Anyone have images of diving watches that have failed in use, not in testing?
A postmortem would be instructive.
I suspect that failure of a crystal due to damage from being knocked around could be a problem, but old defective seals are probably more common.
Anyone have images of diving watches that have failed in use, not in testing?
A postmortem would be instructive.
I suspect that failure of a crystal due to damage from being knocked around could be a problem, but old defective seals are probably more common.
The vast majority of watches that leak water, don't do so because of excess pressure from going to deep, or from "dynamic" pressure increases, etc. They leak because the seals go bad, which is essentially lack of maintenance - neglect.
None of these involved extreme situations, just normal everyday activities...
Is the oft stated service interval of 3-5 years sufficient to maintain seals?
Are more regular pressure tests reccomended for watches used for diving?
Take a look at the Rolex Deepsea Sea-Dweller Deepblue diving toolwatch, its dial reminds me of the Stratosphere bit-by-bit turning into black space but here's the same color change but upside down...
The oversized Rolex Deepsea Challenge concept diving toolwatch is an amzing looking instrument... those few are now museum exhibits.
I use my fish tank as my 1000m watch box
Even a Toyota Camry speedometer goes to 220km an hour
and swimming with a Speedmaster
Why not, 50m is 50m what’s 1 or 2 going to do......
This works:
But so does this:
As for backup, both my wife and I carry an Oceanic BUD computer in our pockets. We also have full consoles but wouldn't use them unless a Shearwater (wireless integrated air pressure) had a problem, which they never have. The watch is just for show; I never set the bezel.
We also carry two lights, two PSDs (one on a reel). Oh, and a Spare Air each (3 cu.ft.). So we're pretty well backed up.
I will disagree. A higher initial water resistance doesn't really mean that the watch will still be 50% as effective when the seals go bad. When they go bad, the watch leaks and it doesn't matter what the rating is. The vast majority of watches use the same O-rings - simple Buna-N (nitrile) O-rings that fail in time. Once they fail, the additional water resistance means nothing - a watch rated for 1000m goes to zero just like one rated for 50 m.
Cheers, Al
It sounds like it's sort of a binary proposition then: either the seals are intact and the advertised water resistance is present, or the seals are bad and there is no water resistance. Does its stand to reason, then, that if my Planet Ocean passes a dry test to 3 bars, it's good to go down 600m? I only ask because I just dropped mine off at a local watchmaker to have the seals tested and this is what I got back:
