1919 Navy Diver
With its new diving watch, the 1919 Navy Diver, the Ole Mathiesen design team has moved out of its comfort zone. The result is an elegant, understated sports watch.
“The 1919 Navy Diver is a distinctive, masculine, dynamic and professional line of sports watches with a tradition that dates back to the 1960s,” explains Christian Mathiesen.
“Influences behind the design elements and colours of the 1919 Navy Diver were created with inspiration from the time when my grandfather, master watchmaker Axel O. Mathiesen, started his legendary work in 1919, combined with the unmistakable classic Ole Mathiesen traits that my father created in 1962. It is the first time that we are launching a divers watch, and it is important to create an expression for the new generation of Ole Mathiesen watches, that is puristic and projects a distinctive visual identity, while also making a powerful overall impression. It has to integrate our heritage and history with the present.”
Christian Mathiesen describes the design of the new 1919 Navy Diver:
“When we decided to create a diving watch as part of the 1919 Heritage collection, it was done with reference to our history and inheritance. This may be our latest collection, but it exudes the style of 1960, which was when the first diving watches were being made, and when the Ole Mathiesen watches were first developed. It was important to underplay the power of a diving watch, and still maintain respect for its functional elements. Other essentials are the ability to see what time it is while under water, and the ability to look at the rotating bezel and, most importantly, to see how long ago the dive started.”
The stainless steel case and the rotating bezel are finished with a DLC (diamond like carbon) applied coating. Not only does this produce a beautiful ‘matt-black’ surface, it also makes the material stronger and more robust, because it makes the surface 10-20 times harder.
The hands, the hour indicators and the small time indicator on the rotating bezel are all coated with photoluminescent pigments by Super-LumiNova that light up the markings in the dark. Christian Mathiesen sums it up.
“Our new and first divers watch has been through a carefully orchestrated process with technical and optical developments. I think we have designed an understated sports watch with a refined attitude – something we can take pride in. The design is uniquely contemporary and bears the unmistakable classic Ole Mathiesen traits. At the same time, we are fulfilling the functional requirements of diving watches. Every aspect of our Navy Diver been given our complete attention, from the outermost surface to the innermost workings.
With the new 1919 Navy Diver model, Ole Mathiesen has created a watch whose details are marked by the uncompromising certainty and the flawless material qualities that are quintessential to Ole Mathiesen. This is harmoniously combined with inspiration from the silent world under the sea, whether the watch is worn to discover the mysteries of life below sea level, or to make a strong statement around a wrist.