Nice looking watch 👍🏻

 

Very nice. A great brand with a unique look.

Hope you enjoy it.

 

Outstanding watch. Right up there with the best I’ve ever seen.
Classy, sporty, rugged, and sophisticated all in one with a simple strap swap here and there to modify the look.


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Looking great, congrats!

Does the watch allow a bracelet fit on it?


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Does the watch allow a bracelet fit on it?

The question was not addressed to me, but I take the liberty to answer anyway: Yes, a bracelet can also be mounted, the bracelets of the references IW328803, IW329002 and IW376804 fit, but are very expensive.

 

Looks great! Congrats!

 

I have already congratulated you elsewhere on the purchase of one of the most beautiful, high-quality and independent modern diving watches, so here just a few comments on your text.
One recognizes your enthusiasm for the watch very well and I can understand it very well, I wear the black almost identical predecessor model for almost a month almost without interruption – the Aquatimer is an excellent watch and is unjustly avoided in almost all forums that I know and partly devalued. There are actually users who deny the Aquatimer and the watches from IWC in general a suitability for everyday use…

I know folks were a bit disappointed when the new release was announced with essentially only a change to an in-house movement. I get it, but the Aquatimer remains a unique face in a sea of all too familiar diver’s watches. So glad I took the plunge!

I couldn't understand this criticism, because most of the people who expressed disappointment here don't criticize the fact that the competitors from Biel and Geneva have only marginally changed the design of their diving watches for about 30 years (Omega Seamaster) or 70 years (Rolex Submariner).
I also wonder where the outcry was when Tudor switched from the ETA 2824-2 to the Kenissi MT5612 in 2015 and did not change the design of the Pelagos - by the way, 2 years older than the Aquatimer - in the slightest.
For the success of the Aquatimer, the much too fast and always very radical model changes since the introduction of the GST in 1998 were also rather counterproductive.



PS: Until early 2022, the IWC Aquatimer Automatic Edition “Expedition Jacques Yves Cousteau” was a watch that also had a blue sunburst dial like yours.

 

I have already congratulated you elsewhere on the purchase of one of the most beautiful, high-quality and independent modern diving watches, so here just a few comments on your text.
One recognizes your enthusiasm for the watch very well and I can understand it very well, I wear the black almost identical predecessor model for almost a month almost without interruption – the Aquatimer is an excellent watch and is unjustly avoided in almost all forums that I know and partly devalued. There are actually users who deny the Aquatimer and the watches from IWC in general a suitability for everyday use…


I couldn't understand this criticism, because most of the people who expressed disappointment here don't criticize the fact that the competitors from Biel and Geneva have only marginally changed the design of their diving watches for about 30 years (Omega Seamaster) or 70 years (Rolex Submariner).
I also wonder where the outcry was when Tudor switched from the ETA 2824-2 to the Kenissi MT5612 in 2015 and did not change the design of the Pelagos - by the way, 2 years older than the Aquatimer - in the slightest.
For the success of the Aquatimer, the much too fast and always very radical model changes since the introduction of the GST in 1998 were also rather counterproductive.



PS: Until early 2022, the IWC Aquatimer Automatic Edition “Expedition Jacques Yves Cousteau” was a watch that also had a blue sunburst dial like yours.

Hey moonshine…thanks again. Also, sincere thanks for sharing your deep knowledge of IWC here and in the subforum.

It is a shame that, beyond the Portugeiser, there isn’t a ton of love for IWC on the forums. I think, perhaps, it’s a brand you have to come to appreciate through ownership. They definitely catch a lot more flack than many other brands.

And yes, I’m aware of the blue dial Cousteau, but wasn’t until a few days ago. Amazing I missed it given IWCs nonstop marketing emails [emoji1787]. That said, probably wouldn’t have caught my eye on the black rubber. Something about the blue/blue…


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Very nice watch!

 

Great looking Aquatimer. That blue really pops in the right light!

 

Great looking watch, congratulations.

 

Congratulations. The dial is awesome

 

Looks great but too big for my tastes. The previous version was my go to for a while.

