Is a watch really "waterproof"?

[robain]

Interesting feature on "waterproof" watches
Source : www.clockmaker.com.au

quote:
Before we go any further, let me get straight to the point: there is no such thing as a WATERPROOF watch!

OK, I know you have one and it is engraved on the back "Water resistant to infinity and beyond". Maybe it is a 10 year old gold Rolex Submariner that cost $20K, one you wear around your yacht and use occasionally as a scuba diving watch.

Fine, I can't wait to see it in my workshop!

The truth of water resistance is the best keep secret of the watch industry. It is the Holly Grail of watchmaking, a myth perpetuated by the Holly Trinity consisting of 1. greedy watch manufacturers 2. unscrupulous sales people 3. ignorant watch owners.

Sure enough, SOME watches are capable of surviving when submerged under water but this rarely has anything to do with a/ how much you’ve paid for it or b/ the declared rating engraved on the case or printed on the watch dial. It's all about engineering, manufacturing and maintenance and nothing about money, marketing and sales pitch.

Let me give you an example. I drive the smallest Holden car on the market, a four door, 1.4 litre Barina. It is a great little car to take you from A to B, unless you take Holden's speedo readings for granted. Some innocent and naive passenger can actually BELIVE that the car is capable of doing 200 KM per hour. My five year old boy for one. But as a driver you KNOW this car can only reach the maximum speed of 140 KM/h downhill or safe 100 Km/h on the motorway. Or 70Km/h if you want it to last for 10 years.

It is the same with watches. Unless each an every single contact surface between case parts is sealed properly, you can forget what's written on the dial. Secondly, even if your watch is water resistant, it's only capable of resisting to a certain degree and under certain conditions (e.g. depth, static pressure, temperature). Thirdly, your watch may be water resistant today and not tomorrow - regular maintenance of water related properties is essential.

Without going into too much detail and being too technical, let me just say this- there are at least 3 important contact areas in your watch that could 'leak' - glass to case, case-back to case and winding crown to case. Most common materials used as sealant are rubber and teflon. Under normal circumstances the life time of a crown rubber seal is 3-5 years. And water couldn’t care less how well sealed your glass is - if your crown or case seal is no longer doing it's job, the water will follow the path of least resistance.

Another myth is "rust-free-stainless-steel". Next time you go to a marina take a closer look at those fancy ( and expensive) stainless fittings. Acid, sweat, salt water, moisture, sand and dirt will eat into finely machined steel. The same problems apply to your watch case. Even if you replace all seals religiously every 3-5 years, it is very likely that after 20 years of constant use the watch is simply no longer capable of being sealed properly - regardless who does the job: your 'mall watch kiosk guy' or Swiss service centre using a SFR100000 water pressure tester.

If you really need to tell the time under water, the bare minimum is a watch with screw-lock winding crown and screw lock case back. Snap-on case back will not do the trick.

Most TAG watches are fine for swimming if rated "200m" as long as they have screw lock crown and case back. New Rolex Datejust and GMT Master are fine for accidental submerging, but I would not swim with one unless I'm running for my life. Rolex Submariner is the way to go - robust and truly waterproof watch. Or better still if you need a tool watch go for a Rolex Seadweller.

Panerai, Jaeger Le-Coultre, IWC and other high grade watches are too precious to be worn in water under any circumstances. Most Omegas, Longines and Breitlings are to fragile even for normal, every-day use.

Of course in order to preserve water related properties all above mentioned watches would need water pressure testing every 12 months and complete case overhaul every 2-3 years. After 15 or 20 years of use they should go into well deserved retirement and should no longer be taken into water.

The following are watches that can never be worn under water, regardless of manufacturers "approval"

gold or two-tone watches
chronograph and other complicated watches
multi-pusher digital watches
any vintage watches or watches over 15-20 years old
any timepiece attached to a leather strap
Finally - do not wear your watch in shower. Watches are designed for cold water only. After swimming rinse your divers watch under tap. Have the case and bracelet cleaned every 12 months. Do not expose to direct sunlight or heath. Use common sense and submerge only if you really have to. Do not be fooled by brad / model names like “promaster, diver, seamaster, shower-proof” - very often this is just another advertising gimmick.

Quite frankly, I would rather wear $50 Casio in the surf than a $5K Seadweller – If I had time to surf !

