Ollech & Wajs Revive a 1000M Icon with the C-1000 Diver

One of the most welcome product introductions of the last year concerned the return of Ollech & Wajs. The P-101 and P-104 were tasteful vintage inspired pilot watches from a brand with real heritage. Unlike a lot of commercial watch brands that happen to supply watches to the military when called upon on a contract basis, Ollech & Wajs primary objective was to supply to the military. Their watches are purpose built to military specs, and vintage examples are prized by collectors for their unique provenance. Now, they’re back with a dive watch that has the same vintage roots, but is also a serious tool. Let’s take a closer look.

Ollech & Wajs C-1000 

• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Dial: Black
• Dimensions: 39.56 x 49.5 x 15.15 mm 
• Crystal: Sapphire   
• Water Resistance: 1000 meters 
• Crown: Screw down       
• Movement: ETA 2824-2
• Strap/bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet, nylon strap
• Price: $1,474 – $1615
• Reference Number: OW C-1000 S, OW C-1000
• Expected Release: Available now

The OW C-1000 is an updated take on one of the most sought after divers of the 1960s, the Jenny Carribean. For a period of time, Ollech & Wajs partnered with Jenny to produce the Ollech & Wajs Caribbean 1000, a 1000 meter diver that debuted in 1964 and was promptly adopted by the professional divers at Global Marine Incorporated, and was used by diving world record holders Alberto Novelli and Cesare Olgjai, among others. 

The new watch from Ollech & Wajs takes many of the key attributes of the original and surrounds them with modern materials to create a worthy daily wear in 2019. The most notable dial features are likely the large triangular hour markers at 12:00, 3:00, and 9:00, and the optional beads of rice style bracelet contributes greatly to the vintage look. The bracelet is built not just for comfort, but durability as well. Each link is individually machined from a solid block of 316L steel, and then brushed and assembled by hand. Ollech & Wajs tells us this will prevent the stretching that’s so common to bracelets of this type, particularly after 50+ years of wear and abuse. 

The C-1000 is a 1000 meter diver, which is perhaps many hundreds of meters more than the vast majority of people will ever need. That said, the creation of a watch with specs like this provides Ollech & Wajs with an opportunity to purposefully over-engineer the thing, the result being a watch that will have no trouble standing up to the daily grind of life. The screw down crown uses quadruple gaskets to keep it watertight, and the sapphire crystal is domed and extra strong to withstand additional pressure. 

Modern tech is, of course, to be expected in this type of vintage inspired release. Much of the appeal, I imagine, for the C-1000 is going to come down to whether or not you enjoy the case shape. It has a skin diver like aesthetic, with highly angular lugs, and a thin rotating timing bezel. At just a hair under 40mm, this watch is going to look right on most wrists, with the largely brushed finish helping to keep it wearing small, and under the radar. 

The OW C-1000 is available now on the Ollech & Wajs website, and can be had on the aforementioned beads of rice bracelet, or a nylon strap. Ollech & Wajs