 

Looks great but too big for my tastes. The previous version was my go to for a while.
View attachment 16921027

The Aquatimer 3538 is a very nice watch, but it only appears to be smaller than the 3288 or 3290. The case diameter is identical for both watches at 42 mm, but the 3288 and 3290 are actually only 14.1 mm thick and so 0.7 mm flatter than the 3538.
Okay, the bezel doesn't protrude on the 3538 since it's not needed to set the dive time, but the current Aquatimer is smaller than it's always made. However, it's a very present watch on the wrist.

Okay, not really a suitable comparison, but the 3538 / 3548 is still missing in my collection, so I had to use the good old 3536.

… and now for something completely different:
In 2005, the magazines Chronos (issue 3) and WatchTime (issue 5), which both belong to Ebner Media Group GmbH & Co. KG, published a comparative test of the Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600 and the IWC Aquatimer 3548-05, written by Jens Koch.
Although the Aquatimer was equally good (Case, Legibility, Wearing Comfort and Rate Results) or better (Band and Clasp, Operation) in the main points, the victory of this comparison test went to the Rolex, because the latter could score in the more subjective categories (Design, Movement and Overall Rating).

In the appendix, interested parties will find the complete test as a PDF.

Hey moonshine…thanks again. Also, sincere thanks for sharing your deep knowledge of IWC here and in the subforum.

It is a shame that, beyond the Portugeiser, there isn’t a ton of love for IWC on the forums. I think, perhaps, it’s a brand you have to come to appreciate through ownership. They definitely catch a lot more flack than many other brands.

And yes, I’m aware of the blue dial Cousteau, but wasn’t until a few days ago. Amazing I missed it given IWCs nonstop marketing emails [emoji1787]. That said, probably wouldn’t have caught my eye on the black rubber. Something about the blue/blue…

Oh, people should buy and wear whatever they want for all I care.
I just find it ridiculous when, for example, the Tudor Pelagos is highlighted as the measure of all things in the diving watch segment and at the same time the Aquatimer is denied any suitability for everyday use.
Maybe it's interesting to note that in the comparative test “Dive test in the Atlantic – IWC against Tudor” of the German watch magazine “Chronos” (issue 5/2014 from September 2014), in which the IWC Aquatimer Automatic (reference 3290-01) competed against the Tudor Pelagos (reference 25500TN), the Aquatimer won by a margin of 2 points.

… and a few more trivialities:
My interest in the IWC brand began in the late 1990s, in fact with the Aquatimer GST. At that time, I visited a watch fair in Cologne and I would have insanely liked to buy the IWC, but I definitely could not raise the 6000.00 marks demanded. Particularly appealing to me at that time, in addition to the Aquatimer GST, but with some distance, the Sea-Dweller 16600 – of course, also unattainable.
But my first IWC came a few years later, a Porsche Design by IWC Sportivo 02, Ref. 3320 - super finished, super accurate (quartz movement), super comfortable, but unfortunately also very small (∅ 32 mm) and therefore it had to leave me again.
The Aquatimer GST then came to me in 2019, actually a Seamaster "Peter Blake" was planned, but the IWC easily kicked the Omega out of the race. A few months later, the Ocean 2000 followed, and in the meantime, I imagine that I want to have at least one model from each Aquatimer generation.


PS: Has anyone actually noticed that the tip of the second hand is colored differently for each dial color? It's green on the Aquatimers with a black dial, red on the watches with a blue dial, and yellow on the watches with a silver dial.

 

That's a really sharp looking watch.

 

Congrats!

The Aquatimers are very under-rated watches. I had a 3767 series Aquatimer chrono and it was magnificent in terms of workmanship on both the case and the dial. Add in a modified movement and pushers that worked underwater (dont try that with your Daytona), and it was a really really awesome watch.

Just... 44mm and thick, so overpowered my scrawny wrist. I still miss the idea of that watch.

This one looks really nice - fits your wrist very well, too.

 

OP, any additional impressions to share after a couple more weeks of ownership?

 

Sure…timekeeping has been excellent. Within a couple of seconds over the course of the first week. Have gotten compliments from tons of folks who know me as a watch guy, usually along the lines of “now THAT’S a nice watch!” Still staring at it and totally mesmerized. Really a well done piece. Super happy with the purchase!


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One of the best looking diver/marine watches. Love the handset design and shape.


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I've been looking at this one for a while after I found it on Hawaii Five-0.