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Take your watch swimming underwater?
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spe777
·I always swim with a watch and find a G-Shock is more than suitable/capable. Also, no worries if it gets lost or damaged. I do wear a mechanical watch from time to time, but it's always something fairly new with good seals.
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rhetoric
·I was taught a salutary lesson about 10 years ago. In my excitement to get into the water at my local surf beach I donned my wetsuit (chilly water here in Hobart) and raced into the waves. After half an hour or so I came out and towelled off . To my surprise my watch was still on my wrist. Surprised because I had meant to remove it before surfing. It was a 166.0209 1978 Seamaster. It appeared that it was not Master of the Sea because there was seawater inside it.
Now I realised, knowing little about watches that water inside the watch was not a good look, and as it had been my late father’s watch I was disappointed, not to put too fine a point on it. It seemed at that moment a good thing that he had passed away. So, straight to my local watchmaker who looked at me askance, as one would to a dog who had just disgraced themselves on a neighbour’s lawn. “Leave it with me” he said, with no great enthusiasm. When I returned in a week he reported that he could not save the watch, and quoted me an astronomical price to replace various parts. Disappointed I went away and began a search for myself to locate new parts, coincidentally beginning my interest in vintage watches. So after some time I located a NOS cal. 1020 service movement, likewise a NOS correct dial and a period correct crown. The original hands were in ok condition, likewise the case.
I presented my watchmaker with the parts and asked him to put them together. He was flabbergasted that I could obtain the parts (he is fairly Vintage himself and the internet was not something he knew about), and he very happily put it all together.
I’m not sure what the watch is now, with Omega service parts not original to the watch. When I’ve been tempted to sell it I’m never sure what to describe it as. A marriage watch perhaps?
WATERPROOF was different back then.
Now I realised, knowing little about watches that water inside the watch was not a good look, and as it had been my late father’s watch I was disappointed, not to put too fine a point on it. It seemed at that moment a good thing that he had passed away. So, straight to my local watchmaker who looked at me askance, as one would to a dog who had just disgraced themselves on a neighbour’s lawn. “Leave it with me” he said, with no great enthusiasm. When I returned in a week he reported that he could not save the watch, and quoted me an astronomical price to replace various parts. Disappointed I went away and began a search for myself to locate new parts, coincidentally beginning my interest in vintage watches. So after some time I located a NOS cal. 1020 service movement, likewise a NOS correct dial and a period correct crown. The original hands were in ok condition, likewise the case.
I presented my watchmaker with the parts and asked him to put them together. He was flabbergasted that I could obtain the parts (he is fairly Vintage himself and the internet was not something he knew about), and he very happily put it all together.
I’m not sure what the watch is now, with Omega service parts not original to the watch. When I’ve been tempted to sell it I’m never sure what to describe it as. A marriage watch perhaps?
WATERPROOF was different back then.
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Dan S
·I was taught a salutary lesson about 10 years ago. In my excitement to get into the water at my local surf beach I donned my wetsuit (chilly water here in Hobart) and raced into the waves. After half an hour or so I came out and towelled off . To my surprise my watch was still on my wrist. Surprised because I had meant to remove it before surfing. It was a 166.0209 1978 Seamaster. It appeared that it was not Master of the Sea because there was seawater inside it.
Now I realised, knowing little about watches that water inside the watch was not a good look, and as it had been my late father’s watch I was disappointed, not to put too fine a point on it. It seemed at that moment a good thing that he had passed away. So, straight to my local watchmaker who looked at me askance, as one would to a dog who had just disgraced themselves on a neighbour’s lawn. “Leave it with me” he said, with no great enthusiasm. When I returned in a week he reported that he could not save the watch, and quoted me an astronomical price to replace various parts. Disappointed I went away and began a search for myself to locate new parts, coincidentally beginning my interest in vintage watches. So after some time I located a NOS cal. 1020 service movement, likewise a NOS correct dial and a period correct crown. The original hands were in ok condition, likewise the case.
I presented my watchmaker with the parts and asked him to put them together. He was flabbergasted that I could obtain the parts (he is fairly Vintage himself and the internet was not something he knew about), and he very happily put it all together.
I’m not sure what the watch is now, with Omega service parts not original to the watch. When I’ve been tempted to sell it I’m never sure what to describe it as. A marriage watch perhaps?
WATERPROOF was different back then.
Very nice restoration. It probably would have survived the surfing adventure just fine if the seals had been properly maintained.
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Canuck
·A lesson you’ll never forget! A mistake you won’t make again.
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ChiefMark
·All my divers have seen water. The 50th Anniversary Omega Seamaster GMT has been swimming or diving in the Atlantic, Pacific (off Kauai and Hawaii), and Indian Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and the Mediterranean, all the Finger Lakes and three of the Great Lakes.
