What do Airain, Aquastar, Eza, and Nivada Grenchen all have in common? They are quartz crisis victims that have been recently resuscitated by enterprising watch enthusiasts with great success. Well, you can now add VeriWatch to that same list thanks to Italian entrepreneur, Alessandro Leali. Shuttered in the 1990s, VeriWatch is now very much alive and kicking. And if you want to be sure of this fact, check for a heartbeat using the brand’s pulsometer dive watch, the Octopus 1973.

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The Octopus is a rare bird among timepieces. Pulsometers are most often associated with chronographs, and commonly referred to as doctor’s watches. Popular brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Oris, and Omega have all made them. However, to see a pulsometer scale on a mechanical dive watch, is to witness something truly uncommon. Pulsometers have been around since the 1700s and had their heyday in the early part of the twentieth century. However, a chronograph is not required. A pulsometer can be paired with a simple time only–three-hand–watch. Common scales include 15 and 30 pulsations. The Octopus employs the latter.

Therefore, when the second hand of the Octopus passes twelve on the dial, you would being counting the pulse beats of the subject in question (with your fingers at their neck or wrist). Once you arrive at thirty, check out the new location of that second hand. In the pulsometer scale, which is positioned in the chapter ring, you will be able to read your subject’s heartbeat per minute. For example, if after you count thirty pulsations, the second hand is located at five, the subject’s heartbeat is 71 beats per minute. If the second hand is located at six, the heartbeat is 60.

One can imagine that the demand for a diver’s pulsometer was never high. However, a medical diver’s watch, is a specialised type of wristwatch designed for use by healthcare professionals who engage in underwater activities, particularly scuba diving. These watches are functional tools for diving physicians, hyperbaric chamber operators, and other medical personnel involved in hyperbaric medicine. In the modern world, the functionality is perhaps a novelty–but certainly an interesting one.

Beyond its pulsometer scale, the Octopus 1973 is a quintessential skin diver. The 38mm stainless steel case cuts a familiar silhouette with its tonneau contours and squared off lugs. At only 47mm lug to lug, it sits very nicely on wrist, and is just over 12mm tall when you include the sapphire dome. It sports an elapsed time bezel with graduations on the fives. The model here is one of two and its bezel insert is matte black to match the dial. In the blue colourway, the insert is divided into black and white halves. The bezel is unidirectional with 120-clicks. The watch, rated to 200m water resistance, also has a large, unprotected screw down crown.

With a name like Octopus, you might only imagine that the marine mollusk would feature somewhere in the overall design–and you would be right. The screw down case back has a beautifully rendered embossing of two tentacles with a sandblasted background and is surrounded by a ship’s porthole.

The dial is reflective of the watch’s “toolish” intent. It is clean with a vintage-styled broad arrow handset and a mix of dot and dash hour indicators. The markers at twelve and six are triangles. The stark black and white layout is highly legible and heightened after dark by a healthy application of BGW9 Super-LumiNova. Of particular note is the funky retro font used in the model name and emulates an octopus in the stylised “O.”

Powered by the Swiss Sellita SW200-1b, the Octopus 1973 beats at 4Hz with a 38-hour power reserve. The model featured here is a nicely balanced no-date; however, the blue colourway has a more vintage correct date window at three. The watch comes with a choice of bands. The Tropic and Perforated Rubber are made by Italy’s Seacult. The recycled NATO is made by MilanoStraps.

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SPECS

Case	316L Stainless Steel 38mm Diameter 12mm Thick 47mm Lug to Lug 20mm Lug Width 120-Click Unidirectional Bezel 200m Water Resistance
Dial & Crystal	Domed Sapphire Crystal Printed Markers Matte Dial Broad Arrrow Handset BGW9 Super-LumiNova
Movement	Sellita SW200-1  /w Incabloc Anti Shock 26 Jewels 28 800 bph 38-Hour Power Reserve
Strap	Seacult Tropic, Perforated Rubber, or Recycled NATO from MilanoStraps

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Of Interest

Just after the Second World War, 16-year-old Giulio Capezzuto began work as a travelling salesman. His job was to pedal watches and alarm clocks throughout Publia, Italy in a 3-wheeled Macchi MB1. A decade later, with the financial help of a friend, he opened his own watchmaker’s shop in Via Andrea, Bari—a port town on the Adriatic. In that moment, the seeds of VeriWatch were sown. As his business grew, Capezzuto began working with Swiss providers and in 1961 he registered the VeriWatch (originally VeryWatch) name with the Patent Office in Rome.

During the 1970s, and in cooperation with Squale (a popular casemaker then), VeriWatch carved out a niche for itself in the diving world. Popular offerings included the Delfino, the Narvalo, and the Substar. But perhaps none was as innovative the Octopus, launched in 1973, with its unique pulsometer scale.

What followed for VeriWatch is a familiar tale. Beset by the quartz crisis and unable to compete against mass production, the brand closed its doors in the early 90s, lying dormant until entrepreneur, Alessandro Leali, resuscitated it in 2021 with the blessing of Capezzuto’s family–and the Octopus was reborn.

Quibbles

To make the pulsometer truly functional–even in the depths–it would be great to have a lumed tip on the seconds hand. The blue colourway does have red paint, but after a certain depth, even that will not work entirely. I also think that the brand name could be written in a slightly larger font.

Final Thoughts 

The Octopus 1973 is a solid diver with great specs. It comes with a novel complication and an interesting heritage, as well. The vintage-styled watch universe is a competitive one, but with a workhorse Swiss movement, 200 meters of water resistance, a sapphire crystal, and uniform design language, the Octopus is an attractive option. If you are on the hunt for something off the beaten path, the Octopus might just be your fish…okay, I’m mixing metaphors here, but you get my drift.

The Octopus 1973 retails for $1100USD. For more information, please visit the brand website.

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About the author

Brent Robillard is a writer, educator, craftsman, and watch enthusiast. He is the author of four novels. You can follow him on Instagram.

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