at about ½ the width of the Deep Blue bracelet, so it feels a little cheaper in comparison. The one major down-side to the Tauchmeister bracelet is that is uses a clasp and flip-lock enclosure which can be tricky to lock and secure on the first attempt(s). You'll definitely want to secure the Tauchmeister on your wrist with help of a table underneath for support, to mitigate the chances of the timepiece slipping off your wrist when trying to lock the bracelet; advantage: Deep Star 1,000.
Wearibility
The Deep Star 1,000’s bracelet feels much more firm around the wrist due to the thickness of the mesh bracelet, and after proper sizing, keeps the watch head balanced perfectly on the wrist. At 45 mm, the Deep Star 1,000 watch is beefy, but doesn’t feel abundantly oversized.
The Tauchmeister bracelet feels like silk on the wrist. But this is a big hunk of steel at 52 mm, not including the crown, so you’ll definitely need to fine-tune the adjustments on the bracelet to prevent the watch head from feeling unbalanced on the wrist; advantage: Deep Star 1,000.
Value
I was able to grab my Deep Star 1,000 for an absolute song, and great opportunity buy, through talkaboutwatches.com, for sub $350. But for comparison sake, and going by the retail market price, this watch can be had for anywhere between $500 to $700, for a very well-made dive watch, with 300 meters of water resistance, and Swiss Selitta SW-200 automatic movement, which is in-line with similar watches offered from other manufacturers.
The Tauchmeister 1,000 Meter was purchased for $229, and with shipping came in around $250 (I paid extra for expedited shipping). It is powered by a Miyota automatic mechanical movement, has a sapphire crystal, and 1,000 meters of water resistance, triple the water resistance of the Deep Blue, Deep Star 1,000; advantage: Tauchmeister 1,000.
Movement Accuracy
Let me preface this by saying that I did not time the accuracy of either timepiece against the atomic clock, but rather my finding is based on my general impressions of the accuracy of each timepiece, under regular, daily wearing conditions. That being said, the movement of each watch has performed admirably, with no noticeable time variances experienced, slow or fast; advantage: Push
And the Winner Is?
The Deep Blue, Deep Star 1,000 was given more favorable marks in 3 of 6 criteria, while the Tauchmeister 1,000 meter was given more favorable marks in 2 of 6 criteria, there was a “push” in the movement accuracy criteria. The Tauchmeister 1,000 Meter was game, but your watch battle champion, in this battle of the mesh deep divers, is the Deep Blue, Deep Star 1,000!
If you are interested in additional information or specification on the Deep Blue, Deep Star 1000, please click on the picture above to be taken to a direct link.