Dan Henry sells 1960s-shaped chronographs and a super-compressor diver from its own site, each named for a year and none over $320, on Seiko movements under mineral glass. The decision it forces is whether a domed K1 or a sapphire-coated mineral crystal will do when the Vaer RS1 at $279 and the Zelos Swordfish at $399 give sapphire.
Checked 20 September 2026 · list prices on the maker's site that day unless marked street
Dan Henry sells from danhenrywatches.com, three lines, each with a year in its name and each offered in more than one size or dial. Every crystal is mineral: K1 mineral, double-domed with AR, on the 1962, and sapphire-coated double-domed mineral with AR on the 1964 and 1970. A sapphire coating is not a sapphire crystal, and that is the fact the price rests on. Lug widths are 20 mm, 19 mm and 22 mm, one per model, so no strap moves between them. Water resistance is 50 m on both chronographs and 200 m on the diver. All 3 cases are 316L steel and all 3 lume with LumiNova. The 1964 is limited to 1,964 pieces per colour and the 1970 to 1,970; the 1962 has no stated limit.
At $290 to $320 the Vaer RS1, San Martin 6200 and Zelos Swordfish all give the real thing, the RS1 at $279 on the same Seiko VK63 with 100 m, the 6200 at $275 and the Swordfish at $399 as 200 m NH35 divers under sapphire. What Dan Henry sells for the money is shape and length, 44.7 to 45.9 mm lug to lug across the three, and the domed glass.
On 19 September 2026 the catalogue was the 1962 Racing Chronograph at $290, the 1964 Gran Turismo Chronograph at $310 and the 1970 Automatic Diver at $320, and no street price is recorded for any of them, so the table shows the list. The 1947 skin diver was not in the catalogue that day; only its leather strap remained on the site, so it is treated as discontinued and has no row. No founding date, home town or assembly site was found for the brand, and none is stated here.
Read the table by movement, of which there are 2. The Seiko VK63 meca-quartz runs both chronographs: battery timekeeping under a mechanical chronograph module, so the pushers snap back and the chronograph seconds sweeps. The Seiko NH35 automatic runs the diver, 24 jewels and about 41 hours of reserve on the maker's figure. Sizes run 39 mm, 38 mm and 40 mm in the table; the 1964 is also sold at 36 mm and the 1970 at 44 mm, and those variants share the line.
The cheapest Dan Henry and the one with the most dials, 5 including a panda and a reverse panda, with a date optional, at $290. The crystal is K1 mineral, double-domed with AR, the only one of the 3 without even a sapphire coating. Vaer's RS1 at $279 runs the same Seiko VK63 with a sapphire crystal and 100 m, at 48 mm lug to lug against the Dan Henry's 45.9 and 1.7 mm thinner. The 1962 is the shorter watch by 2.1 mm and has the domed glass; the Vaer has the harder crystal for $11 less.
The smaller chronograph, and the one for a wrist under 6.75 inches, at $310 in 38 mm or 36 mm. Against the 1962 the $20 buys 1.2 mm off the lug to lug, at 44.7 mm, 0.6 mm off the thickness and the sapphire coating, and costs a millimetre of dial and the panda options. The run is 1,964 pieces per colour. The 19 mm lug is the awkward figure; straps in that width are scarcer than 20 mm. Brew's Retrograph at $375 is the next meca-quartz up, with sapphire.
The automatic, and the only Dan Henry rated for the water, at $320 with 200 m, a Seiko NH35 and an internal rotating 60-minute ring in the super-compressor manner, in 40 mm or 44 mm, 1,970 pieces per colour. The 14.8 mm thickness is the figure to weigh. The Zelos Swordfish 40 at $399 is a 200 m NH35 diver 12 mm thick with a sapphire crystal, and the San Martin 6200 at $275 is 38 mm and 13 mm. The 1970 gives the internal bezel and a case 0.3 mm shorter than the Zelos; the others give thinner, and harder glass.
Dan Henry is for the buyer who wants a 1960s chronograph shape or a super-compressor diver at $290 to $320 and will accept mineral glass, coated or not, to get it. The chronographs at 44.7 mm and 45.9 mm lug-to-lug fit a 6.5-inch wrist; the 1970 at 45.7 mm fits the same wrist in length and needs the height for its 14.8 mm. Look elsewhere if sapphire is a condition, since the Vaer RS1 at $279 and the Zelos Swordfish at $399 both have it; if you want a mechanical chronograph, since both Dan Henrys are meca-quartz and the Lorier Gemini at $499 is a hand-wound Seagull ST19; or if you want a thin diver, since 14.8 mm is 2.8 mm over the Swordfish.
Where it sits against the field
Under $300 the 1962 is a straight fight with the Vaer RS1 at $279: same Seiko VK63, the Vaer with sapphire and 100 m, the Dan Henry with a domed K1 crystal, 5 dials and 2.1 mm less length. Among the chronographs here the 1964 at $310 has no rival at 38 mm below Brew's 36 mm Metric at $475, which is the nearer size and $165 more. The 1970 at $320 sits in the thick of the sub-$400 NH35 divers: San Martin 6200 at $275, Spinnaker Croft at $280, Islander 38 mm at $329, Zelos Swordfish at $399, all with a sapphire crystal, and the Dan Henry is the only one with an internal bezel and the only one without sapphire.
Questions people ask
Are Dan Henry watches Swiss made?
Not on the published sheet. All 3 current models run Seiko (Japan) movements: the VK63 meca-quartz chronograph in the 1962 and 1964, the NH35 automatic in the 1970. No assembly site was found for the brand, so where the cases are put together is not stated here. The lume is LumiNova and the cases are 316L steel.
Do Dan Henry watches have sapphire crystals?
No. The 1962 Racing Chronograph has a K1 mineral crystal, double-domed with anti-reflective coating. The 1964 Gran Turismo and the 1970 Automatic Diver have sapphire-coated double-domed mineral crystals with AR. A coating hardens the surface; the glass beneath is mineral. At $290 to $320 the Vaer RS1, San Martin 6200 and Zelos Swordfish use sapphire.
Dan Henry 1962 vs 1964: what is the difference?
Size, crystal and $20. The 1962 is 39 mm, 45.9 mm lug-to-lug, 13.5 mm thick, K1 mineral crystal, 20 mm lug, 5 dials, at $290. The 1964 is 38 mm (or 36 mm), 44.7 mm lug-to-lug, 12.9 mm thick, sapphire-coated mineral, 19 mm lug, 1,964 pieces per colour, at $310. Both run the Seiko VK63 and are rated 50 m.
