Tudor’s triumphant return to the U.S. market in 2013 coincided with a boom in vintage-inspired models.

However, this concentration on midcentury watch design wasn’t always true of the company. In the 1990s through the early 2000s, Rolex’s sister brand was creating some thoroughly modern watches, including a little-remembered dive watch collection called the Hydronaut. This precursor of the Black Bay family included all sorts of water-resistant timepieces, many of which were sized in such a way as to be appealing to both men and women.

This particular Hydronaut features a 36mm stainless steel case with holey lugs, a mesmerizing purple-blue 'mother of pearl' dial with applied luminous indices and a matching handset, a magnified sapphire crystal, a rotating, unidirectional steel timing bezel, and a signed crown.

Powered by an automatic Swiss movement from ETA and fitted to a stainless steel multi-link bracelet with a signed Fliplock clasp, this is a finely made tool watch kitted out with a beautiful dial that makes for a unique look seldom seen in today’s dive watches.

If you were on the market for a ‘sleeper hit,’ we can’t imagine a better watch for you.