featured watch 5 - mühle glasshütte rasmus diver orange
November 13, 2008 – 9:45 am
I am actually wearing this watch today. I wanted a straight-up, heavy-duty diver watch for my collection. A lot of people go for the Rolex Submariner (or if you are cool, you get the Sea Dweller) but I wanted something unique that I wouldn’t see on another wrist. I chose the Mühle Glasshüte Rasmus Divers with Orange Dial. I have both the bracelet (pictured) and the natural rubber strap. It is also available with a black, red, or blue face.
This is by far the heaviest watch I own and at 44mm in width, it is one of the biggest as well. It is built like a tank out of a solid piece of 316L stainless steel. It has an automatic movement - meaning it is a mechanical watch that winds itself from the movement of your wrist. It definitely stands out when worn. Most people probably instinctively think it is a Swiss watch but it is actually made in Germany.
It has very few features at first glance since it has only one purpose - to tell you what time it is underwater. The first thing you’ll notice is that the crown is offset - instead of at its usual place at 3 o’clock, it is at 4 o’clock. The reason for this is so it doesn’t dig into your wrist when using your hand. It is also extra big so it can be adjusted while wearing a glove.
Another feature not visible in the photos, is an automatic helium escape valve on the other side at 10 o’clock. This comes into play if you get the bends while diving and need to go into a depth chamber which uses helium mixed with oxygen. Helium molecules are smaller than water molecules and will enter the watch while under pressure in the depth chamber. As the pressure is reduced, the watch crystal will break or pop off if the helium is not vented through a valve.
The watch is rated to 1000 meters (3281 feet) which is deeper than a human can stand. The record for SCUBA is 330 meters (1027 feet), so I guess I am more than covered with this watch.
The watch was designed using input from the AIDA, the official national German apnea diving team. Apnea divers are also called Free Divers - holding their breath while underwater without using air tanks. The world record on a single breath is 250 meters! This watch will be lucky if it ever sees 25 meters on my wrist.