[subtona]

I recall the 70s when many things were called waterproof... the standards were then changed and that language was no longer acceptable.

[kieselguhr]

50 year old DateJust 1601 at 18m, Dhigurah, Maldives


Has gone on 50+ dives over the span of 6 years and still goes underwater with me if it happens to be the watch I am wearing that day.

Milgauss at 30m, San Francisco Wall, Cozumel, México

[abozz]

Nice!

My SD only touch water to be clean. Cold water and in the shower but I use cold water for me either.

Enviado desde mi SM-G975F mediante Tapatalk

[justdate]

Interested what difference being two tone or gold makes to the waterproofing? Rolex rates the TT SD43 the same as the SS SD43.

[schoolboy]

Originally Posted by kieselguhr

50 year old DateJust 1601 at 18m, Dhigurah, Maldives


Has gone on 50+ dives over the span of 6 years and still goes underwater with me if it happens to be the watch I am wearing that day.

Milgauss at 30m, San Francisco Wall, Cozumel, México

Thank you!


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[schoolboy]

Thanks for the info OP but I trust my Datejust

I’m gonna wear it daily and with whatever I do.

Except welding.

I paid too much for it to hit wear it.

If it should fail I’ll fix it.

If it should fail frequently because Rolex lied to me about the water resistance altogether, I will sell it and try another brand.

Like a Doxa orange sub.

Those look cool

Haha

[jamerson80]

Panerai too fragile to go underwater, eh? Pics from a trip to the Maldives... My Omega Big Blue says hello as well (couldn't find a dive pic).

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[904VT]

Originally Posted by kieselguhr

50 year old DateJust 1601 at 18m, Dhigurah, Maldives


Has gone on 50+ dives over the span of 6 years and still goes underwater with me if it happens to be the watch I am wearing that day.

Milgauss at 30m, San Francisco Wall, Cozumel, México

First time, I've seen a Milgauss on a dive in an ocean. Great pic

[alpharulez]

Originally Posted by kieselguhr

50 year old DateJust 1601 at 18m, Dhigurah, Maldives


Has gone on 50+ dives over the span of 6 years and still goes underwater with me if it happens to be the watch I am wearing that day.

Milgauss at 30m, San Francisco Wall, Cozumel, México

Awesome


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[Burlington]

Don’t know about that. Wear my AP in the water frequently without issues. It’s what it’s designed for.

[jerryguo]

as long as i can wash them, it’s good enough for me :D


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[Bigblu10]

That whole article is a bunch of crap. Everyone has an opinion on everything. Doesn't make it fact.

[SodiumMonkey]

Originally Posted by schoolboy

If it should fail I’ll fix it.

If it should fail frequently because Rolex lied to me about the water resistance altogether, I will sell it and try another brand.

This absolutely.

I can promise you that I would not knowingly spend $5k-$15k on a sports watch claiming 100m or more of water resistance if I couldn't even wear it in the shower or pool. Ridiculous imo.

I do get my watches pressure tested before taking them on any water-related vacations. But I've never had one not pass the test. And that doesn't just go for Rolex. That includes pieces from IWC, Longines, Christopher Ward, Oris, Breitling, Seiko, and a number of others. If I truly believed that I couldn't take an IWC Aquatimer, Rolex Submariner, Longines Legend Diver, or Oris Aquis down to 300m then you better believe I wouldn't have bought them. Same goes for an Explorer, Datejust, or Yacht-Master down to 100m. Same for a Seiko monster or Breitling Superocean Heritage to 200m. Same for a Christopher Ward C60 Pro to 600m. And I don't even dive. Deepest I've ever been is around 40 feet snorkeling. It's the principal imo.

[JamieDm4]

That guy is full of it. To say a new Rolex Oyster case can't even handle casual swimming is laughable. I've done everything he says not to do for 30 years with all kinds of different watches and never had a problem. Maybe he's been working on fakes and doesn't realize it...

[ROLEX MAN]

Mine are are all "Waterproof" I swim with them all.

Never had a drop come out of them!

[Jdepo]

Originally Posted by jamerson80

Panerai too fragile to go underwater, eh? Pics from a trip to the Maldives... My Omega Big Blue says hello as well (couldn't find a dive pic).

