This Iconic and Affordable Military Dive Watch Just Got an Arctic-Ready Makeover

When it comes to its history of military-issued dive watches, no one can match the British Royal Navy.

The UK’s aquatic armed forces were issued arguably the two most desirable mil-spec divers ever made: the Omega Seamaster 300 “Big Triangle” in the late 1960s, and the Rolex MilSub in the 1970s — not to mention some earlier Submariners in the 1950s and early ’60s.

But in 1980, the UK’ Ministry of Defence turned away from the big Swiss brands in favor or a small, homegrown company: Cabot Watch Company, better known as CWC. The British brand began by offering an automatic mil-spec diver that looked very similar to a Seamaster 300 — after all, they were both built from the same spec sheet — for two years before transitioning to a quartz-powered version in 1982.

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Photo by Oren Hartov for Gear Patrol

The relationship between CWC and the British military continues to this day, and the brand also offers civilians several versions of its divers, from vintage military reissues to more contemporary takes on the form.

Now, CWC has added another arrow to its quiver with an automatic diver with a look that’s best suited for Arctic missions.

Cold case

In 2024, CWC debuted the “Arctic Radar” colorway for its classic Quartz Diver. The watch is the same as the traditional version, but it swaps out the black dial for a white one. Now, CWC has given the same treatment to its Automatic Diver.

The CWC Arctic Radar Automatic Diver features a rugged stainless steel case measuring 41mm across and 47mm from lug to lug. It has prominent crown guards and fixed bars like a Rolex MilSub, and its screw-down crown and caseback ensure water resistance down to 300m.

The dial, handset and bezel design are largely in the same Seamaster 300 format as before, but with different colors. The 120-click unidirectional bezel is fully marked, the puffy Super-LumiNova indices are all outlined in black for improved visibility, and the handset — also lume-filled — has been black-coated for better contrast against the stark white dial.

CWC

Dial markings are sparse, but honestly a little too sparse. CWC’s logo appears under 12:00, with the letter “L” inside a circle below that — a military holdover indicating that the luminous material is non-radioactive LumiNova. Below the handset is the broad arrow symbol indicating government-owned property, another military nod, while “Swiss Made” appears below 6:00.

So far so good, but here’s where this dial could’ve used more markings: There’s no minute track! Other CWC divers have the same prominent minute dashes between the hour markers as the Seamaster 300, but they’re entirely absent here. Why CWC chose to leave them off, I can’t say. Without them, the dial looks unfinished and is less capable of precision timing in the field.

Outside of the lack of a minute track, this dial looks pretty damn clean, especially when paired with the black PVD case (the watch is available with a bare steel or black PVD case). Inside is a top-grade Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, which sits behind a closed caseback. Protecting the dial is a sapphire crystal.

CWC

Pricing and availability

The CWC Arctic Radar Automatic Diver comes on a gray NATO strap with matching hardware on the plain steel version, or on a black NATO with black hardware on the black PVD version.

Strangely, both versions are listed for the same price on CWC’s website. I say strangely because, usually, a black PVD version will cost more than the same watch in bare steel. The price for either is listed at a very exact £1,332.50, which currently converts to $1,824 before tariffs.

CWC

CWC Radar White Automatic Diver

Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	Sellita SW200-1 automatic
Water Resistance	300m

• $1,824 at CWC

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