Divers certifications

dipidyy · Post by **dipidyy** » Mon Sep 09, 2024 6:10 am

Costs, it can be surprisingly expensive to get a certificate and sometimes you need to pay annually to keep it (annual audits).

Specially when it seems that rarely Anyone is interested why pay heft sum of money and also tie your hands (design cant be altered) with cert that isnt asked

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

simoncpage · Post by **simoncpage** » Mon Sep 09, 2024 10:19 am

dipidyy wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 6:10 am Costs, it can be surprisingly expensive to get a certificate and sometimes you need to pay annually to keep it (annual audits).

Specially when it seems that rarely Anyone is interested why pay heft sum of money and also tie your hands (design cant be altered) with cert that isnt asked

Yeah I get the costs but what surprises me is that there only seems to be a handful of smaller companies like Elliot Brown (I'm sure others - but not CW) who actually have testing internally. So regardless of ISO cert which isn't really what I am getting at as Elliot Brown aren't ISO certified (that is just a convenient set of test which make sense) but that companies who sell diver/tool watches are actually testing them to some sort of standard be it ISO or their own. To be void of any tests other than pressure seems lack lustre and effectively you are just buying a fashion watch IMO - I think the lack of testing should be more visible to people who care about those things - I think I'm in the minority that I care that the tool watch I wear is going to survive whatever I do to it and it's not just a fashion item.

Love to hear of more companies other than the big boys who would actually have their own internal tests. I'm trying to fine out from Squale what they test as they are bound to be potentially one like Doxa and more than likely surpass ISO but I would like to know.

nbg · Post by **nbg** » Mon Sep 09, 2024 6:11 pm

Looking for guidance.

Am I being reckless swimming in non ISO certified watches that have not been pressure tested for between 5-10 years?

I probably also do tool watch things whilst wearing them. Although no one has given me a specific list of what activity requires a “real tool watch”!

Neil

simoncpage · Post by **simoncpage** » Mon Sep 09, 2024 7:08 pm

nbg wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 6:11 pm Looking for guidance.

Am I being reckless swimming in non ISO certified watches that have not been pressure tested for between 5-10 years?

I probably also do tool watch things whilst wearing them. Although no one has given me a specific list of what activity requires a “real tool watch”!

Neil

Not the person to ask for guidance - but ISO certified watches are only strictly need for diving not swimming - personally I wouldn't swim heavily in a watch that is over 10 years old or take it into the shower (moisture and temp changes) that hasn't been serviced particularly if the watch is of value (even sentimental value). Seals unfortunately fail, I have only had a couple of watches fail for me - both Timex, both 50m, both inexpensive, both replaceable, both on a boat getting splashed heavily and both over 7 years old.

That said if you look the list of ISO requirements I think that for 99.9% of people if their watch managed to tick them off then anyone from a deep-sea diver, ocean sailor, fireman or casual swimmer would not need to worry about their watch in any circumstance.

exHowfener · Post by **exHowfener** » Mon Sep 09, 2024 7:15 pm

Love to hear of more companies other than the big boys who would actually have their own internal tests

Well, Scurfa watches should probably on your radar. From what I've seen Pauls Scurfield tests his watches (though not each one) not in a laboratory but by actually using them in a commercial diving environment. You'll have to be quick if you want one though as they sell out very quickly.

Rezn8r · Post by **Rezn8r** » Mon Sep 09, 2024 8:19 pm

nbg wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 6:11 pm Looking for guidance.

Am I being reckless swimming in non ISO certified watches that have not been pressure tested for between 5-10 years?

I probably also do tool watch things whilst wearing them. Although no one has given me a specific list of what activity requires a “real tool watch”!

Neil

I took a Seiko diver (SKX007) that I hadn’t had serviced for ten years or more snorkelling, so not down beyond about five meters, and it ended up with seawater inside as the seals were shot. My other Seiko diver (SBDA001) is at the shop now getting a new gasket, but it survived its last dives perfectly well. As has my Trident 300 Pro in the water here that never gets above 12degC on the surface and is considerably colder 10m down. It’s got some minor scars from being banged around, though.

The CW website (and Loupe magazine) have several stories about CW watches surviving extremes, including commercial diving depths. That’s as meaningful to me as the Scurfa chap taking his watches down, as he’s not claiming to take every watch down, as Elliot Brown are.

I am tempted by the EB Holton Nivo Quartz, and I’d rather it than a G-Shock or Marathon, but I am just an office worker and a recreational diver who does a bit of camping and hiking, so the CW suits me fine with occasional strap changes. I don’t need to cosplay as a commando or convince myself that I may need to plunge my watch from a furnace into an ice bath!

I do very much respect that if someone’s intended use includes wildfire fighting or breaching buildings or any of a hundred other pursuits and occupations, a shock-protected quartz is likely an objectively better choice (and ‘objectively better’ seems the point a conversation about ISO standards), even than an ISO-certified automatic. Non-quartz and non-certified both seem points on a spectrum of esoteric, idiosyncratic choices, like diving with a Trident in the age of dive computers.

exHowfener · Post by **exHowfener** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 7:39 pm

The CW website (and Loupe magazine) have several stories about CW watches surviving extremes,

I put my Trident Mk2 in the washing machine once (40 degrees/1000 spin cycle). Not sure if that counts, but I'm glad I wasn't wearing it at the time.

Rezn8r · Post by **Rezn8r** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 8:56 pm

exHowfener wrote: ↑Tue Sep 10, 2024 7:39 pm
The CW website (and Loupe magazine) have several stories about CW watches surviving extremes,
I put my Trident Mk2 in the washing machine once (40 degrees/1000 spin cycle). Not sure if that counts, but I'm glad I wasn't wearing it at the time.

Ah, but does it still run within spec?

Post by **Bahnstormer_vRS** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 9:02 pm

^^^^ Well?

It certainly cleaned all the crud out from between the links on the bracelet.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk

Christopher Ward Forum

Christopher Ward Forum

Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Re: Divers certifications

Independently Operated Forum for CW Enthusiasts