Hi!
I have a handful of "waterproof" watches from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and all of them fail pressure tests due to the gaskets on the crowns. According to the watchmaker I use, these crowns were manufactured to be replaced, not serviced, so when the gaskets deteriorate, that's it for your water-resistance.

Have any of you experimented with bringing watches back to water-resistant? Do you have experience with NOS crowns bought off eBay, or are those gaskets affected by age as well? Is it possible to modify an old crown to accept a new gasket? I like to swim and am also a klutz. I'd love to take some of my vintage divers for a bath—or at least not worry that I am going to kill them by mistake.

Thanks
J

 

I'd also be interested in this answer from our watchmakers @Archer @Canuck ..... When I had my 2998-6 serviced, the watchmaker replaced the crown gasket. Action is now pretty stiff. Should I have my current watchmaker just remove it? Or..is it at least providing some protection from the accidental dunking etc.? PS: OP not a good idea to swim with vintage.....

 

Yes, I’m interested as well. And +1 on not swimming with vintage

 

Don't worry, you will make no mistake when you take your Constellation for a swim. Rest assured it will be dead when you reach the shore, even if a competetent watchmaker changed the gasket.

 

Ok, so my take is that NOS crowns may also have dried out gaskets so are no guarantee of providing water resistance.
There's a trick I've read of, but can't say if it works. Apply red rubber grease (from an automotive store) to the gasket. It may or may not rehydrate the dried up rubber, causing it to expand and restoring its water resistance. Seems optimistic, but possibly can't hurt.
The final method is to replace the gasket. I can't speak for other crowns, but there's a market in replacing the gaskets in early Seiko divers. The 6105, 6159, 6217 divers have crowns where you can't change the gaskets - they're designed to be replaced at service. Of course, there are none left (or very few). A few years ago a couple of people got together and worked out a way of forcing out the plate that holds the gasket in place in such a way that it wasn't damaged and the crown could be rebuilt after replacing the gasket. Basically, you force more and more small gaskets into the crown until the plate bulges and eventually pops out.
There are at least three Seiko watchmakers that I'm aware of that offer this service. I don't see why it couldn't work for other waterproof crowns.
I've had a couple done by Adrian at Vintagetimeaustralia.com and they've passed a water resistance test afterwards.

 

If you actually plan on taking a vintage diver in the water, just replace the crown and be done with it. You can either have the watch be original or functional -- pick one.

 

Every water resistant watch is water resistant...............until it leaks! Tomorrow, next month, next year? Who knows, but it will happen.

 

Its a good question though op, we need to put pressure(joke) on watchmakers to do this and not rely on changing crowns that are becoming hugely expensive. Even humidity can be a problem, so why not?

 

Yeah, I don't see why this is impossible or met with such shock. I have old motorcycles that are still fast—nothing like modern sportbikes, but they handle and accelerate pretty much as they did when they were new. All it took was work. I live in a house from 1863, and the modern heating system keeps it warm in the winter while its old bones keep it looking and feeling classic.

For me, part of the appeal of an old watch is that it's functional mechanical art; if I want to know what time it is, my phone does a better job. But classic solutions to still-extant challenges—knowing the hour in a far-away city, timing a lap, predicting the position of the moon—are part of what makes vintage timepieces special. Maintaining the ability to survive a swim after 50-ish years doesn't seem so much more special to me.

I'm not trying to go diving, but I am also not going to drop the idea. Somewhere I will find a watchmaker who is up to the challenge of making an old watch water-resistant again. If any of you find one first, I hope you'll let me know.

 

Making a watch water resistant is one challenge. KEEPING it water resistant is a whole other challenge. Check this out.

A watch that tests as water resistant with simple immersion in water, may leak when exposed to vigorous activity in water. In order for a watch to be water resistant, it must be absolutely air tight under all conditions. But with wear, accidents happen that can compromise water resistance. Guaranteed water resistant for long periods, and under all conditions? Buy a sun dial.

 

Or buy a dive watch and get the seals changed regularly. Been doing it since the early 80s and never had a problem.


Vigorous activity does squat to add any pressure to a submerged watch. The act of swimming does not change the pressure unless your arms move 1000km a hour
You can not move quick enough in water to change the pressure at any depth.

Science proves it, myths on watch forums dispel it.

A 100m resistant watch is rated to, you guessed it 100m

 

I am by no means an expert in watchmaking—I'm not even an expert in watch-wearing—but the way it's been explained to me is that, especially with a watch that was originally built to afford significant water-resistance, the weakest link is the seal (or seals) on the crown (or crown).

I have an old Enicar from the 60s, which wears an EPSA Supercompressor case that was originally rated to 600 feet. Now it's rated to washing my hands carefully. The case is in prime shape and the sealing gaskets are all new after the most recent service. It fails the pressure test (says the watchmaker) due to the crown gaskets, which are not designed to be replaced. He's told me the same thing about a vintage Seiko I have and another old Omega.

Just seems like a solvable problem.

 

Oh really?

 

Yes, really. The math has been done by several people now, and moving your arms in water adds very little additional pressure to the watch.

If the company that makes the watch is reputable, then indeed 100m means 100m.

 

Pressure = Resistance to flow .. Swimming does not increase pressure because there is plenty of flow around the case.

 

A factor several seem to ignore is not initial water resistance, but the LOSS of water resistance over time, and the unexpected leaks that surprise the owner. This topic has been covered exhaustively on many occasions in the past. Many seem unwilling to face facts. Watches indeed can leak. The whole argument is pointless.

 

I dunno, seems like this whole thread is about loss of water resistance over time. It's been explained to me that the crown is the main culprit. What are others, and are they as difficult to remedy?

 

Not ignoring it all. No one has said they can't leak, but they won't be any more prone to leaking by moving your arms in the water as you are claiming.

Watches can leak from any place where water can get in. This includes at crystals, crowns, pushers, helium escape valves, case backs, etc.

You are very focused on the crowns, but you really need to look at the entire watch, not just one spot.

 

Yes, I am VERY focused on crowns haha. That's just what my guy said my weak spots are. Also it seems like the other gaskets are easier to shore up—is that an oversimplification?

 

It depends on the specifics of the watch in question. Some crown gaskets are easily replaced, but many are not.