German watch brand Nautilus - like this hefty and legitimately rare early 1980s Nautilus Ref. 69847 Professional 500m full lume dive watch here, strongly reminiscent of similar military dive watches of the same era – is a mystery, mostly lost to the time before the interwebs.  It was sold mainly in Germany and saw limited distribution outside the country.  What is known is that the era in the decades preceding it was an exciting time for diving - in particular, deep sea diving.
 
Based in Munich, Nautilus went the opposite way of skin divers during the 1960s-1980s, selling mechanical and quartz dive watches designed to not only look good, but that actually did as advertised for the serious diver.  And there is no better example of this than the Ref 69847 here – the full lume dial was designed to assist the hardcore diver in less-than-ideal light conditions characteristic of deep seas.
 
During this era, a French gentleman and diver named Jacques Cousteau gathered fame for his involvement with projects to build underwater "villages,” with each ensuing project was aimed at increasing the depth at which people continuously lived under water, and were an attempt at creating an environment in which men could live and work on the sea floor.
 
Cousteau was so much more than just a diver; he was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher – and he was also a filmmaker.
 
American television would create, “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau,” with the character of the commander intended to give the films a "personalized adventure" style. This documentary television series ran for ten years from 1966 to 1976, shortly before Nautilus began selling the robust diver here.
 
With their simple designs and robust movements, tool watches during the 1970s and through the 1980s were built to accompany the adventurer – any adventurer – anywhere in the world (and deep down into the ocean) to accurately tell time no matter the elevation.  
 
Heuer was another, better name watch manufacturer that followed the same design cues during the 1980s – of note, James Bond wore a quite similar watch, the Heuer Ref. 980.031, in "The Living Daylights" (1987), which also featured an all-lume dial.  The watch doesn't get much screentime and can only barely be seen during the opening sequence in Gibraltar, when Bond - played by Timothy Dalton - is riding on the roof of a Land Rover Series III.
 
As alluded to, for every Blancpain Fifty Fathoms or Rolex Submariner, there were multiple lesser-known names whose robust design and construction merit consideration from any vintage watch enthusiast.  Unfortunately (ironically?), many of these were killed off by the Quartz Crisis brought on by Seiko, rendering watches like this Nautilus quite difficult to find – dare we even say, rare.
 
The Nautilus Professional dive line represents an excellent example of a watch value proposition: a tool watch from a hardcore diver brand you can wear with confidence, at a good price.
 
This Nautilus comes on a vintage stainless-steel bracelet, and with nylon strap, spring bar tool, and rugged travel case.