Helium Escapement Valves?

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so silly question i cant seem to find an answer for... do you (a) unscrew the HEV whilst underwater; (b) dive with it already unscrewed; (c) unscrew it after you resurface?

 
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so silly question i cant seem to find an answer for... do you (a) unscrew the HEV whilst underwater; (b) dive with it already unscrewed; (c) unscrew it after you resurface?


The He valve should never be opened underwater. Omega manuals for years have stated 50m water resistance with it open though. They also touted this as a “new” feature on the newest PO models...


That being said... there would never be a reason to open an He valve underwater.

Welcome to wonderful catch 22 of Deep Saturation watches.

Do I need to explain why?
 
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The He valve should never be opened underwater. Omega manuals for years have stated 50m water resistance with it open though. They also touted this as a “new” feature on the newest PO models...


That being said... there would never be a reason to open an He valve underwater.

Welcome to wonderful catch 22 of Deep Saturation watches.

Do I need to explain why?
Sorry, perhaps I'm a little dense.

-The He EV is there to release He when diving to save the watch from building pressures.
-It cannot be opened under water
-It cannot be opened prior to diving.

Huh?
 
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It’s opened in here after your dive



Google saturation diving
 
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Most of the time it's opened here:

What_Your_Messy_Desk_Says_About_You.jpg

Google Desk Diving
 
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It’s opened in here after your dive



Google saturation diving
so its a stupid "complication", that has literally no benefit for 99.99% of people? hmm
 
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More 99% of people that don’t dive buy dive watches
 
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so its a stupid "complication", that has literally no benefit for 99.99% of people? hmm
Exactly it’s worthless except to extreme saturation diving when you live under water at great depth in an He environment. You can then argue a GMT is more useful then a Dive bezel....
 
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Excellent Jacques Cousteau special on saturation diving (some good watch-spotting too):

 
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Exactly it’s worthless except to extreme saturation diving when you live under water at great depth in an He environment. You can then argue a GMT is more useful then a Dive bezel....
This
 
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They say the new 300m can reach full 300 meters underwater with unscrewed he crown. So I wonder:

Why bother screwing it? if one can no downside leaving unscrewed and (theoretically) if you screwed and forget to re-open in a decompression you may have your crystal popped out...

Why is it even screw-able?
 
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Things that aren't screw-able aren't much fun, now are they?
 
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I suspect this has been beat to death; my perspective is - I don’t dive, did some recreational diving a few years ago and used a Timex triathlon. However, I do have a new SM300 with “the valve”...why? Because I like it

I also don’t fly, but have a few pilot watches. I buy and wear what I like and want regardless of complications
 
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It is a silly solution to a non existent problem. Like a massive spoiler on a sports car, that is only effective at speeds above 200mph, and only when turning left.
 
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The number of people who "need" a watch capable of going down to 300 or 600 (or more) meters is also very small. None of this is about "need"...these are not really being sold as practical goods.
 
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The number of people who "need" a watch capable of going down to 300 or 600 (or more) meters is also very small. None of this is about "need"...these are not really being sold as practical goods.

I agree, but at least this is suggestive of better design and build quality.
 
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"these are not really being sold as practical goods."

Another cherished illusion crushed...
 
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None of us here need a He valve. It’s a wart and was a clever and necessary marketing gimmick back when the SMP was launched to differentiate it from the previous comparatively less impressive Pre-Bond and for that matter the then (and now) ubiquitous Rolex Sub. From that POV it was a big success, well that and the Bond product placement. Today, particularly in its engorged latest form it is an unwelcome addition IMO.
Edited:
 
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"these are not really being sold as practical goods."

Another cherished illusion crushed...

Whoops...my bad! 😁