Introducing the Collins Watch Company Sonar, the brand’s first dive watch

Collins Watch Company is back with their first purpose built dive watch, the Sonar. This watch represents a bit of a departure for brand founder Jimmy Collins, who up until now was working within an aesthetic that was firmly rooted in classic aviation design cues. The Sonar is a totally different genre, but Collins has still managed to incorporate elements from his background as an audio engineer into the design, making it uniquely his. Let’s take a closer look.

Collins Watch Company Sonar 

• Case Material: Stainless steel 
• Dial: Black, white, orange, blue, green, yellow
• Dimensions: 39.5 x 47.5 x 12mm
• Crystal: Sapphire  
• Water Resistance: 300 meters  
• Crown: Screw down   
• Movement: Sellita SW200 
• Strap/bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet 
• Price: $575 (pre-order), $795 (retail)
• Reference Number: N/a
• Expected Release: Shipping in February 2020

Collins proudly proclaims that the Sonar is “where sound engineering meets the seas.” The link might sound tenuous at first, but all you need to do is examine the name of the watch to understand the connection. Sonar is a navigation technique for submarines — by pulsing out sound waves, subs are able to then listen for echoes, thereby getting a sense of what surrounds them. It’s essential for navigation in a vessel that doesn’t have a traditional window to the outside world.

The watch itself is a completely convincing tool through and through. It has a full 300 meters of water resistance, a sapphire crystal, and a combination of brushed and polished surfaces. Early models that Collins showed off at the recent Windup fair in NYC were well finished, with crisp transitions between brushed and polished surfaces, a solid feel in the hand, and a satisfying bezel action. It’s nicely sized too, at just under 40mm with a case thickness of only 12mm (impressive for a 300 meter diver).

Another departure from the Collins norm is the wide array of color options available with the Sonar. This is a welcome change for the brand – dive watches really lend themselves, I think, to this kind of experimentation and variety. The Sonar can be had in black, white, orange, blue, green, or yellow. These watches are quite a bit more playful in tone than previous Collins outings. Also, these watches are heavily lumed, with generous amounts of Super-Luminova applied not just to the hands and hour indicators, but to the minutes track and bezel as well. I’m an unabashed fan of lumed bezels, and am glad to see Collins employ this small detail on their first dive watch.

The Sonar is available for pre-order right now on the Collins website, with production limited to just twenty examples of each colorway. Delivery is expected in February 2020, and while supplies last early orders will receive a pre-order discount. Collins

What are your thoughts on this new line from Collins? Be sure to let us know what you think (and what your preferred dial variant might be) in the comments.