This Affordable 500m Automatic Dive Watch Borrows a Page from High-End EDC

It’s one thing to get a tough-as-nails automatic dive watch with 500m water resistance for under $1,000, but adding a slew of cool features like a dual-scale, overhanging bezel, a blue-tinted AR sapphire crystal a destro crown and a tool-free extension clasp sounds too good to be true.

Well, I’m here to assure you that, when it comes to Nodus, it is absolutely true. The Sector Deep is arguably the best bang-for-your-buck in the dive watch category, and the Los Angeles watchmaker just sweetened the deal with a tantalizing material upgrade.

Nodus

Nodus is known for packing on more features and creating more adventurous color schemes with each successive generation, but the newest addition to the Sector Deep line disguises its innovation under a discrete motif.

A black dial, bezel, case and bracelet are marked with a bold white hour track, orange and white hands and white bezel tracks. Its deceptively simple look creates one of the most visually appealing renditions of the Sector Deep ever released.

Nodus

Take a closer look, and you’ll see there is a lot more going on here than you would ever expect from a sub-$1,000 divewatch.

Damascus about our new bezel

The Sector Deep features a distinctive 42mm bezel that extends beyond the 38mm case. This overhang enhances the effectiveness of the gear teeth grip while doubling as a crown guard.

As you may have guessed from the name, the Sector Deep Damascus is the first Nodus watch with a bezel made from Damascus steel.

Nodus

While the wavy texture created by folding the metal is typically exaggerated with heat treatments in EDC use, Nodus muted it with a light black DLC coating.

The standard fully-graduated 60-minute countdown track and 12-hour count-up track are engraved and filled with white Super-Luminova that emits a blue glow.

Black ops

The 38mm stainless steel case and three-link bracelet match the bezel with a faded black DLC coating and sandblasted finish.

The quick-release bracelet is secured with a proprietary NEM folding clasp, which features a tool-free sliding extension.

Nodus

A screw-on stainless steel caseback, finished with a matching DLC coating, ensures the impressive 500m water resistance.

Ticking away behind the caseback is a Miyota Caliber 8315 automatic movement, one of the most trusted workhorse movements in the world. It is regulated in-house by Nodus to an accuracy of +/-10 seconds per day.

Light it up

Most of the exceptional value in Nodus watches comes from the laundry list of features the brand packs into each design. The Sector Deep, for example, boasts a fully-lumed bezel, which is almost buried under all of the other cool details.

Nodus

Even with the DLC-coated Damascus steel upgrade, this Sector Deep bezel is still all aglow when the lights go out.

Availability and pricing

Nodus could have just given the Sector Deep a black DLC paint job with the same orange and white detailing and I would have declared it the brand’s best new watch. But, as expected, the California watchmaker went above and beyond with a Damascus steel bezel.

The Sector Deep Damascus is available for pre-order now from Nodus for $800, with orders shipping out in mid-June.