Words by Hannah Tapping
From the depths of the ocean, a Cornish dive watch is taking luxury aesthetic and rugged practicality to new heights.
The story of dive brand, fourth element begins on Cornwall’s western-most tip, a place where the sea and its shores define life. Paul Strike grew up surrounded by family who had an affinity with the sea; whether that be Uncle John, the local fishmonger in his home village of Porthleven or generations of Strikes who volunteered for the Coastguard. Exposed to diving at the tender age of 12, Paul’s passion for the ocean was ignited, but as his interest grew, he realised that, while surfing was well-catered for in terms of equipment, the dive industry was sadly lacking in both technical and lifestyle kit.
A dive trip to Egypt with friend, Jim Standing, made the pair realise that not only did they share a passion for the ocean, but that they had both identified a gap in the market for a dive brand that could produce high-performing technical kit, while at the same time fostering a lifestyle brand identity that would offer a community to those with a similar passion across the world. Paul relocated back to his home county in 1999, bringing Jim with him, where the pair formed dive brand fourth element.
While the beginnings of the business were humble, their foresight and ambition were everything but. They began by sourcing fabric technology for a base layer; their aim, to make a garment so good that every diver worth their salt would want one. Influential members of the world’s dive community gave their seal of approval at an early stage, and 25 years on, the brand has now been adopted globally by the dive industry. Fourth element technical clothing and drysuits are used in some of the most extreme places on earth and it’s the brand of choice for leading dive teams, including the FBI and the British Special Forces.
Everything at fourth element is underpinned by their ethos to be OceanPositive; a term coined to represent the business’ approach to sustainability, which runs from product and packaging to their professional practice. For example, several lines in fourth element’s OceanPositive range is made with ECONYL® nylon that is made from a combination of recycled ghost fishing nets and other waste nylon products; while their Rec Fins are made from consumer and industrial plastic waste with the equivalent of approximately 120 plastic bottles rescued from waste streams in every pair of fins.
Fourth Element has achieved global reach, not least due to its directors Paul and Jim always pushing the boundaries of possibility, all while maintaining a love and respect for the ocean. Such growth could have seen them relocate to a more central UK location, but they have stayed true to the brand’s beginnings with the fourth element head office and warehouse remaining in Helston, Cornwall.
As a business, it continues to innovate and expand with an agility that sees new and exciting products coming to the fore on a regular basis. The latest being a luxury dive watch, the first of its kind to come from a Cornish company. The pelagic, named after the unexplored zone of the open ocean that covers more than half of our planet, combines intricate engineering with an understated yet elegant design. With 26 jewels, the pelagic has a visible Swiss-made automatic movement, ensuring precise timekeeping even under the most challenging conditions. Every detail has been designed to meet the demands of serious divers while maintaining the elegance expected of a luxury timepiece. The watch is encased in a lightweight brushed steel, a material chosen not only for its durability, but also for its sleek appearance, making the watch as suitable for a deep-sea dive as it is to wear to dinner.
The pelagic is water resistant to 500m, a depth out of most divers’ range, only ever approached by professionals. The helium escape valve, positioned on the watch case opposite the engraved crown, allows the safe release of gases accumulated during long dives, making this watch as functional as it is aesthetic.
The pelagic is unashamedly rugged in its appearance, yet carries a sophistication that comes from an understated elegance in design. The sapphire crystal is scratch-resistant and anti-reflective, ensuring clarity in all conditions and the watch also comes with an interchangeable strap system, offering a choice between a stainless-steel bracelet for a more formal look and a rubber strap for more practical use.
The intricacy of the hand built Swiss movement adds elegance and intrigue, thanks to the crystal watch back, revealing the simply engraved movement inside, making this more than just a dive watch. As with all fourth element products, branding is considered and minimal, yet visible enough to show that the wearer is part of a dive community born on Cornish shores. The pelagic is no ordinary dive watch; it’s a statement for the modern explorer, designed by the sea, for adventures on the edge of the world.