Thanks Archer.

 

Today I went to an Omega AD and asked about the water resistance of Aqua Terra Gauss.

The guys told me although it is rated to 150 meters it is not recommend to dive with it, even if your maximum depth is 30 meters. I do dive and thought that particular information was a real TURN OFF! :-(

He also mentioned that if you take a head dive from the pool the pressure would increase very suddenly and that pressure rate might be beyond the 150 meter which is what the AT is rated for.

I want a watch that I can climb the mountain, dive the ocean, doing watersport etc. So would Aqua Terra handle this? Probably yes, but would it handle it with confidence?

 

You can't officially call it a dive watch without a timing bezel, which is the issue. An AT with seals intact would be fine to 30 meters, and the whole "dynamic pressure" thing is a myth long since debunked. I'd call the AT durable enough for what you're interested in.

See here:
https://www.omegawatches.com/fileadmin/Customer_Service/omega_water_resistance_chart.pdf

 

Get a G Shock

 

Ok where to start on this...

First static vs dynamic pressure affecting a watch has been disproven. Swimming at 15 feet is not more pressure the a watch sitting at 15 feet.

2nd there is zero reason to dive with a non dive watch. Recommending a watch to dive with that is not dive watch opens you up to potential legal issues as a watch while diving is a piece of life critical Gear. In order to legally mark a watch as "Divers" it has to match the ISO certification and requires 3 main things. A locking or unidirectional bezel to determine down time, large luminous hands and markers, and an easy way to tell if it is still working. The latter is done by using large seconds hands most often with a lollipop or something similar. Additionally a watch marked "Divers" has some additional shock and magnatism requirements not present on other watches. As a small note Planet Oceans are not marked as a Divers watch as they have not been tested to ISO requirments, a Seiko SKX has been on the other hand and is so marked in 2 places.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_watch#ISO_6425_standard_for_diving_watches

An non diving watch rated to 150m vs a Diving watch rated to 150m. Yes right out of the factory you can take both to 150m. I argue that the screw down crown on diving watches helps to prevent and reduce water ingestion at the crown. Chrono's like the speedmaster pro with pushers, and other watches with non screwdown crowns have weakspots at those locations. A small knock on a pusher or crown could compromise the water resistance at these locations, hence leaving the watch more susceptible to water ingress while not being noticed or visible by the wearer. This is also why there are so few chrono dive watches, and the Daytona has screwdown pushers.

I own a Planet Ocean Chrono, a Seiko SKX, , and a bunch of other watches. If you want a do everything watch that includes diving you need a divewatch, and you need to get it water checked every year. There is Zero reason to wear a watch that does not have a bottom time indicator while diving. I personally use the SKX for diving, hiking, riding my bike etc. They are good looking workhorse watches that are cheap insurance for some high risk activities like riding a bike or diving. IE a beater watch I am never taking my Speedmaster Pro swimming as even if I just got it serviced and water tested, its not what the watch was designed for.

At the end of the day most watches fall into one or 2 catagories, tool watch or non tool watch. Tool watches are made to time events, from miles per hour to units made on a production line ie, Speedmaster or Daytona. Some are made for other specific uses, like Navitimers are built around a slide rule for pilots and have basically no water resistance, Submariners and Planet Oceans are Dive watches made for diving and are built tough with high water resist. Some tool watches are classically beautiful others not so much.

Aquaterra, Datejusts etc are not tool watches, they may have high high water resistance but they are not made to be subjected to it in a mission or life critical application. These watches are meant to tell time and look good on the wrist

 

Yes you can dive with it, I have down to 60m

Yes you can jump from a board. You would have to hit the water (or move on water) at 30 miles per hour approx in order to cover 1 atmosphere of pressure.

It's all myths.

 

Well, you had me up until this final statement. The Aqua Terra, which has a screw down crown BTW, is every bit as much of a tool watch as a Rolex Explorer, Explorer II, GMT, etc. It's just not a dive watch.

This is one of my favorite reviews from when the Aqua Terra came out in 2002: http://www.watchprosite.com/page-wf.forumpost/fi-677/ti-424991/pi-2552366/

 

I see your point... I just don't put those into the tool watch category... I think of them more as rugged non tool watches. It's a fuzzy distinction I'll admit. Maybe for me a tool watch needs a feature to do a specific job other then just being a clock. But even then you can argue fliegers and GMT are tool watches.

 

To clarify...it is a watch you can dive with down to 150m and you are safe to do so...if you are qualified to. It is not a Diver's watch in that it is not dive rated. This has nothing to do with the ability to withstand pressure it is just a matter of the functions it lacks. Diving Bezel etc etc

The only reason you would take it with you on a dive (as I did) is:

1- Because you don't care to leave it behind on a small hotel and rather keep it with you
2- Because you want to know what time it is under water at 30m while your diving computer or guide do the rest.
3- Because you spend a few grand on the watch and god-damn-it you just like to check it out under any condition
4- It feels good
5- ....

