
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Mitchell Vintage Steel Dive Watch, 1960s
- Maker / attribution
- Mitchell (maker)
- Date
- 1960s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- steel
- Dimensions
- Case 37 mm
- Stock no.
- W-925
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-925)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Mitchell Vintage Steel Dive Watch (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-925), this is a wristwatch by Mitchell, dated 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: steel. Recorded dimensions: Case 37 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Bulang & Sons
A cool tool made in France… This is a great looking and rare vintage anti-magnetic diver’s watch by Mitchell. This French brand ( the brand wasactually more known for outdoor and fishing reel equipment ) made these watches in the 1960s and it’s a cool off-the-radar sporty watch! The l case measures 37mm and is really great condition. The dial has a black glossy finish and has large tritium triangular hour markers with 12, 3, 6 and 9 printed in relief in the plots. The hands are gladiator-style, with the seconds hand having more than a passing resemblance to a Rolex MilSub seconds hand. The dial states ‘6 hpz’ which is the equivalent of 6atm in French. This watch will come on one of our cool Bulang and Sons Tropic straps and this cool seldom-seen vintage Mitchell has been fully checked by our watchmaker. If you are looking for all the vintage power of a dive watch with a bit of a twist, then this is the perfect watch for you! Specifications - Mitchell dive watch - 37mm amagnetic steel case - Dates to 1960s - Cool ‘gladiator’ hands - Black gloss dial - Fully checked by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade single leather watch pouch
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Dive and water-resistant watches
Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.
Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.
What to look for
- Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
- Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
- Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
- Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.
Dating clues
- Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
- Professional dive watches: from 1953.
- Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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