Dive watch depth ratings, can you trust them ?

A place to discuss other watch-brands
TG3N
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 500
Joined: Thu May 23, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: Dive watch depth ratings, can you trust them ?

Post by TG3N »

The sports car analogy is a good one - on the face of it, there's little chance of most buyers experiencing the top-end speed, but as already pointed out, the other performance improvements in place either as a corollary, or made necessary to cope with that same top speed capability, can still be enjoyed during mundane day-to-day driving e.g. rapid acceleration, improved braking, sharp handling, a balanced chassis/agility, road grip etc.

The same could apply to a dive watch - a thicker (or even domed) crystal will take more knocks, a bigger case will be more robust in the face of all kinds of abuse, beefier/more seals will keep desk dust at bay, and proper crown guards will do their thing on land as much as at 300m underwater. Of course, there's other factors unrelated to depth rating which prove useful in daily life - legibility, lume, adjustable bracelets, timing bezel etc.

This nearly 50-years old Rolex advert is interesting in terms of probable overperformance (though it would have been interesting to know at what point the case/crystal deformation would have started to affect timekeeping):

Image
suicidal_orange
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1406
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:20 pm
CW-watches: 6
Location: Somerset

Re: Dive watch depth ratings, can you trust them ?

Post by suicidal_orange »

^ :lol: What's the advantage of owning a crushed case and movement rather than a crushed case and movement that happens to be wet? Either way the movement is surely headed for the bin, and unless they offer a decrushing service so is the case...
User avatar
sinner777
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1796
Joined: Fri May 20, 2016 10:43 am
CW-watches: 1
Location: Zagreb. Croatia

Re: Dive watch depth ratings, can you trust them ?

Post by sinner777 »

WR rating has become a overhyped fora.

I have had Bagelsport tested for 10 bars,without problems, although it clearly states that the watch is 3 bars WR and not suitable for swimming. Also I have swam with F91W, dipped it numerous times in water, oil...once I have poured boiling water by accident over the little thing. Nothing happened,only strap became more pliable.
TG3N
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 500
Joined: Thu May 23, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: Dive watch depth ratings, can you trust them ?

Post by TG3N »

suicidal_orange wrote:^ :lol: What's the advantage of owning a crushed case and movement rather than a crushed case and movement that happens to be wet? Either way the movement is surely headed for the bin, and unless they offer a decrushing service so is the case...
Nah, you're missing the point - obviously a crushed case is of use to neither man nor beast, but the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was only introduced 19 years earlier with 90m-ish water resistance, the Rolex Submariner didn't rate to 200m until almost 1960, and I think 300m on Subs didn't became the norm until the 80's.

So, the point is that for a plain-Jane, regular Oyster case (not a Submariner or reinforced dive case...) to be able to get to in excess of 500m in 1972 with no ill-effects whatsoever is illustrative of the topic of this thread - namely that a good watch can be trusted to perform not only at the depths stated, but a bit beyond that in all likelihood, and certainly way more than what many users will ever require.
User avatar
gaf1958
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 12431
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:24 am
CW-watches: 24
Location: ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ʇsɐoƆ ǝuᴉɥsunS

Dive watch depth ratings, can you trust them ?

Post by gaf1958 »

I spent the first 20 years of my adult life with mostly Seiko watches, all of them rated at 100m WR or less. I swam in them, snorkelsped with them, dived into pools with them on, frequently showered in them (something I no longer do). None of these activities resulted in any ingress of water to any of those watches. Bless my ignorance :lol:

Practical experience and perhaps some degree of luck, would indicate that 100m WR is all we need for most water activities not requiring air tanks. 200-300m is probably overkill for most recreational divers.

Would I buy the C60 600 if it was rated to only 300m? You bet I would. 200m would probably be fine too; it would make it slimmer and lighter - both of which would suit me nicely. Think Oris Sixty-five weight. Oh hang on, I bought one of them for just those reasons....
CW C1+2xC3+6xC6/60K+C7+C11+3xC60T+2xC65+C90+2xC600
Omega Ω 11xSpeedy+14xSeamaster+4xConnie+DeVille
Cartier+2xPanerai+2xFarer+2xOris+Sinn+11xSeiko+ManyVintage
B&R+Halios+5xVisitor+TagH+6xTissot+2xZelos+4xCertina+more
Family12xCW+2xΩ+Cartier
User avatar
Dancematt
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 7817
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 11:15 am
Location: Top secret hollow Volcano. Kent UK

Re: Dive watch depth ratings, can you trust them ?

Post by Dancematt »

I miss all the great things that may never be.
fishman
Forumgod
Forumgod
Posts: 936
Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2016 5:58 pm

Re: Dive watch depth ratings, can you trust them ?

Post by fishman »

My comfort level of swimming with the Trident C65 Vintage is growing by the day thanks to this tread!
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post