eBay Finds: Devil Divers Galore, Nivada Grenchen, & More

eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at [email protected] for potential inclusion!

Bulova Accutron Diver

Welcome to the all-diver edition of eBay Finds! We’re starting off with a bang with this vintage 1969 Accutron Deep Sea. There are many Accutron diver models, but I think this one is the most clean and classic. The unpolished 40mm steel case had a bold look, and is in excellent condition with sharp edges and the original finish. The back has a personalized engraving. The black crosshair dial has a Submariner style lume layout and looks new! The lume filled steel hands are clean as well, and the arrow tipped hour hand is a great touch. The oversized crown is correct and signed with the Accutron logo. Even the crystal looks original, with the correct internal date magnifier window. The steel bracelet is a period correct, but the end pieces don’t fit the lugs right. As for the tuning fork movement, the seller states it works and keeps time.

View auction here.

Seiko 6105-8119

Next up we have an all time classic, the iconic vintage Seiko 6105-8119, aka Willard (famously worn by Martin Sheen’s Capt Willard in Apocalypse Now). This is a watch that is instantly recognizable, by its unique case shape and hour markers. These are highly sought after by collectors and are increasingly difficult to find in excellent, original condition. So many have not weathered the years well and/or are loaded with bootleg aftermarket parts. This example is nearly perfect. The lume on the dial and hands is free from the commonly seen ‘black funk’ corrosion, and the case is unpolished and in great condition. The bezel is clean as well, as is the Hardlex crystal. The movement is clean and the seller states the watch runs properly. It does come with a box and papers set that is clearly not correct, but the rest of the watch is an original gem. If you’re looking for one of these, here’s your chance!

View auction here.

Citizen Promaster Diver

This Citizen Promaster Quartz is quasi vintage, likely about 20 years old. Nice unpolished 38mm steel case with a great condition bezel that is deeply knurled for a solid grip. The caseback engraving is nice and crisp too. The dial is reminiscent of similar era Seiko divers, and is in superb condition, as are the hands. The hour markers are applied steel filled with lume and look fantastic. The crown is screw-down and original despite not being signed, which is correct. The glass crystal looks clean and scratch free. The watch comes on a nato strap, but also comes with the original rubber strap as well. The quartz movement runs well and keeps time per the seller, this is a great grab and go every day diver.

View auction here.

Bulova Oceanographer Snorkel “Devil Diver”

Bulova is killing it in the heritage re-edition game, and one of their most popular recent releases is a new version of this original Oceanographer Snorkel “Devil Diver”. The new ones are great, but nothing beats the original vintage. This one hails from 1974, and is in really nice shape. The 41mm round steel case looks in good shape, and has the correct original mirror finish. The red and black acrylic bezel insert is so cool, and in nice condition. These are usually really beat up and cracked. While this one shows some wear, it’s better than most I’ve seen. The black dial has unique applied round clear acrylic hour markers that set this diver apart from all others. Beautiful clean automatic movement with the “B” cutout in the rotor. Watch runs and keeps time and comes on a nice Tropic style rubber strap so it’s ready to wear and enjoy!

View auction here.

Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster

Here we have a fantastic vintage Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster diver. These are affectionately known as a “Baby Panerai” due to the similar chunky cases. There were several divers made in this style, but I think the Depthmaster is probably the most well known. This example is in great shape, and the dial with alternating lume Arabic numeral and stick markers is a bold look. The hands show a bit of patina, so check them out closely if that bothers you. The 38mm squarish case shows some wear but not bad, and the bezel is in solid shape. Seller states it runs well. This is a nice, honest original example of a classic vintage diver that is hard to find.

View auction here.

Caravalle 666 Diver

Last up on this all-diver edition is this super clean 1966 Caravelle 666ft diver. Caravelle made a few different iterations of this classic diver, and this is a superb example of one of them. The M6 date code on the engraved caseback dates this watch to 1966 despite the seller’s title. The 37mm wide steel case shows some honest wear, but is still solid. However the black aluminum bezel insert is really nice. The black Explorer style dial is clean with a light patina to the lume, and the stick hands are clean as well. The crown is the correct large crown signed with the Caravelle “C” logo. Seller states it runs well. Over all great vintage diver that shouldn’t break the bank. Although I’d replace the janky old leather strap and put a proper rubber strap to give it the right look.

View auction here.

Bonus Staff Pick: Omega Seamaster Chronograph

We’re sneaking in another staff pick this week in the form of this lovely Omega Seamaster Chronograph 176.007B. This is a design not really seen these days thanks to the unique layout provided by the Lemania 1340 based caliber 1040 which is a cam-operated chronograph with central timing minutes and seconds hands (with a running seconds at 9:00 and hour counter at 6:00). It all comes together beautifully in this silver sunburst dial example which features blue accents. This example looks to be in decent condition and is covered by eBay’s authenticity guarantee. Learn much more about these watches from this website dedicated to the Caliber 1040, which details dial and movement configurations. 

View auction here.