Proxima PX1697 Diver Watch Review

I’ve been skirting around Proxima for a couple of years now. I’ve seen the watches, I’ve looked at the listings… but for one reason or another, I never quite pulled the trigger. But then I came across this one.And what caught my attention first was the price. Around $150 before tax and discounts.Which immediately raised a question: what corners are being cut here?

Because on paper, this thing ticks pretty much all the boxes. Premium materials — tick. A proper, I would say a slightly more upmarket movement — tick. All the creature comforts you normally only start finding on San Martin watches above $400 — tick. And visually,well, at least from the product pictures, the execution looked seriously solid too.

Still, I wasn’t convinced. But eventually curiosity got the better of me… and, well, here it is. So what’s the catch? Or have I somehow managed to ignore one of the biggest AliExpress sleepers of the year? We’ve got it here. Let’s find out.

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Design

From a design perspective, this one is actually a little difficult to place.

Yes, there are cues here and there from different brands, but to be fair, I can’t immediately point at it and say, that is clearly a homage to this particular watch. And for that, Proxima gets some brownie points.

Now, I’m not professing to know every obscure microbrand design out there, so if you know of something this is directly homaging, let me know in the comments. But unless it is genuinely close to one-to-one… I wouldn't bother. Because at some point, everything takes inspiration from something.

More importantly, the way Proxima has put this together is seriously impressive.

Pretty much all the boxes are ticked. We’ve got inverted end links, quick-release spring bars on the bracelet — which is still surprisingly uncommon even on much more expensive watches, and then as cherry on top of this already delicious cake we also have an on-the-fly adjustment system built into the clasp.

And the whole thing just feels very solid.

This is apparently already the third iteration of this design from Proxima, and you kinda can tell. It feels well refined - especially the case.

In terms of colourways we get a tropic-style rubber strap option, and there are several different dial colours available. I particularly like this one. It isn’t really stark white - there is a slight creamy tone to it, which gives the dial a softer and slightly more interesting appearance.

And there don’t appear to be any shortcuts with the lume either, as you’ll see in my 15-minute test later.

So, first impressions are very strong. I’m not seeing any obvious problem areas, the overall build feels very well put together, and the form factor is excellent. It isn’t oversized, and judging by the proportions, this should work across quite a wide range of wrist sizes.

We’ll check the exact dimensions in a moment.

But first, let’s talk about the movement, because I actually had to double-check what was inside this thing.

And I’ll explain why.

Dimensions

Jumping over to dimensions, and we get a very versatile set of numbers here. First and foremost, the bezel measures 39.3 millimeters, which is pretty much Goldilocks territory these days for this style of diver. Lug width is 20 millimeters, so if you like swapping straps, you can absolutely go to town with this one. Lug-to-lug is also very nicely managed at 44.8 millimeters, which should make it comfortable on a wide range of wrists — I’d say from around six inches and up, especially considering how nicely the case is sculpted. And another very good number here is the thickness. Including the double-domed sapphire crystal, I’m measuring 11.5 millimeters. For a watch with 200 metres of declared water resistance, that is very well managed. Finally, on the supplied bracelet, it comes in at 147 grams.

Case

Zooming in on the case, and this is very nicely sculpted.

The lugs curve smoothly downwards, and along the lower edge we have this broad high-polish chamfer which gives the whole case a slightly cushion-style shape. It helps the watch sit very naturally on the wrist, and visually it also makes an already slim diver look even slimmer.

There’s a bit of vintage influence here too, with a symmetrical case and no crown guards. The crown is nicely proportioned, fairly prominent, and uses knurling that echoes the bezel grip. It’s also signed with the Proxima branding.

Turning the watch over, we get a closed, more or less flat caseback. An exhibition back could have been interesting with the PT5000 inside, but I actually quite like what they’ve done here. The maritime theme with the two stingrays is tastefully executed and suits the diver character of the watch nicely.

And with a screw-down crown, screw-on caseback and 200 metres of declared water resistance, this is not just a good-looking piece. It is also a very practical everyday watch that you can comfortably take swimming.

Crystal

As for the crystal, we have a slightly curved, double-domed box sapphire crystal here.

And at this price point, that is frankly a little ridiculous.

It looks really good, legibility through the crystal is very strong, and there’s just a tiny bit of distortion right around the edges. Nothing distracting - just enough to add some extra character and visual interest to the dial.

Overall, it’s very nicely executed and suits the design of the watch extremely well.

Dial & Lume

Moving over to the dial, and there is something slightly unusual happening here.

We’ve got a creamy dial, creamy applied indices, and faceted hands in almost the same tone. On paper, you’d expect legibility to suffer.

