Anyone who has ever purchased a watch has probably seen watches with the water resistant mark stamped on the back of the watch. The mark is to indicate how deep you can take that watch in water and to a degree how long. Every watch with a water resistant mark has been through the leakage test. It is a test of pressure where the bars equal to depth in meters are read. Even if a watch has the mark of water resistance it doesn’t mean it was meant for prolonged use underwater. Let’s explain this a bit further before discussing what you need to look for when buying a watch.
Water resistance that is measured for 30 meters means it cannot withstand a great deal of pressure. If you hit the 30 meter mark the watch could break down. If you repeatedly take the watch underwater and up to 20 meters it will eventually stop working. Water resistance is typically meant for someone to know their watch is safe if it is dropped in water, gets a little rain on it, or even an accidental swim in a pool. All told, water resistance is not meant for swimming every day.
Those who scuba dive have a different look on the words water resistant and water proof. Water proof is a term not usually applied to watches, but it is apt when discussing dive watches. Dive watches were designed for repeated use in the water. They have special designs to make sure they are proofed against the water. The first thing is the seal. There is a seal in place such as a small O-ring or gasket. This helps block the water, but doesn’t fully protect it. A sealant or lubricant is added to inside the water around the edge. This sealant hardens and ensures the watch’s inner workings are safe against water. Despite all of the seals in place a diving watch can become susceptible to water.
Dive watches over time will be affected by pressure and temperature. These stressors combined with aging of the seals means the watch has to undergo maintenance to reform a good seal. Dive watches are also classified for deeper depths since divers like to visit 100+ feet. Anyone wishing to swim with a watch would be better off with a dive watch over the typical sports watch because they are designed for immersion in water.
Now that you understand water resistance you can focus on what you should look for when buying a watch. If you have no intention of swimming with a watch or diving you will be fine with your standard water resistance mark. Any watch that has up to 200 meters water resistance is not suitable for diving. For divers you have to look at the Minimum ISO of 6425 for 100 meters depth. Any watch that says splash and rain resistant is not a swimming or snorkeling watch. Those with 100 to 200 meters can be worn for swimming and even surfing, just not diving.
Loading ...