Titoni is a Swiss watch brand I don’t normally see featured outside of Switzerland. At least not here in the US that often. They are among the many more affordable brands that have actual histories but have decided not to ascend the steep luxury ladder into the serious lifestyle arena that defines many of the Swiss brands that we cover.
For 2014, Titoni releases a relatively attractive new dive watch based on some historic models from the 1970s. The collection is the Titoni Seascoper ref. 83985, and it includes a range of models with various dials and either a red or blue bezel. Watch lovers will no doubt feel that the black dial with red bezel version of the Titoni Seascoper is similar to the Tudor Heritage Black Bay. It is true that in the modern context, many brands have tried to feature their own versions of the popular vintage-style dive watches. However, in my opinion a more natural analogy to the Titoni Seascoper comes from Tissot.
Titoni Seascoper dive watch from the 1970s
Coincidence that Titoni Seascoper sounds a bit like Tissot Seastar? We covered the rather good new for 2014 Tissot Seastar 1000 Powermatic 80 watches hands-on here. The Tissot and Titoni models are priced within a few hundred dollars of one another, and the designs aren’t terribly far off, but they are distinct. I think anyone wanting to spend about $1,000 on a mechanical dive watch should look closely at the two.
The new Titoni Seascoper 83985 collection comes in a 41mm wide steel case with either a fitted rubber strap or steel metal bracelet. According to Titoni, both the strap and bracelet have fold-over deployants with diver’s extensions and a fine adjustment – which is good. Also, the rubber strap and metal bracelet come in at the same price. I like the thin-style rotating bezel as well as the design of the hands and hour markers. The faces should be matte-finished without embellishment, making a good background for the applied hour markers. While I don’t know for a fact, I am guessing the lume should be good. At this price point, it is OK that the bezel insert is aluminum, although brands like Tissot are now offering ceramic inserts.
The Titoni Seascoper watches are water resistant to 200 meters, which is less than the 300 meters of a serious dive watch, but to be honest, these should be fine for most recreational diving, and of course sports and swimming. Over the dials are AR-coated sapphire crystals. Compared to the very modern look of the Tissot Seastar 1000, the Titoni Seascoper has a more simple classic look that I think a lot of people will like.
Inside the Titoni Seascoper 83985 watches are Swiss Sellita SW200 automatic movements. Nothing too fancy, but solid work horse mechanical movements. On the strap or on the bracelet, these should make for nice everyday sport watches especially given the selection of dial colors that include cream or black with the red bezels, and of course blue or cream with the blue bezels. Price for the Titoni Seascoper 83985 collection watches is 990 Euros (about $1,340 USD), and availability is said to start in October 2014. titoni.ch