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I have a 1312, awesome watch. Haven’t worn it since I acquired a Milguass and a hulk


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[horseShu]

My understanding is: know the risk, and live with it.
Going swimming (pool or beach) is a risk (small or big depending on your health and ability).
Going scuba diving is a risk.

Same as bringing your watch underwater.
By all means, bring your 'tool' watch wherever you like.
Know that there are risks, and own it.
Know that by some freak bad luck or bad timing, your watch may get busted. And that you'll need to take for service. And you'll probably pay a considerable amount.

[csaltphoto]

I wouldn't know where to start with picking apart that article... It's like it wasn't even written by a human but by some algorithm that collected a bunch of disparate information and cobbled it together. A few things are accurate and a bunch are WTF.

[Onikage]

A decent watch is out of the author's budget range methinks.

[enjoythemusic]

Without directly address some UNFOUNDED fears OP, my wife's circa 1990 Franken DJ36 Rolex gets beaten to living hell by her. We live in Florida so ocean, sand, pools, hot tub, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc are the norm. Did i mention she beats the living sh*t out of her 1990s DJ36?

Simply keep your Rolex timepiece properly serviced about every 7 years as seals do wear out (as does movement lubes) and you should be fine. It's a Rolex ferchrissakes, wear it and enjoy your time.

[schoolboy]

Originally Posted by SodiumMonkey

This absolutely.

I can promise you that I would not knowingly spend $5k-$15k on a sports watch claiming 100m or more of water resistance if I couldn't even wear it in the shower or pool. Ridiculous imo.

I do get my watches pressure tested before taking them on any water-related vacations. But I've never had one not pass the test. And that doesn't just go for Rolex. That includes pieces from IWC, Longines, Christopher Ward, Oris, Breitling, Seiko, and a number of others. If I truly believed that I couldn't take an IWC Aquatimer, Rolex Submariner, Longines Legend Diver, or Oris Aquis down to 300m then you better believe I wouldn't have bought them. Same goes for an Explorer, Datejust, or Yacht-Master down to 100m. Same for a Seiko monster or Breitling Superocean Heritage to 200m. Same for a Christopher Ward C60 Pro to 600m. And I don't even dive. Deepest I've ever been is around 40 feet snorkeling. It's the principal imo.

Agree 100%


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[schoolboy]

Originally Posted by JamieDm4

That guy is full of it. To say a new Rolex Oyster case can't even handle casual swimming is laughable. I've done everything he says not to do for 30 years with all kinds of different watches and never had a problem. Maybe he's been working on fakes and doesn't realize it...

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[htc8p]

As a general rule, watches and water are not compatible but I went for deep dive and got my advanced open water with my omega po


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[campfire]

Yeah, I don't know.

Over a thousand dives with my watches. Never a problem.

[pickettt]

My one takeaway from that: Where can I find the $5k Seadwellers?

[Binky1]

All my watches bar JLC Reverso get a soaking. Snorkelling, shallow dives, deep dives, swimming pool etc.Never ever had a problem with Rolex and newish Tudor for over 30 years. Still to see rust on any of them. Past experience dictates my opinion.

[Xyza0722]

My 16600,16710 and G Shock have all been to 32M countless times......
So meets my requirements of waterproofness

[vintagewatch]

Rolex has used different terminology to describe a watches ability to keep water away from it's interior over the years.
In the mid 1920s Rolex advertised the Oyster as Moisture Proof, Water Proof, Heat Proof, Vibration Proof, Cold Proof, and Dust Proof with no quantitative specifications.
In the late 1920s Rolex advertised the Oyster as "Waterproof- Dustproof" without any depth rating mentioned. During World War 2 Rolex advertising refers to their watches being "Tested in war time by the men of the Allied Forces on every front..." mentioning the same ….. proofs mentioned above.
I believe 1954 was the first time Rolex started depth ratings with the introduction of the Rolex 6204 Submariner. The 1954 Rolex Submariner "A watch that is waterproof down to 660 feet".
In the 1960s thru early 1980s waterproof was changed to "pressure proof". Finally in the late 1980s till the present Rolex went back to waterproof to XXXX meters/feet

Oh yah, I take my 40 year old gold Rolex into the ocean, when I have the opportunity. .

[Jamie1111]

What a terrible post.....