What’s the point of buying a dive watch you won’t get wet?
What’s the point of buying a dive watch you won’t get wet?
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Mediocre
·I have taken many of mine in water, both chlorinated and salt. Of probably 20 I have only had one failure, and I believe it was the result of diving not swimming (pretty aggressive "shock" off a high dive)
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lindo
·I am a little ashamed to tell you that the watch I was given on my 21st birthday - an Omega Seamaster 300 Dive watch - was worn for the following twenty years on Army exercises, in and out of the shower, in heavy surf, in chlorinated pools and similar unfriendly environments, yet to the best of my memory was not serviced once in that entire time. The horror, the horror...
Put it down to the ignorance of the young. But it soldiered on the whole time and clearly did not have a problem because if it had I would have taken it to a watchmaker immediately. I loved that watch. By the time I gave it to my eldest son the original Omega stainless steel bracelet had fallen apart.
It was stolen a while later. I wish he still owned it because I would pay to have it sensibly restored at any price.
Put it down to the ignorance of the young. But it soldiered on the whole time and clearly did not have a problem because if it had I would have taken it to a watchmaker immediately. I loved that watch. By the time I gave it to my eldest son the original Omega stainless steel bracelet had fallen apart.
It was stolen a while later. I wish he still owned it because I would pay to have it sensibly restored at any price.
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tikkathree
·Ever wear your watch when you’re in the water?
I don’t mind doing it with my Oyster Case type Rolex watches, but have never done it with my other watches even though they claim to be waterproof. The Rolex watches have a winding crown that screws on to the case like a submarine hatch.
Anyone put their Speedmaster underwater? Or other Omega watch?
I might do it with a newer watch but the two Speedmasters I’ve owned were 68 and 69 models.
If you have pictures of your watch wet or in the water, go ahead and post them.
Among "other Omega watch" which gets wet I'd list various Seamasters but only those on bracelets or fabric straps. See, I worry more about a strip of leather than I do about a steel-cased object with WR stamped on the dial.
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ghce
·I was taught a salutary lesson about 10 years ago. In my excitement to get into the water at my local surf beach I donned my wetsuit (chilly water here in Hobart) and raced into the waves. After half an hour or so I came out and towelled off . To my surprise my watch was still on my wrist. Surprised because I had meant to remove it before surfing. It was a 166.0209 1978 Seamaster. It appeared that it was not Master of the Sea because there was seawater inside it.
Now I realised, knowing little about watches that water inside the watch was not a good look, and as it had been my late father’s watch I was disappointed, not to put too fine a point on it. It seemed at that moment a good thing that he had passed away. So, straight to my local watchmaker who looked at me askance, as one would to a dog who had just disgraced themselves on a neighbour’s lawn. “Leave it with me” he said, with no great enthusiasm. When I returned in a week he reported that he could not save the watch, and quoted me an astronomical price to replace various parts. Disappointed I went away and began a search for myself to locate new parts, coincidentally beginning my interest in vintage watches. So after some time I located a NOS cal. 1020 service movement, likewise a NOS correct dial and a period correct crown. The original hands were in ok condition, likewise the case.
I presented my watchmaker with the parts and asked him to put them together. He was flabbergasted that I could obtain the parts (he is fairly Vintage himself and the internet was not something he knew about), and he very happily put it all together.
I’m not sure what the watch is now, with Omega service parts not original to the watch. When I’ve been tempted to sell it I’m never sure what to describe it as. A marriage watch perhaps?
WATERPROOF was different back then.
I feel your pain, being a little absent minded can have expensive consequences, earlier this year I took the kids to the sea to go swimming and with forethought wore my Invicta Prodiver auto, all was well.
It was all well until after leaving the water 45 minutes later I discovered my mobile phone in my back pocket and the front pocket had my electronic car keys in them
.I very quickly found a fresh water pool removed the smart phone battery and flushed the phone with clean salt free water.
I was lucky (that and being an electronics engineer ) I was able to mitigate the damage to phone and keys.
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Donn Chambers
·I only swim with my watches above water.
😉
😉
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SkunkPrince
·I’m not sure what the watch is now, with Omega service parts not original to the watch. When I’ve been tempted to sell it I’m never sure what to describe it as. A marriage watch perhaps?
WATERPROOF was different back then.
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YY77
·Somebody isn't happy after he got his watch back from service and went swimming:
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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmaker^^^ Yikes!
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Bizcut1
·By and in the sea is where you will find my Seamaster...
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JwRosenthal
·Somebody isn't happy after he got his watch back from service and went swimming:
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Tx3double
·I’ve snorkeled 10-12’ deep with my yachtmaster, but looking back I don’t think I would do it again. Too much risk if the crown isn’t tightened or some dumb reason.
