One of our favorite things to do at WatchTime is taking a moment to go back and reexamine timepieces that have been in the public eye for a few years but have largely floated under-the-radar for most collectors and enthusiasts. In proper summertime spirit, our object of affection today is one of the more mechanically potent, but still fairly underrated, dive watches on the market: the UTS 4000M.

Based out of Munich, UTS has 19 years of experience in producing dive watches of the highest quality. Back in 2004, the then-five-year-old company joined the ranks of brands that have a watch that functions up to 3,000 meters underwater; a decade later and UTS made the leap into the 4,000-meter range. In the four years since the UTS 4000M was originally released, it’s been regarded as a fantastic value-proposition, especially for those with a passion for high-octane dive watches that sacrifice nothing in the way of reliability whether under the sea or on the land.
Taking a watch that deep exerts over 5,000 pounds of pressure on its crystal. To keep it from cracking, UTS constructed a 6-mm thick sapphire crystal that is then glued to the case and is secured by a stainless steel ring with seven hex screws. The watch itself comes in a 45-mm case crafted from a single block of surgical grade, German stainless steel. The bezel is attached due to a screw lock system that is controlled by a ceramic ball bearing mechanism at 2 o?clock. Finally, the caseback and proprietary lugs ar...