Hands-On with the Dievas Maya MKIII

Dievas is a cult microbrand even to those who are fans of cult microbrands. Founded in 2006, they are one of the OG independent tool watch brands. Following in the footsteps of Sinn, Damasko, UTS, Archimede, and others, Dievas’s focus is on tactical, modern, overbuilt, high-spec sports watches that are made in Germany. Still a rare origin of manufacture, Germany conjures a notion of precision, quality, and value that perhaps even surpasses Switzerland (especially in value). This is particularly different as Dievas was created by the team behind Gnomon Watches, a Singaporean retailer.

At the very end of 2022, Dievas announced a new model, the Maya MKIII, after several years of being relatively dormant (models were for sale via Gnomon, but no new launches). As the name suggests, the new watch is the third iteration of the brand’s popular, tactical dive watch, the Maya. Redesigned from the ground up, the MKIII is smaller, sleeker, and more affordable, while maintaining some very impressive specs and features.

Priced at $1,090 on a strap and $1,240 on a bracelet, the German-made Maya MKIII is available in black, blue, and Sealab green. The latter, featured in this review, is not only different in color but in dial and bezel insert design as well, making it an outlier in the collection.

Notable Specs and Features

The Maya MKIII boasts impressive specs, especially considering its relatively compact proportions and approachable price point. With listed measurements of 41mm x 49mm x 13.8mm, it’s fair to call it a happy medium for a diver, but almost svelte considering it has 1000m of water resistance. Many times what is necessary even for avid divers, it’s a spec that speaks more to how overbuilt and tough the watch is. Naturally, they also included an HEV for the pros.

The Maya MKIII doesn’t skimp on materials, either. CNC milled out of “high grade” 316L steel, which is then matte blasted, the whole case features a clear-DLC treatment, making it highly scratch resistant. The matte steel is continued on an H-link bracelet and dive clasp. The bracelet links feature single-sided screws for easy removal. The clasp is sizable and features a set of buttons to open, and then a set of sliding wings that allow for the expansion of a ratcheting micro-adjust system.

The bezel insert is ceramic, and also highly scratch resistant. Perhaps more interesting though is that on the version seen here, the bezel is a green/yellow split. Ceramic colors are highly limited, especially for smaller brands without their own manufacturing facilities, making this a surprising detail. Do the colors work? Read on… The bezel insert features engraved numerals and marks, all of which are lume filled. The bezel itself is also removable via four Allen-head screws. Gnomon sells additional bezels for $150, allowing you to change looks, or replace it if necessary.

The Maya MKIII is powered by a Swiss-made Sellita SW-200-1 automatic. Noting too special here, but a well-regarded and highly-tested movement that only increases the overall value of the watch.

Impressions

The Sealab green version dial features a sandwich construction with a top layer in metallic green sunray with a gradient/degradé effect, getting darker towards the edge. The hour markers are all cut through the dial, revealing a lume layer beneath with a yellow/old radium tone. On top of the dial is an index in a matching, non-glowing yellow hue. The green/yellow/old radium lume theme is continued on the bezel as well.

I don’t know how else to put it, but I don’t particularly like this color combination. Subjective, I know, but also a fact. It’s too loud, too contrasty. The green of the dial doesn’t match the green of the bezel, which is more olive, thus clashing. The yellow of the bezel is also oddly desaturated, nearly, but not quite, matching the old radium lume. This makes the index on half of the bezel disappear, while also not quite the right color. I appreciate that these are not standard ceramic colors, which is cool, but they don’t work well together or on this watch. The green ceramic on its own is appealing, so I would have preferred that be the sole color, and the dial tuned better to match it. Maybe I’m alone in this but compared to the black and blue variants, which also feature a 3-6-9 dial that has been part of the Maya since MKI, the Sealab green is not nearly as successful.

With that said, there is an aspect that is very successful, the case. Though I haven’t experienced the previous versions of the Maya, I can say fairly confidently that the brand’s efforts to resize and focus on ergonomics have paid off. It wears and fits very well, which is all the more impressive given that it has a 1000m depth rating. The lugs turn down the wrist, anchoring it and preventing it from feeling too top-heavy (though it still is a bit top-heavy). According to their press materials, the new design allows for “36% more skin contact” which I imagine means it wears flatter than previous versions. This helps mitigate the 13.8mm height a bit as well. The four o’clock crown also goes a long way towards making the watch comfortable, as it prevents any digging into the backside of the wrist.

The bracelet is very decent too, barring one detail. It fits well, tapering from 20-18mm (though the clasp is 20.5mm), with rounded H-Links that flow nicely around the wrist. The clasp is well made, with the built-in easy micro-adjust allowing for a precise fit that can change during the day, further increasing the comfort. The detail that is lacking is the fit of the end-links. There are noticeable, but asymmetrical gaps between the end-link and the lugs, and the profiles don’t seem to quite match up. It’s unfortunate as the precise machining of the case emphasizes the lack of precision on the end-link, making it very difficult not to notice.

Conclusion

German-made 1000m divers that feature ceramic bezels, clear-DLC movements, and Swiss automatics are not particularly common. Ones that cost around $1,090 on a strap and $1,240 on a bracelet are pretty unheard of, as far as I am aware. So, in terms of pure value, the Dievas Maya MKIII is a win. But also in terms of fit as well. It’s a chunky tool dive watch, but I was consistently surprised by just how effortlessly the Maya MKIII wore, and how it visually fit my 7” wrist.

The Sealab green colorway, however, is a miss for me. I can applaud their colorful ambitions, but the result just didn’t work. Luckily, they have other versions, and based on images, they look pretty good. Particularly the black dial/bezel as it has the strong, tactical style that I associate with Dievas. The end-links were unfortunate as well, but perhaps more easy to overlook, especially since it features a 20mm lug making alternative straps easy to find.

All in all, I do think the Dievas Maya MKIII is an impressive, modern tool watch, particularly for the price. It’s not for everyone, for sure, but if you’re in the dive/tool watch market and are looking for an alternative to Seiko Prospex, Christopher Ward, Zodiac, etc, it certainly is worth a look. Dievas (via Gnomon)