Review; Calibre de Cartier Diver ALDC

[tbonesteak]

I was looking for a rubber strap diver watch and was originally torn between a few different Omega models and the Calibre de Cartier Diver, originally I was looking for it in stainless. I ended up coming across a deal I couldn't pass on for the ALDC blacked out version and had to take it. After 3 months, here are my feelings:

The watch itself is beautiful and unique. Owning a Sub and living in NYC, I can't walk 18 feet without seeing another, but I'm yet to see one person wearing this same Cartier watch in 3 months of having it. I also think this could be collectible down the road if it is scarce enough, but who knows.

The watch stands out and wears bigger than the 42mm size, it has a nice presence on the wrist. The bezel curves inwards towards the dial which is very unique and personally gives it an elegant feel to me. The bezel has a nice shine, but is not ceramic so I'm more careful when wearing it. Entire watch is black except the stainless edge of the bezel and the crown (which also has their standard blue sapphire in it, adding another touch of elegance). All of the edges are subtle shinier black. Inside a lot of white gold accents by the date, seconds, hours, minutes. The 3 dates in the window has a nice personal touch, so when the minute hand is at 15, you still know the date due to being able to see the next/prior date. When I first got it, the seller told me it was hardly worn. My first time wearing it, it was running slow by about 2-3 seconds a day which I found a little frustrating. I took it to Cartier and they tested and checked it, said it was good as new and didn't need anything. After wearing 2-3x a week, it now keeps time to within 1 second per two days, so I take the seller at face value and think it was probably moving a slow due to lack of use. A concern about older Cartier watches (which this is not) after doing some due diligence is that they need to be serviced very frequently, not sure about the newer models, but something that I am wondering about.

Overall, this watch can be dressed up or down. In fact, Cartier originally marketed it with a model wearing a tuxedo. I however typically use it for casual wear along with water/beach/vacation activities.

My only negatives:

The rubber band doesn't have a lot of give to it, it doesn't sit as comfortably as some of the Omega PO's with rubber straps.

The lugs - this is really my only legit negative on this watch, they curve downwards, while I like the appearance of it, the comfort doesn't match & I would prefer if they would've made this flat. Due to the lugs curving downwards, the watch sometimes shift towards a slightly off-centered position on my wrist and I am semi-frequently adjusting it so the watch sits on the middle of my wrist. Prob a personal OCD thing, but my only real complaint.

I'm still undecided if I am going to keep this one, or sell it and pick up a Deep Black Omega. No room in the collection for two rubber diver watches.

& Some pics:

https://i.imgur.com/ZD9UkC8.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ay9NYM5.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DcGErAs.jpg (can see what I mean about the lugs in this one)
https://i.imgur.com/FBVeszt.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/H1Uzg3L.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6hV4YBl.jpg

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by tbonesteak

The lugs - this is really my only legit negative on this watch, they curve downwards, while I like the appearance of it, the comfort doesn't match & I would prefer if they would've made this flat. Due to the lugs curving downwards, the watch sometimes shift towards a slightly off-centered position on my wrist and I am semi-frequently adjusting it so the watch sits on the middle of my wrist. Prob a personal OCD thing, but my only real complaint.

i had the non diver version and that is 100% the reason i sold it. I could never get a comfortable fit. I had it on a bracelet and then added the leather strap as well but nothing worked. I don't have wrists at either extreme of the size scale either so it was very weird.

[tbonesteak]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

i had the non diver version and that is 100% the reason i sold it. I could never get a comfortable fit. I had it on a bracelet and then added the leather strap as well but nothing worked. I don't have wrists at either extreme of the size scale either so it was very weird.

What really bothers me about this, is the fact that they did an excellent job putting such a functional watch into a slim 11mm case (my Sub C is 12MM for reference), there is no reason for the lugs to be like this.

With that being said, I feel the positives far outweigh this one negative.

The version I have is also very unique, I rarely see it anywhere and wouldn't be surprised to see it hold it's value better than other Cartiers 10-15 years down the road.

I'm still torn if I'm going to get rid of this and pick up the PO Deep Black (again, no room in the collection for two rubber divers, way too redundant). The PO Deep Black is a monster with 45MM diameter and 17MM deep, but being completely ceramic, it wears surprisingly lighter and more comfortable than this model - I also think it would be a little sturdier. Different looks though and I don't feel the PO Deep Black could be dressed up as nicely as this one.

[tbonesteak]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

i had the non diver version and that is 100% the reason i sold it. I could never get a comfortable fit. I had it on a bracelet and then added the leather strap as well but nothing worked. I don't have wrists at either extreme of the size scale either so it was very weird.

I've been debating it for a while, but I think I'm moving on and this is the exact reason.

Sad for me bc the watch in ALDC is beautiful.

[tbonesteak]

Oops, this should've been in watch reviews, sorry about that.