We managed to secure a small quantity of these watches, which were contract surplus overruns. They are all brand new, and in their boxes, but most of the boxes have labels relating to the contract, although a few do not, the watch is now out of stock on the manufacturer's website but as you can see in the final image was originally sold at $425 on the US website and £349 on the UK site so at under half price these are a bargain for the watch with such a high specification. We spoke to MWC, who confirmed that these watches were a once off production run so will not be made again in future with the same exact specification which, as you can see at the bottom of the description, was very exacting.
SKU: 100AT/12/PVD/QZ/ST
The MWC "Depthmaster" range Military Diver models are MWC's latest heavy-duty range and are both extremely robust with a sapphire crystal as well as being suitable for diving with mixed gases at extreme depths due to the 100atm water resistance rating, they also have a wider strap at 24 mm (most military divers watches use a 20 mm strap) and a non-scratch ceramic bezel which is easier to grip in extreme cold. These watches are specifically designed for use by professional divers under very challenging conditions.
All MWC 100ATM models are fitted with a helium
escape valve, people often ask us how helium gets into a dive watch in
the first place and the answer is very simple, essentially a helium
molecule is among the smallest of all molecules. What this means is
because they are so small even though the seals are working fine to keep
water out the helium molecules can still get through and enter the
watch even though other gases and water cannot.
The
main users professionally of watches with helium escape valves are
saturation divers who spend long periods of time at great depth with
high pressure, the result is that the helium molecules can build up
inside the watch creating pressure inside the case, this can inflict
serious damage to the watch and even blow out the crystal or crown when
it’s unscrewed, this is potentially extremely dangerous if for example
you are just checking or resetting the time, it can also potentially
write off the watch. What the helium escape valve does is automatically
allow the helium molecules to escape from the watch during decompression
when the watch returns to normal standard sea level pressure. The valve
is only one way, so it lets the helium out but prevents anything
external from getting in.
For anyone who does not
know why helium is an issue, it’s important to understand why helium is
employed for deep diving. The reason is that helium is one of the very
few gasses which does not have negative effects such as we see with
nitrogen which causes nitrogen narcosis, consequently helium is used to
replace nitrogen in most deep-sea mixed gas diving applications.
In
some situations, professional divers can operate at great depth for
extended periods where they live in dry environments pressurized with an
oxygen/helium mix. When the divers surface and decompress after days or
even sometimes weeks, this gas must be removed to prevent problems as
mentioned earlier such as the crystal or crown being blown out, which can
potentially injure or even blind someone.
The
reality is that most divers will not be living in a pressurized
environment for days or weeks on end, this means they will have no need
for a watch equipped with a helium valve, regardless of how deep they
dive, but with deep diver watches such as the 100ATM range, it's
essentially the valve is there just in case it’s needed because the
watch
would not be fit for purpose without it.
This particular variant has a Sterile European NATO pattern
dial and is finished in black PVD stainless steel. The special covert
matt black non-reflective PVD finish used for this watch is often
specified in military contracts for many special forces units, as well as
by anti-terrorist units and for various covert operations. In the PVD
process, the steel is not black all the way through because the color
is created by a special chemical PVD plating process, which is vastly
superior to the painted finish used on some lower-quality watches which
can easily fade or rub off. This PVD process means that the color of
the steel is altered at a molecular level, therefore it will not
deteriorate even during heavy usage, although it can be destroyed if the
case is badly damaged by a piece of metal being gouged out or if the
case is worn down by continuous heavy abrasion against rocks, etc.
Whilst this watch is very similar to MWC's other 100 ATM models, but it was produced specifically for a military procurement contract, the contractor specified that the watch should be designed to maintain high levels of accuracy at altitudes up to 12,000 m / 40,000ft without compensatory pressurization. There was an additional requirement that the watch be resistant to magnetic fields up to 4,800 A/m, or about 60 gauss. Quite why these two requirements were specified we don't know, but they were unusually demanding specifications hence, this watch is slightly different MWC's other watches in the 100ATM range because of the two features referred to above, and also the fact that the contract specified the watches be unbranded with a sterile dial.
The movement is a high-quality Ronda 715li with 10-year battery life and a hacking function to enable synchronization.
Dimensions and Specification:
* A lot of people ask us what are the benefits of sapphire crystal over a standard mineral crystal? The answer is that synthetic sapphire is by far the best material for watch crystals because it is very strong and also shatter and scratch-resistant, these characteristics make it very appealing to military and security personnel, police officers and people who lead active outdoor lifestyles, these groups account for over 70% of our customers. To get things into perspective we find that when clients have accidents with watches resulting in a cracked crystal over 90% usually watches with mineral glass crystals, even factoring in that we use hardened mineral crystals they still do not come close to sapphire for durability under adverse conditions. The reason that sapphire crystals are so strong is that after the sapphire glass is manufactured it is also heat-treated to remove its internal stresses—which can cause weakness—it is then made into the watch crystals and two layers of anti-reflective coating are applied, interestingly sapphire crystal is now used on the latest iPhone. Of course, sapphire crystal comes at a price, hence you find that it's normally only fitted to higher-end watches.