Topic
Water resistance
The most misread specification on any watch. A depth marking describes a static pressure test in a laboratory on a new watch, not a license to take it that deep. These pages explain what the standards require, what each rating actually allows, and what a divers' marking adds.
31 pages on this subject.
Answers
- Can I shower with my watch?
- Can I swim with a 50m water resistant watch?
- Can I wear a mechanical watch every day?
- Can I wear my watch in the ocean?
- How do I clean my watch?
- How often should a watch be pressure tested?
- Is 100m water resistance enough for swimming?
- What is the best dive watch under $1,000?
- Why is there fog under my watch crystal?
Guides
Dive watches and what ISO 6425 actually requires
ISO 6425 sets what a divers' watch must do: 100 m minimum, a protected timing bezel, legibility in darkness and testing of every single watch, not a sample.
Water resistance ratings, decoded
A 30 meter rating is not a depth limit. It is a static laboratory pressure test on a new watch. Here is what each rating allows and what really kills a seal.
Brands
Certina
What Certina's Double Security case engineering actually consists of, why it shares the Powermatic 80 with Tissot, and when it is the better of the two.
Models
Casio G-Shock DW-5600
How the square G-Shock actually resists shock, what 200 meters means on a resin case, why Casio swaps modules instead of repairing them, and what it costs.
Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro 300
A 300 m Swiss diver sold direct: four case sizes, a Sellita SW200-1, ceramic and sapphire. What direct pricing removes, and what it costs when you sell.
Citizen Promaster Diver (BN0150 and BN0151)
The 44 mm light-powered Promaster Diver: what Eco-Drive really is, what the DIVER'S 200 m marking promises, how it wears, and how long the cell lasts.
Omega Seamaster Diver 300M
The current 42 mm Seamaster Diver 300M: published dimensions, caliber 8800, the ceramic dial and bezel, and an honest account of the helium escape valve.
Oris Aquis Date: the 41.5 mm and the 43.5 mm
The Aquis Date is rated to 300 m but Oris does not claim ISO 6425. What the Sellita-based 733 gives up to the Calibre 400, and how a 43.5 mm diver wears.
Rolex Submariner, 41 mm: 126610LN and 124060
The 41 mm Rolex Submariner in detail: published specifications, how it wears, caliber 3235, servicing costs, and what the secondhand premium actually buys.
Seiko 5 Sports: the SRPD generation, measured
The current Seiko 5 Sports is rated 100 m and is not a divers' watch. What the SRPD generation measures, how it wears, the 4R36 inside, and its real faults.
Seiko Prospex Turtle: the SRP777 and its successors
Seiko's cushion-cased 200 m diver, from the SRP777 reissue to the current Prospex Turtle. Dimensions, the 4R36, how it wears, and what the King Turtle adds.
Compare
Dive vs field vs dress watch
Three watch types built around three constraints. What each is engineered for, how each one wears, and which belongs in a small collection.
Rolex Submariner vs Tudor Black Bay 58
Two steel divers, 2 mm apart on paper and roughly three times apart in real acquisition cost. Size, movement, clasp, availability and resale, weighed up.
Problems
The bezel is loose, or it will not turn
A bezel that spins freely has usually lost its click spring. One that will not move is packed with grit or salt. How to tell, what to rinse, what it costs.
The crown will not screw back down
A crown that will not thread back down is almost always cross-threaded or caught on the stem position. What to do, what never to force, and when to stop.
Tools
Water resistance checker
Check what your watch's water resistance rating actually allows: showering, swimming, the ocean or scuba, adjusted for crown type and seal age.