But strangely enough, it doesn’t.

In practice, it remains very easy to read, and that low-contrast colour palette actually gives the dial a soft, elegant look.

I also like the date window at six. It’s nicely integrated, colour-matched, and keeps the whole layout balanced.

The dial itself feels quite shallow too, partly thanks to the movement and partly because of the way that boxed sapphire sits over it. It gives the whole watch head a very neat, compact appearance.

Proxima has also clearly refined the dial printing over the different versions. We’ve got the branding above the pinion and “Automatic” below. Is the font my absolute favourite? Probably not. If I had to nitpick, that would be one area I might still play around with.

But otherwise, this is a very well-balanced and very nicely executed dial.

And then there’s the lume.

We have a fully lumed bezel as well as the dial, and I ran this one for close to 20 minutes. It just keeps glowing.

Considering we’re basically in Pagani Design price territory here, that is seriously impressive. I’d say this could give some considerably more expensive San Martin divers a proper run for their money.

Bracelet and Clasp

Moving over to the bracelet, and I’ll just say it — this might be the best bracelet I’ve handled at around this price point. But at the same time I think I also finally found something to complain about!

So we have solid stainless steel construction, solid inverted end links, and very useful quick-release spring bars. That is still surprisingly uncommon, even on considerably more expensive watches.

The integration with the case is also very nicely done, with a smooth transition from the lugs into the bracelet. Finishing is fully brushed, which suits the tool-watch character, and the tolerances feel very solid.

And we have screws connecting the links.

Again, I keep reminding myself that we’re talking about roughly a $150 diver here.

And it gets better. Proxima also includes half links, which, combined with the on-the-fly clasp adjustment, means you’ve got an excellent chance of getting the fit absolutely spot on.

The clasp itself is a robust milled double-pusher design with around 9 to 10 millimeters of on-the-fly adjustment. It’s easy to use, feels solid, and gives you plenty of room to fine-tune the fit during the day.

So yes, very well done.

But here is that something that, I finally found to complain about. Welly… the clasp is unsigned.

But honestly, considering everything else we’ve just looked at, I think I can live with that.

As for wearability, this thing just melts into the wrist. The compact case, inverted end links, half links and on-the-fly adjustment make it extremely easy to dial in a near-perfect fit — and just as easy to loosen or tighten slightly during the day. Very, very comfortable.

Verdict

And that brings us to the verdict.

Like I said at the start, this might genuinely be one of the sleepers of the year.

It is a very well-refined, very well put together diver, offered at an extremely aggressive price. And after spending some time with it, I’m honestly very glad I finally gave Proxima a proper look.

If this is the style of watch you’re after, this one goes straight onto my recommendation list. Very easy to recommend.

Bezel

Moving over to the bezel, and the design here is actually quite interesting.

It’s a little slimmer than usual for this style of diver, with a comfortable coin-edge grip and a ceramic insert.

What stands out more is the angle. The insert sits quite aggressively sloped rather than almost horizontal, and I think that works really well. It creates a natural transition from the boxed sapphire, through the bezel, and into that nicely sculpted case.

The bezel itself sits very tightly with no noticeable side play.

As for the action, it’s good. We’ve got a 120-click unidirectional bezel with solid, consistent resistance. It is ever so slightly on the tighter side, but on a flip side that extra resistance should also help keep it exactly where you set it.

There’s only a touch of kinda natural backplay as it settles into position.

So, it’s probably not the most addictive bezel I’ve ever used, but at this price I really can’t complain and I’d consider this perfectly acceptable even on a divers costing two or three times more.

And of course, the bezel is fully lumed as well, which looks very cool in the dark.

Movement

So Proxima officially offers two options here: the PT5000 or Sellita SW200.

At the time of filming, though, I can’t actually see the Sellita version available. And honestly, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.

There’s absolutely a place for a Swiss Sellita, but in this watch it would probably add around $150 bucks to the price and definitely take some of the value out of the whole package.

Now checking the attached tag - that this particular watch has the PT5000.

And I think that suits it perfectly.

We’re getting that familiar 28,800-beat-per-hour architecture and, for all practical purposes, very similar day-to-day functionality, just without paying for the Swiss movement.

// If this were a $1,000 or $2,000 watch, sure, I’d probably spend extra for the more refined calibre. But here? I’d take the PT5000. //

And as I mentioned earlier - I actually had to double-check what was inside, because the crown action on this example is unusually smooth. Some PT5000s can feel a little gritty when winding, but there’s none of that here. The winding doesn't feel particularly rough and the threading is smooth.

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