A few questions about dive watch history

[bluestormz]

Hello,

Does anyone know when:

1) Who made the first 4 o'clock crown on a dive watch?

2) Who made the first dial that had lines coming from the lume dots (Look at the Freestyle Ballistic as an example, even if it's a complete copy off of Japanese divers) www.freestyleusa.com/dive/ballistic-diver.html

3) First watch to 500+ meters?

I already tried Googling and didn't come up with definitive results yet.

Thanks

[estrickland]

1) I  think the conventional wisdom is the Super Compressor case, patented by now-defunct EPSA in 1956 but used by many manufacturers. Good article here:
gearpatrol.com/2011/12/27/timekeeping-icon-volume-1-super-compressor-dive-watch/

2) I don't know of any watches with that design element before the 1976 6306

3) I believe it's the (totally impractical) Rolex Deep Sea Special, which went to 10908 meters in 1960.

Would be interested if anyone has better answers.

[bluestormz]

Thank you very much

[bluestormz]

Mar 12, 2015 7:06:16 GMT -8 estrickland said:

1) I  think the conventional wisdom is the Super Compressor case, patented by now-defunct EPSA in 1956 but used by many manufacturers. Good article here:
gearpatrol.com/2011/12/27/timekeeping-icon-volume-1-super-compressor-dive-watch/

2) I don't know of any watches with that design element before the 1976 6306

3) I believe it's the (totally impractical) Rolex Deep Sea Special, which went to 10908 meters in 1960.

Would be interested if anyone has better answers.

The reason why I even ask about it is because I think that the Japanese don't get enough credit for their innovations or designs in horology.

[HiBeat]

The famous Blancpain Fifty Fathoms plays a huge role in the history of the dive watch with its rotating bezel and case design criteria.

I'm not much of a Hodinkee fan but his article is pretty good for a quick history:

www.hodinkee.com/blog/2011/2/8/a-historical-look-at-the-blancpain-fifty-fathoms-live-photos.html