The legend has it that dive watches are the most popular type of watches today, were ten years ago, and half a century back as well. Actually, this ain’t a legend but a fact: according to our own data, dive watches are the most popular genre of timekeeping devices being made today by brands and therefore purchased by customers. Other studies of the luxury market indicate that this genre of horological machines has been one of the most popular ones for a long time and that some of the most iconic watches one must purchase—either from one of the go-to luxury brands or as part of some people’s ideal trilogy—is a diver. And anecdotally, it is commonly agreed upon (to a certain fault perhaps) that anybody’s collection should comprise a dive watch. Why? Objectively speaking because they are de facto robust, functional, and versatile (at least the good ones are), and subjectively, for everybody and their mother wants to own a Submariner and because wearing a dive watch indicates you’re adventurous. 

Or that you actually do use your tools which would be quite rare and odd, wouldn't it? 

Since submersible timekeeping devices are so popular it means we have plenty of options to choose from. And we do have many of them as it appears that releasing a diver is a new brand’s rite of passage. It must go big and get it right or go home. From my personal experience, when brands nowadays release a dive watch they try to cram as many specifications as possible into it and often skip over how it will look. So they are technically competent but lacking in personality. And because all things are getting more expensive each day, affordable microbrand divers are becoming more rare even though they were the best defining factor of this side of horology for the past decade. Luckily, amongst the latest volley of Kickstarted brands we find Retrovivo which came out with the lovely everyday sports watch the RV01 last year and which is coming back with a diver: the RV02 which comes in four colors and will be launching on Kickstarter on April 20, 2026, for the meager Early Bird price of 199€/$229 USD.  

Specifications 

Objectively we can also agree that certain specifications are good and other ones not so much, and that we should expect to see X for Y price in 2026. Even though opinions differ and some uninformed enthusiasts believe that microbrands should offer better specifications than mainstream brands do for less money just because they are “micro”—as if being new on the market meant they have to compromise themselves to do better than the giants—well, shit, they don’t, and quite the contrary, they should be forgiven for not being able to give more for less. However, there are some brands which can give a lot for a few pesos, even though I do not understand how and why, as I imagine creating a new horological business means they must make some kind of profit. In the case of Retrovivo, the brand managed to offer tremendous value with the RV01 by making strategic choices in terms of components and manufacturing, striking a fine balance between the “meh” and the “wow” by offering a relatively good and humble sports watch. 

They’ve done it again. 

What enthusiasts and collectors typically look for in a dive watch is as follows: superlative diurnal and nocturnal legibility; “great” water resistance often to professionals’ level; a 120-click bezel which is satisfying to operate; a reliable and accurate movement which ideally doesn't need service but which can be easily serviced should the need arise. All of this for a few hundred dollars and ideally less than that. Even though I’m a certified amateur diver and sometimes live an adventurous life, I do not understand why watch folks must have divers with enormous depth ratings. For even if they dive professionally they will rarely go deeper than 100 meters. It’s a case of the “what if” which doesn’t make sense. But, however useful it might be, the Retrovivo RV02 comes with 200 meters of water resistance thanks to a screw-down crown and case-back and offers this amazing depth rating in a relatively medium-sized case: 39mm in diameter, 45.2mm lug-to-lug, 11.3mm in thickness, and a 20mm lug width according to my calipers. 

The 24-hour legibility is ensured by way of a clean semi-Explorer 1 dial layout we will go back to later on, and good applications of Vintage Style SuperLumoniva C3 on the hands, hour markers, and 10-minute markings on the bezel inlay. The latter has an extremely satisfying smooth 120-click unidirectional operation with barely any backplay. And it feels as if the bezel glides over the mid-case given how smooth it is. The coinedge knurling is good too, so it is on the guarded 5.3mm screw-down crown which didn’t need to be larger for the movement inside is a worry-free and dumb-proof Seiko VH31 mecaquartz sweep-seconds caliber which comes with a stated accuracy of ±20 seconds per month and a 2-year battery life. (The seconds hand will skip a couple of beats to alert you it’s running out of juice.) Moreover, and lastly, the Retrovivo RV02 comes with a classic Beads of Rice bracelet equipped with screwed links, quick-release spring-bars, and a 4-position tool-less micro-adjustment clasp. (The brand indicates three, I counted four.) 

