Bottom Time: Omega Replica Diver

While the earlier Bell & Ross divers were handsome and capable watches in their own right, the omega replica feels likethe ultimate expression of the form for the design-driven brand. It also happens to be a sea creature of the rarest order – the square dive watch. Traditionally dive watches have been round or barrel-shaped — right angle corners are difficult to sealwith conventional rubber gaskets, so few, if any, have takenon a square shape. Whether Bell & Ross finally found the secret to sealing a square watch worthy of the abyss is unknown, but its 300m water-resistance isrespectable and indeed at the extreme limit of humans usingself-contained underwaterbreathing apparatus (SCUBA). Anything deeper requires surface-supplied mixed breathinggasandahyperbaricdiving bell. In other words, theOmega Replicawasa perfect choice for the Florida Keys.

Jason Heaton enjoys the ride and the scenery as he takes the Omega Replica on a drift dive(Breitling Replica Watches )and souvenir shops that line Highway 1 are dozens of marinas and shops with the telltale red and whitediveflag flapping in the ubiquitous offshore breeze.

After an initial shakedown dive on Fire Coral Hole, ashallowsite on Molasses Reef, the Republic Diver motored further out to sea towards a deeper site known as Conch Wall, which is bathed in a swift current. Given the dodgy surface conditions, which whipped up silt on the shallower reef, weopted for a “drift dive.” Rather than kick around a smaller dive site, we would drop down to 75 feet and let the current carryus, a one-way ride on a Gulf Stream conveyor belt. Driftdives have their advantages. You can cover a lot of territory without breathing a lot of air, since there’s virtually no kicking required. The danger, of course, is there’s no turning back. It’s vital for a dive group to stick close together since getting separated can put huge distances between divers. Also, the dive boat must follow your exhaled bubbles on the surface in order to pick you up at the end of the dive. If the captain lost track of us, our next port of call might be Cuba. Or Africa.

With a fresh tank of air reading 3,000 pounds per square inch, I waddled to the dive boat’s transom, gave the bezel of the BR03 a spin to align the zero mark with the large minute hand, and stepped into the sea. Lest we overshoot the reef below, we deflated our buoyancy vests and descended quickly, equalising our ears as we dropped. The reef came into view, a riot of hard and soft corals, populated by schools of jacks, snapper and the odd nurse shark or barracuda. As we drifted along, my exhaled bubbles trailed behind me, a sign of how fast the current was here. I cruised over a crack in the reef and spied a stingray half-buried in the sand below. Attempting to get a closer look, Iturned and tried to swim against the omega replica current to slow my progress but it was no use. This dive was strictly fast forward. A glance at the Bell & Ross told me that we’d been down for only12 minutes. I looked 75 feet above, my eyes searching invain for the silhouette of the Republic Diver following us.