Can You Keep Your Watch Safe Underwater?

Companies which produce wristwatches rate their product for it's ability to stay dry underwater. What does that rating really mean? Watches have carried different monikers indicating how they will do in water. These phrases never had any science behind them aren't used anymore. Now a number reflecting depth of use has been adopted.

As some moisture might get through it can incite many issues with the works on the inside, making it impossible to give accurate time. To prevent that from happening manufacturers design cases to resist that pressure and keep water out. Important in that intent is modern engineering and machinery.

No gaps, no place for water to come in. But even the most precise tooling in use ca n't provide a close enough fit to keep water under pressure from squeezing through a tiny gap.

A company could decide to make a watch of this kind, they could never sell them for a price buyers would pay. Watch makers, like Rolex, choose to seal the watch case by other means.

It is then possible to state how deep you can go with a particular watch. Common ratings, for example are 30M, 50M, 100M or higher.

They are rated on conditions not apparent in a real underwater situation. The measurements are made under very carefully controlled lab conditions, using static pressure.

Your watch if submerged in water is likely to be involved in action. Making the rating on the watch less than stated.

So, even though a watch may be rated safe to wear up to 100M of depth in the water, in fact, you wouldn't want to do more than go snorkeling near the surface with one. Pressure higher than that can cause leakage.

Of course companies are aware and don't want trouble, they have added statements to limit their liability. In the manual the rating might be explained further in a way that says not to use it as deep as it says. Wear the high end watch you bought in the bathtub but not diving.

For people who dive and want a watch for that purpose you have many options.

Submariner By Rolex

Rolex, a Swiss watch company, makes the Submariner model as one of their Oyster Perpetual watches designed for diving and known for their resistance to water. Built from the drawing board as a water proof watch, The Submariner was first to market and certified in pressurized tanks The watch is one model from The Oyster Perpetual type

The Rolex Submariner has seen many types of hardship accompanying explorers on their journeys. In one expedition The Submariner held up to over one thousand dives. The eminent scientist, Thor Heyerdal wore a Rolex Submariner in his 1970 Ra II sea expedition. It was the watch Sean Connery wore as James Bond.

The original Submariner was certified for depths of 330 feet however over the next ten years the watch was redesigned, improved and had better works. For The Submariner's 50th birthday a new model was created. It has a green bezel and large dial. The Submariner is waterproof to a maximum depth of 300 metres/1000 ft. Three dots on the crown signifies that the watch has a three gasket protection system it will then be able to tighten against the case tube as well as the Oyster case for a better seal. The case itself is made of 904L stainless, platinum or gold. This is a very anti-corrosive stainless alloy. Rolex makes its gold in its own foundry where it can create new alloys and control the quality of the gold. The Submariner utilizes a unidirectional bezel that enables the diver to calculate immersion time. The bezel is one directional to make sure you can never increase your underwater time by accident. The Perpetual rotor is the self-winding wrist watch mechanism which allows the watch to run continuously because every slight movement of the wrist winds the movement and the rotor builds up tension in a mainspring in the watch that can then help the watch to keep running at times when it is not being used, Every watch has a movement that has been certified by the COSc as a Swiss chronometer. Each night the calendar moves itself to the next day in one rotation. In 1971 Rolex made a stronger Submariner with a thicker case and crystal, they call it The Sea Dweller. To this watch Rolex built in a helium escape valve for use in saturation diving. These watche are rated for dives as deep as 4000 feet.

Rolex Updates A Classic: Yacht - Master II

Rolex just announced a new watch for yachtsmen: the Rolex Yacht-Master II. When Rolex updates an existing watch model, you will always see impressive new features. Rolex made significant improvements to the GMT Master movement between the original GMT Master, and the GMT Master II, the newer allowing the hour hand and the 24-hour hand to be set independently. Likewise, the Explorer II changed dramatically from the original Explorer, adopting the same movement as the GMT Master II which added a 24-hour hand and date. And now the Yacht-Master II represents another extremely important step in Rolex history.

In my opinion, the original Yacht-Master doesn't really do much more for yachtsmen than a dive watch can do. The bi-directional rotating bezel can be used to track the start sequence of a boat race, and the Triplock crown keeps the case impervious to sea spray, but that's about it. Nothing else except the name, and possibly the watch's exorbitant price, really has much to do with yacht racing.

Not so, with the Yacht-Master II. This watch has an very complex and innovative movement with a countdown timer which can be programmed to start between one and ten minutes in order to accommodate regattas with varying start sequences. I use the term "program" rather than simply "set" because the value is actually remembered, and when the countdown timer is reset, the countdown hand will return to the last programmed value. For a mechanical watch, this is an extremely impressive feat. There is a trade off: the date which was present in the initial Yacht-Master had to go to make room on the dial, and no doubt to allow for the additional complication of the movement.

The other trade off is that the Yacht-Master II is a tad complicated to operate. For watch aficionados, a single demonstration will probably be a sufficient lesson, but I'm sure the Yacht-Master II will be worn by plenty of yachting types who appreciate the aesthetics much more than the functionality, and for whom it will be enough of a challenge to keep the time set correctly. For a very good demonstration of how the Yacht-Master II works, check out the Yacht-Master II home page on Rolex's site, and specifically, the operational tutorial.

I found the reaction from the hardcore Rolex watch fans out there to be mixed. I think most of them were so accustomed to looking at more or less the same Rolex styles for so many years that the new Yacht-Master II really caught them off-guard. The two biggest complaints I heard focused on the surprisingly prominent "YACHT-MASTER II" branding on the bezel (for better or for worse, the new generation of Rolex watches are much more heavily branded), and the fact that you have to unscrew the crown in order to set the countdown timer, leaving the watch more vulnerable to moisture, of which there tends to be plenty around yachts.

Whether you like the new Yacht-Master II or not, there is no denying that it represents a major new innovation in the world of watchmaking. In many ways, Rolex is the Apple (as in computers) of the Swiss watch world. They are arrogant and secretive, they end up setting most of the trends, and they command an extremely loyal following who sometimes complains, but in the end, always comes around.

The new Rolex Yacht-Master II should start showing up this summer. It will be made in yellow or white gold, and is expected to sell somewhere around $30,000 (no, that's not a typo -- the theory is that if you can afford a yacht, you can afford a Yacht-Master II).