Design 

Objectively speaking still, Retrovivo covered all of its bases for 199€/$229 USD in terms of specifications. It actually offers quite a lot of utilitarian watch goodness for a modest price and more or less competes with the most popular AliExpress specials which are not brutal 1:1 copies of less attainable models. (An homage is often a replica with a different name printed on the dial.) Now, we must turn to the design of the RV02, which is where most brands do skimp on a lot in order to focus on outputting the ubiquitous spec monsters many covet. As you might have heard it being said before on Mainspring, it is rare for a brand to come up with an entirely new design and that designing a good watch takes time and effort which are rarely accounted for in the final price microbrands charge you. Last year’s RV01 did many things well in the design department—a symmetrical dial layout, modern vintage-inspired hour markers, and lovely color schemes—which added tremendous value to the modest sum of 150€ it went for on Kickstarter. 

We do once again find lovely colors here: the crême brulée-colored vintage lume applied on the hands, hour markers, and bezel markings paint the whole watch with a vintage character. The shape of the Arabic numerals marking the 3, 6, and 9 conversely anchor the dial back into contemporary horology and give out whiffs of modern Rolex Explorer 1 on account of their height and width and polished metallic surrounds. The other hour markers are also of today’s watch world, shaped into inward-facing tapering rectangles and a large inverted triangle at the twelve o’clock, the latter making images of an Omega Seamaster 300 flash in front of my eyes. All markers are applied onto a deeply textured matte gray dial complemented by a fumé treatment which darkens at the edges, therefore below the markers making them stand out even more. (The contrast between the dial and cream lume is superb in my humble opinion.) Moreover, above the dial float skyscraper-shaped hour and minute hands made of upper brushed surfaces and two polished facets. 

Again a superb detail well executed for the price. Would that be a theme, perhaps? 

And lastly, the case. On top of it we find a narrow bezel whose size reminds me of vintage skin divers, whilst the polished ceramic bezel insert is definitely a trait of modern watchmaking. All minute markings are incised and those punctuating the 10-minute intervals are lumed and one can see up close the color difference between the lumed and non lumed elements. Bravo to Retrovivo for endowing the bezel with a fully graduated count-up scale by the way, so that it makes the RV02 a useful piece of subaquatic gear in addition to being a thoughtfully designed dive watch. (My opinion only.) The bezel ensemble then plunges down towards the narrow mid-case which shows a predominance of brushed surfaces save for polished chamfers, then stubby crown-guards on the right side and shorts lugs which bend downward towards the wrist for maximum stability. The crown is small as we know which limits its assaults on the skin and is rightly sized given the easy going nature of the caliber inside. In short: better tech for more on-wrist comfort. 

The Heart of the Matter

Throughout this review I highlighted a few elements which could have given away the message of the following sentences. When you add up the Retrovivo RV02’s design with its specifications and finishing, the 199€/$229 USD which you would spend for the Early Bird stretch far, as again I would argue that thoughtful design is often left unaccounted for when pricing watches. The finishing on the RV02, as you hopefully can attest to looking at the photos across in this review, is really good: brushed surfaces are clean and polished ones as close as they could get to a mirror finish at this price point. (Ah, those words.) Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, the RV02 strikes the perfect balance between vintage horology—the vintage SuperLuminova, narrow bezel, and inverted triangle at the twelve—and the modern type—the large Arabic numerals, the effective case profile, and polished details—which feels novel even though it’s nothing new but darn well executed here. The Retrovivo is therefore a complete package priced like a Black Friday special. 

Conclusion 

When I review the first model from a new brand which is being launched on Kickstarter there is always a little bit of risk that the brand won’t meet its campaign goal and the project would fail. (And this seems to happen more and more often on the crowdfunding platform for horological projects.) Retrovivo fared well for its first campaign because it made a good product, with enough visual personality to make it stand out from the crowd, with good specifications to make it a good-rounder timepiece, and at a ridiculously small price tag to make it a no-brainer. And I feel it will do well again with the RV02 in my humble opinion. Check out this link to know more about the Kickstarter campaign and this one to check out the brand’s website.

Thanks for reading.