 

Wow, really? I'm not sure I've seen someone say watches like the Explorer and Explorer II aren't tool watches. The Explorer II was specifically designed for cave exploring, and the Explorer was made in celebration of the Oyster that went to Everest. Pretty much all steel Rolex watches are tool watches, and the AT falls in line with those. Heck, even the President is a tool watch:

 

Notice I did not say explorer II at least in its original incarnation was not a tool watch. it had a very specific use not being able to give time in a second time zone.

I'm pretty sure the presidential is the last arolex of wear in a fire. While Red Adair who was very famous for awhile wore them I'd not call the day day a tool watch.

 

Yeah, I guess I see it differently. I've never heard of anyone saying that being a tool for simply timekeeping doesn't count (like field watches and whatnot.) I consider most Rolex watches tool watches, and the Cellini watches are for dress.

In terms of the AT, I still consider it a rugged tool watch, and the Deville is the dressier, non-tool alternative.

 

The rail master is a tool watch.... it just keeps time, but it is meant for working men in tough environments.... that's more the definition than a watch that functions as a tool outside of just keeping time.

In that sense any watch can work as a hammer

So IMO the explorers, the AT, the Daytona all tool watches. Fancy ones, but tool watches at heart. What they are not, typically, is beaters. Maybe that's the distinction.

Even then some may use them as beaters. It's all on the user more than the watch

 

Yeah, since my AT is just the Railmaster with a date, I always considered it to be equivalently "toolish," and I do wear it for quite literally everything. I even sold my Explorer II, because, outside of the GMT function, my AT was equivalently durable and more comfortable (and the Exp II is one of the more comfortable Rolex sport watches.)

 

Well this whole issue is more like...

"1- Because you don't care to leave it behind on a small hotel and rather keep it with you

2- Because you spend a few grand on the watch and god-damn-it you just like to check it out under any condition."

But mostly because of the dynamic vs static issue. Its not like Im going down to 150 m. My average depth is around 15 to 20 m Max. But when that watch guy was talking about dynamic pressure it made me nervous and I feared if I took a high dive in a pool the pressure would increase dramatically to a point where the pressure would go beyond static pressure at 150m. That was the main concern. But if this is myth plus the impression I got now and from that link Im pretty sure the AT can handle most of it.

But now you guys at it with the terms "diver watch" and "diver's watch" I simply fail to understand why ab Omega Planet Ocean going through METAS certification lacks the proper i
ISO 6425. A department where even an economy class, such a Certina DS action, got it sorted out.

 

Because ISO 6425 is for professional diving watches. Watches specifically for divers. The AT is an all purpose watch but without the extra lume, the bezel etc it is not a professional divers watch. With those things it would no longer be an All purpose watch.... it would be a diver watch, like the smp 300, the SM 300 or the PO. So why even spend the money to go through the certification? The E1 and E2 and Datejust etc don't go through it either.

METAS is a whole different thins, it's about time keeping and reliability, just like COSC but a little pumped up.

At the end of the day they're all marketing tools really. The only reason the came up with METAS is because they knew they would pass, as it's their own test, and it would serve as a key differentiator for the brand. Just like "superlative chronometer". Superlative? Really? Ok.

Other degrees and certifications it does not have: a doctors degree, a pilot license, a law degree ( could never pass the bar, and that's only one bar) a drivers license.... in other words, it's a watch.

 

Yeah, to go back to my earlier point, there's really no way to justify price with any of these watches. You could just go out and buy a Hamilton Khaki and likely have similar success, and, like can happen with any watch, you just get it fixed if and when it breaks. Just buy the watch you like.

If anything, I feel like you're setting yourself up for disappointment, and you're gonna be right back here stressing out when your watch is "only" running -1 second per day, or whatever.

 

As someone said....G-Shock. Best all around watch, reliable, set to atomic time, solar charged. Dive, jump, use it as plate ware or as a watch... always works.

And yes, I have one. Under 200 dollars.

 

I have one in the drawer for the apocalypse , but I still challenge myself to wear my AT for everything. I want it to look well-worn when my son inherits it someday, rather than being some shiny bauble.

 

Today I bought a Samsung S8. It has in-built digital clock with calendar and web browser. And it is IP67 rated.

So no Aqua Terra for me. LOL! Just kidding!

I'm not a precision freak so its ok with -1 pr day. I just want a piece of reliable and durable craftmanship.