Deepsea vs Sub - water resistance question

[pde]

The Deepsea is rated to 3,900 meters, the Submariner is 300 meters and the GMT is 100 meters, and all have triplock.

Assuming you're never going more than 50 meters underwater, is there any real-world benefit to having a higher water resistance rating?

Let's say you bought these watches new and then after many years you never serviced them or checked the seals. Would the Deepsea be likely to have higher "residual" water resistance than a Sub or GMT?

Thanks.

[watchmaker]

No benefit at all beyond bragging rights.

In fact, the Sea Dweller and the Deepsea both have more points of failure and entry in the form of the helium escape valve and it’s accompanying seals. So if there was such a thing as residual water resistance I’d put my money on the sub/gmt.

[Spoonage]

A large part of the depth rating for the Deep Sea is the crystal and case thickness as well as the caseback depth. The deeper you go the more pressure there is on those components. However if a seal fails doesn't matter what watch it is on it will lose water resistance. The seals are the components that tend to go bad and are replaced during every service.

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[pde]

Originally Posted by Spoonage

A large part of the depth rating for the Deep Sea is the crystal and case thickness as well as the caseback depth. The deeper you go the more pressure there is on those components. However if a seal fails doesn't matter what watch it is on it will lose water resistance. The seals are the components that tend to go bad and are replaced during every service.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Thanks. So all the modern triplock models use the same seals, right? e.g., it's not like the Deepsea (or Sub) have thicker or longer lasting seals than the 100m models such as GMT, right?

[Tools]

Originally Posted by pde

Thanks. So all the modern triplock models use the same seals, right? e.g., it's not like the Deepsea (or Sub) have thicker or longer lasting seals than the 100m models such as GMT, right?

The Trip-lock is also used on the Daytona.

The Triplock is not what makes the depth rating. Too many folks dwell on the crown, which is practically bullet proof, but forget about the rest of the watch.

The case back of the Sub is thicker to resist bending into the movement under pressure, the Dweller, even more so, plus the Dweller has more protection for pressure against the crystal.

Even an Oyster Perpetual/Air King can go to the same depths as the Sub or Dweller as far as rubber seals are concerned - but it would be smashed and bent as if it was in a trash compacter. It would be the structural damage that would allow water in past the seals, not failure of the seal itself.

As to your question about "residual water resistance", there is no such thing. If the seal is compromised the watch will leak - regardless of how it happened or what watch it is on.

[drrd]

Originally Posted by pde

The Deepsea is rated to 3,900 meters, the Submariner is 300 meters and the GMT is 100 meters, and all have triplock.

Assuming you're never going more than 50 meters underwater, is there any real-world benefit to having a higher water resistance rating?

Let's say you bought these watches new and then after many years you never serviced them or checked the seals. Would the Deepsea be likely to have higher "residual" water resistance than a Sub or GMT?

Thanks.

Nobody above has mentioned the way Deepsea seals.

Other Rolex watches have threaded case backs that tighten down onto a seal.

With the Deapsea not only are the mid-case, case back and crystal much thicker but the case back and crystal are more like pucks, each with a separate peripheral threaded ring that squeezes the back, mid-case and crystal together. The reason for this arrangement is that higher pressures squeeze everything together harder, enhancing the seals. The standard one-piece threaded case back doesnt budge as pressure increases.

Practically no real-world benefit but DS is cool. Not just because of the looks but because the tech backs it up and some. Has the trousers to match the mouth so to speak.

[pbubsy]

The tech behind the Deep Sea is cool as is the look, dimensions and heft of it. Functionally, for 99% of us, there won't be a difference regarding the water resistance.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

No benefit at all beyond bragging rights.

In fact, the Sea Dweller and the Deepsea both have more points of failure and entry in the form of the helium escape valve and it’s accompanying seals. So if there was such a thing as residual water resistance I’d put my money on the sub/gmt.

Exactly that but many today wear mine is bigger can go deeper than yours watches today.If I remember the deepest recorded dive just on scuba gear was in the Red Sea quite a few years back now ,by a guy called Nuno Gomes total depth was just over 318m perhaps now broken.Now it only took him about 20/50 minutes to reach that depth,but because of breathing different gasses at that depth and pressure.It then took him little over 12 hours with all the safety stops to finally return to the surface safe, and without any form of decompression treatment.Now at these extreme depths,there are several diving related problems to overcome nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness, oxygen toxicity,sheer dehydration and the different effects of the gases when changing over tanks containing the different gas mixtures.Now while breathing the high helium mix past around 60M the gas wants to leave the blood while the nitrogen wants to rush in.

Now this dive would have not been possible without a huge back up and very careful planning. Gomes is in a very small group of guys that have gone over 250m with just scuba gear.Plain fact there have been more guys to go to the moon,that have got past 250m underwater just on scuba. But most recreational divers today stick to around 30m- 40m max depth on just air.Some more technical recreational divers would go to perhaps 120m but for this type of diving you must be very experienced with plenty of planning and backup.So today the dive ratings on watches are a bit of a joke as they will never be used by man or superman in normal diving in water, perhaps they make them today because they can and little more.