One of the most underrated Swiss watch brands, without question, is Fortis. A specialist in luxury-level tool watches, Fortis sends watches to space, uses custom movements from Tudor’s Kenissi manufacture, and generally makes some of the toughest and most purpose-built watches in their respective categories.
Most of the attention that Fortis does get centers around its space-worn chronographs, namely the Cosmonaut,which has evolved into the Novonaut in the brand’s current catalog. But Fortis also makes an absolutely killer dive watch in the Marinemaster, (not to be confused with the Seiko diver of the same name.)
If the Marinemaster hasn’t gotten your attention yet, then Fortis’s latest take on the watch might finally do the trick, as this thing is simply too good to ignore.
The tough get going
The Marinemaster is one of the very first modern dive watches, with a history dating back to 1954, just one year after the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and Rolex Submariner established the genre. It is an impressive dive watch, especially the larger 44mm version, the M-44.
The M-44 is water-resistant to a beastly 500m, thanks in part to its use of performance-spec FKM rubber gaskets, including three in the screw-down crown. The bezel is Fortis’s proprietary Gear Bezel, which rotates 120 clicks in both directions and has a locking mechanism accessed via the crown at 10:00.
