Ares Diver-1 Watch Review | Optimizing Human Performance

**Updated to include the new premium mission timer rubber straps**

All quality watches have a memorable backstory. For many of the field designs, the stories began with the early days of warfare during WWI. By WW2, watches became a standard item worn by all soldiers for the sake of mission timing. In this review, we’re going to take a look at a modern-day mission timer; The Ares DIVER-1. But before we get into the review, take a few minutes to watch the following video. This video will give you the “why” behind the design of the Ares Diver-1 Mission Timer.

Out of The Box

The first thing you’ll notice when unboxing this mission timer is the type of case it comes shipped in. Many other brands will ship their watches inside some type of metal or polymer hinged boxes. The Ares DIVER-1 Mission Timer comes in a small waterproof drybag. I honestly think this is a pretty cool idea and it does stand out from the crowd compared to other brands, but that is just the start.

A Unique Bezel

The bezel of the watch is numbered a bit differently compared to other standard dive style timepieces. The DIVER-1 Mission Timer has a bezel designed as a countdown timer the rotates counterclockwise. The bezel starts at 55 and goes in 5-minute increments back to 0. The purpose of this design is to give you a quick look at your ‘time on target’ as they say in the military and other special mission units. Typically when running a mission you have a set amount of time to be on the target location before having to move.

This concept of time on target can be adapted to a non-military lifestyle too. I use my DIVER-1 Mission Timer to keep track of my time left for my workouts or warmup runs. When I start the workout or run, I rotate the bezel to the time constraint I put on my workout to wherever the minute hand is located and get after it.

One of the other features that stand out on this mission timer is the lume. The C3 Superluminova lume used is clearly visible the entire night. For those actually running missions in the darkness of the night, this is a MUST. That cannot be said for many other timepieces.

A Battery that will last a full Decade!

How about a 10-year battery life? Yep, the Ares DIVER-1 checks that box. The standard with most timepieces is 3 to 5 years when dealing with a quartz movement. Matt (the owner of Ares Watch Company) blew that out of the water by utilizing a Rhonda 715Li Quartz movement. The Ronda 715Li analog quartz movements are made in Switzerland and feature a lithium battery that lasts 10 years.

The CR2016 3V battery takes up the entire backside of the movement and results in the watch having to be opened only once every 10 years for battery replacement. The Ronda 715Li movement also features 5 jewels, which help reduce friction. The low friction of the jeweled surface reduces variations in the rate of timekeeping increasing the accuracy of the mission timer. This longevity is critical to those in the military deployed who do not have access to a watch shop to replace the battery.

Add to that a sapphire crystal, anti-magnetic rating, and shock resistance and you have yourself a damn near bombproof mission timer to get you through any mission you run in your life.

 

Under the Hood of the Ares Diver-1 Mission Timer

All ARES Mission Timers feature an anti-reflective coating on the inside of the sapphire crystal. An anti-reflective or anti-reflection (AR) coating is a type of optical coating applied to the surface of lenses and other optical elements to reduce reflection. In typical imaging systems, this improves efficiency since less light is lost due to reflection. In complex systems such as telescopes and microscopes, the reduction in reflections also improves the contrast of the image by eliminating stray light. In other applications, the primary benefit is the elimination of the reflection itself, such as a coating on eyeglass lenses that makes the eyes of the wearer more visible to others, or a coating to reduce the glint from a covert viewer’s binoculars or telescopic sight.

Lume is defined as the “emission of light” and all DIVER-1 mission timers utilize RCTritec’s Swiss Super-LumiNova compounds; specifically 5 painted layers of their C3. Up until now, all ARES Mission Timers have been created with their “green” color, which emits at 515nm. Ares Watch Company is currently working on developing new lume options within its Mission Timers as they delve into more extreme environments.

Premium Mission Timer Rubber Strap

There’s not a whole lot of sexiness to a rubber watch strap. Rubber in all its various natural and synthetic forms is the perfect sweat-wicking material, and it’s the easiest strap type to wash.

The new Ares Diver-1 Mission Timer Rubber Strap is the king of rubber watch straps, being that its made from the highest quality rubber material available: FKM. Fluoroelastomer or FKM is a class of synthetic rubber designed for very high-temperature operation. FKM provides extraordinary levels of resistance to chemicals, heat, and oil while providing useful service life above 200°C. In other words, this rubber strap is impervious to the elements.

I have to say this is honestly the most comfortable rubber watch strap I’ve worn. This strap mirrors the same characteristics of the Diver-1 Mission Timer; longevity, adaptability, and comfort. When worn, it feels like leather but performs like rubber. It is also tapered, chamfered, and has drain channels so that it doesn’t trap moisture against your skin.

3 reasons why the Mission Timer Rubber Strap is worth the price of admission:

1. It’s guaranteed for life
2. It’s made from the finest composite. The same as Panerai and AP.
3. It’s not a piece of shit

Ares Diver-1 Specifications

• 42.0mm 316L stainless steel bead blasted bezel, featuring countdown timer with C3 Superluminova, clear coat finish, aggressive ‘no-slip’ teeth, and 120-click uni-directional countdown mission timer.
• 49.5mm lug to lug 22mm drilled lugs with 1.8mm shoulderless spring bars, supplied with a 3-ring and 5-ring LASH nylon strap.
• Individually tested and certified, fully assembled, to 40ATM
• Ronda 715Li 5-jewel / gold plated analog quartz movement with EOL indicator
• 10-year standard battery life utilizing No. CR2016 3V lithium-ion battery
• Flat sapphire crystal with inner AR coating
• Anti-magnetic rating 18.8Oe, shock resistant to NIHS-91-10 standards, and thermo-compensated -0 to 50+ C

Time is the most valuable part of our life. You can never get it back once it’s gone. Take control of your time now with the Ares DIVER-1 Mission Timer.

OWN YOUR TIME TODAY