Bernhardt Watch Company has announced the Cipher Diver, a new limited edition release created to coincide with the United States entering its 250th year of independence. Founded in North Carolina, Bernhardt Watch Company has built a long-standing reputation within the enthusiast community for producing mechanically straightforward, affordably priced watches with a focus on usability and accessibility.
Over the years, the brand has remained closely tied to collectors by emphasizing limited production, transparent specifications, and accessible pricing rather than trend-driven design. To me, the Cipher Diver represents one of the brand’s most conceptually ambitious projects to date.
Developed in partnership with Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the watch takes inspiration from Thomas Jefferson’s work as an inventor. Rather than focusing on traditional historical references, the design adapts the idea of a rotating cipher into a functional mechanical wristwatch, using time itself as the reference point for encoding and decoding messages.
The cipher mechanism is integrated beneath the sapphire bezel. Alphabetic characters are printed in UV-reactive ink and remain invisible during normal wear. When illuminated with ultraviolet light, the characters are revealed and can be used alongside the watch’s fixed time references and traditional dive bezel to encode and decode messages.
The Cipher Diver was designed specifically for this anniversary year. The watch features a color palette drawn from the American flag, a 300 meter dive-rated case, and a patent-pending approach to mechanical decoding developed for wristwatch use. According to Bernhardt, the project has been in development for several years.
Each watch is delivered with a UV decoding torch and an initial cipher card. Additional encrypted messages will be released weekly online through July 4, 2026, allowing owners to engage with the watch throughout the full duration of the 250th anniversary year.
The Cipher Diver will be released on Thursday, January 8, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET and will ship immediately upon purchase.
The watch features a 41mm stainless steel case with a 48mm lug to lug measurement and an 11mm thickness including the crystal, paired with a 20mm lug width. Power comes from the Miyota 9039 automatic movement, under an engraved caseback referencing Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The dial uses BGW9 Super-Luminova and diamond-cut hands. Water resistance is rated to 300 meters. The bezel is a 120-click sapphire dive bezel incorporating the UV-reactive cipher, and the bracelet includes an on-the-go micro-adjustment clasp.
The Cipher Diver is limited to 100 pieces, priced at $795, and includes a two-year warranty. Each watch is assembled, tested, and hand-regulated in the United States.
Co-Founder & Senior Editor
Michael Peñate is an American writer, photographer, and podcaster based in Seattle, Washington. His work typically focuses on the passage of time and the tools we use to connect with that very journey. From aviation to music and travel, his interests span a multitude of disciplines that often intersect with the world of watches – and the obsessive culture behind collecting them.
I really wish companies would make tool watches that fit men taller than 5’9. Not talking about the big comedy watches but 47mm fits me best.