By Russ Michaud

Sheffield Superproduction

Some icons never truly die—they simply wait for the right moment to resurface. Think of the Volkswagen Beetle, quietly laid to rest in the late 1970s only to return in 1998 with its unmistakable silhouette wrapped around thoroughly modern engineering. Or the Fuji X100 camera, a spiritual successor to discontinued film rangefinders that arrived in 2011, and instantly felt both nostalgic and urgently contemporary. Even Polaroid, pronounced dead more than once, came roaring back with cameras and film that honoured the instant-print magic while fixing everything that frustrated users decades earlier.

Sheffield Watches belongs firmly in that rare pantheon. Founded in the 1940s, the British brand produced tough, no-nonsense tool watches (most famously the All Sport Diver) that armed civilian adventurers and military personnel alike, through the post-war decades. By the quartz crisis of the 1970s, Sheffield, like so many mechanical brands, faded into obscurity. Its tooling was scattered, and its name was reduced to footnotes in vintage collector forums.

Fast-forward half a century, and the name has been carefully resurrected (not as a lazy “heritage” cash-in, but as a proper revival). The Sheffield Allsport dive watch was first admired by Jay Turkbas, who was gifted one as a child. As an adult and entrepreneur, Jay saw a place in the industry to bring back the brand. “Driven by nostalgia and a commitment to excellence”, as the website notes, Jay and his team worked with manufacturers across the globe to find a suitable solution to bring back the Sheffield brand. Their first move was masterful—a near-pixel-perfect reissue of the classic All Sport Diver that respected every quirk of the original; while quietly upgrading movement, lume, and water resistance to modern expectations.

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Key Features of the Sheffield Superproduction

An Evolution

Now, comes the Superproduction. Built on the very same proven platform, it is not a reissue—it is an evolution. Same DNA, but with bolder proportions, tool watch finishing, and a confident step forward that somehow still feels like it could have existed in 1968, if only the technology had allowed it. Sheffield hasn’t just brought back a discontinued watch; they’ve done what the best revivals always do—honour the past without becoming its prisoner.

This is the story of a 50-year hiatus finally ending (and why the Super Production might just be the most compelling Sheffield yet).

Strap Options

When my Superproduction arrived, I unboxed it with excitement. Its simple cardboard box held two straps and the watch itself. A rubber tropic dive strap and a nice black leather, two-piece rally strap with “Sheffield” laser engraved on the buckle and quick release spring bars built in. Being late fall when my package arrived, I chose to keep it on the leather. It has broken in nicely with wear and the black leather contrasts nicely with the black PVD case.

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Case dimensions

Speaking of the case, at 40mm, the watch wears very comfortably on my 7.5” wrist. Never in the way, always there when I need it. I measured the thickness at 12.5mm and had no problems slipping it under a pair of work gloves or jacket cuff. The 20mm lug width mated nicely with the hoard of 20mm straps I seem to have accumulated over the years.

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Dialed Up

The dial is really the fun part. A stark contrast to the other no-nonsense dive watches in Sheffield’s lineup, this dial and handset really pop. Under the sapphire crystal, the “brilliant blue graphite dial” has a checkerboard pattern which resembles carbon fiber. The gilt-coloured handset is wonderful, with the hour hand hosting a large triangle pointer and the minute hand a long and prominent sword shape. The two distinctive hands make legibility very easy on the eyes. The second hand, with its long skinny arm, ends in a bright red triangle pointer; smaller but brighter than the hour hand. I have yet to test this watch underwater, due to the frigid November water temps here in New England, but this hand set, combined with Swiss Super-LumiNova on the hands, indices and bezel markers, is sure to make underwater legibility a breeze.

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Transparency

Of course, since this is a dive watch, the 200M water resistance is standard with a screw down crown at 3 o’clock and a screw down caseback. Said caseback sports the scuba dude we all love to see on dive watches along with various specs and manufacturing info—which leads to what I think is a great show of transparency that Sheffield watches put on display. Written on the case back is “cased in China, Swiss movement”. Sheffield acknowledges the manufacturing hurdles that come with running a microbrand. In order to make their watches attainable, not just to the average collector, but to the person wanting their first dive watch, or their first Swiss movement watch, Jay strove to keep costs low. He realized that although the most economical way to produce cases was in China, there was no reason to hide it. In fact, full manufacturing transparency is what the brand is built around. When you buy a Sheffield watch, you know what you’re paying for, and you’ll be surprised at the quality you get.

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Housed inside the case of the Superproduction is the beloved Swiss Selitta SW-200-1, a movement often found in watches five times the price. By honing in and outsourcing their manufacturing processes, they’ve managed to put a Swiss movement, 200 meter dive watch on the market for $428 USD. That is a feat in and of itself and is a breath of fresh air among a market filled with dive watch microbrands in the “under $500” category.

Specs

Case	Stainless Steel PVD Black Finish 40mm Diameter 48mm Lug to Lug 12.5mm Thickness 20mm Lug Width Screw Down Crown & Case Back 200m Water Resistance
Dial & Crystal	Sapphire Crystal Textured Dial Applied Markers Sword & Arrow Hands Swiss Super-LumiNova
Movement	Sellita SW 200-1 26 Jewels 28 800vph 38-Hour Power Reserve
Strap	FKM Rubber/Rally Leather

Sheffield Superproduction

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Pricing & Availablity

The Sheffield Superproduction is available through the brand website and retails for $600 CAD ($428 USD).

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About the Author

Russ Michaud is a husband and father to a young daughter, living in a charming 1800s farmhouse in New Hampshire. A veteran of 11 years in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force, he now works rotations in the offshore energy industry in the Gulf of Mexico. When he’s home he restores vintage audio gear, tinkers with his 1966 Land Rover Series IIA, teaches himself the art of film photography, and retreats to the family’s quiet lake cottage. Watches have been his constant companions from silent submarine depths to noisy rig helidecks; reviewing and writing about them is simply the latest chapter in a lifelong obsession. You can follow him on Instagram or through his own blog.

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