The Chronotechna SeaQuest Dive is an Affordable Modern Diver

One of my favorite things about this hobby is the moment when you discover something new and interesting completely by chance. I’ll be honest, that moment is rarer these days than it was even a few years ago. Our inboxes are flooded with new releases from all kinds of upstart brands that are new to us, and everything kind of bleeds together at first, even the really great stuff. It’s much less common, at least for me, to come across a watch or a brand that was previously unfamiliar to me in a completely organic way, through the simple act of scrolling through Instagram or pages on a watch forum. Last week, while cycling through IG stories, it happened. Through some fortuitous story sharing (hat tip to Bhanu over at Revolution for sending me down the rabbit hole), I discovered Chronotechna, makers of a dive watch that, to me, stands out with an unapologetically modern design. 

I perhaps shouldn’t say I “discovered” Chronotechna. Surely many readers are already well aware of this brand and this likely represents a gap in my knowledge that I’m happy to fill. Still, it’s a reminder that filing those gaps is an enormous part of the fun in this hobby, and something we should probably all strive to do a little more consciously if we can. Reading up on the brand, I learned that their roots go back to the 1940s, and the name was revived back in 2018. Chronotechna started as a state owned entity in post-war Czechoslovakia, and operated as such for around 30 years before being privatized following the end of communist control of the country in the late 80s. The company became widely known within its home country as a maker of watches and clocks at an industrial scale with brand names like Spartak and Prim. 

The current iteration of Chronotechna appears to be focused on making the most of material innovations and producing tech forward watches with Swiss movements and a clean, modern design. Their newest watch, the SeaQuest Dive, is available in a total of five limited edition variants, each one with a stainless steel case measuring 42mm in diameter and 12.36mm tall. Chrontechna uses what they refer to as “marine grade” 316L steel, and the cases have a mix of brushed, polished, and satin finished surfaces. 

The crown guard assembly appears screwed into the case flank and there are visible bevels on the top side of the lugs, making for a nice mixing of a brutish tool watch aesthetic with something a bit more refined. The movements are made by Sellita and are chronometer certified, and the SeaQuest Dive has a healthy water resistance rating of 300 meters. 

The dials are straightforward and completely lacking in numerals and excess decoration. The time is told via a series of cut outs creating a sandwich dial effect, with lume just under the surface for easy legibility in low light scenarios. Versions with white and blue lume are available, and each can be had in regular stainless steel cases, or black DLC coated cases. There’s also a limited edition version dubbed the “All Black,” which features SLN Dark Grey X1 Grade lume under the dial and on the hands, which appears nearly black in the daytime but glows blue when charged. The All Black variant is limited to 99 pieces, while the other versions are all editions of 333. 

With prices starting at €2,090 and topping out at €2.280, the SeaQuest Dive is yet another diver in a crowded field of dive watches in the $2,000 – $3,000 segment. It’s that price point where you might think to yourself “I could spend just a little bit more and wind up with a Tudor,” or something similar. So it might be a tough ask for some collectors, but if you’re looking for something off the beaten path (and there are fewer and fewer sections of that path that haven’t been beaten) these watches have a lot of charm and a fairly interesting history as well. Chronotechna