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lebherz27
·I’m a career fireman on an extremely busy engine in the inner city. I wear my NTTD SMP into fires all of the time. They’ll take some heat and abuse for sure.
What temperature can watches withstand?
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rahul718
·Just as an FYI, part of the testing for water resistance includes a condensation test. In this test the watch is heated to as much as 56 degrees C.
@Archer did something change with the Omega Work Instruction 22? I thought I previously read that there was an update to the guidelines; previously it mentioned that the watch case needs to be brought up to 47 Celsius, not 56 Celsius.
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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmaker
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Walrus
·I leave a cheaper seiko in my car in case I forget a watch. However I forgot about the watch I left in my car in case I forgot my watch so it’s been in there through several sub zero f weeks. I dug it out yesterday seems to be okay but I need to remember to bring it in give it a full test run.
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Kay13
·Good Question...
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NGO1
·
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Walrus
·Not this this proves much of anything but I finally remembered to bring in the cheap seiko I had in my dash. I left it in there incase I forget a watch but then forgot about it so it’s been sitting in the car all winter with many weeks hovering around 0. This seiko cost 60 bucks new on some Amazon flash sale a few years back. I think they are around 100-120 now but I still see them on sale occasionally. Anyway I just wasn’t sure how the extended cold might effect the oils etc but it’s running fine and no condensation on the display back when I brought it in the house. I guess a well spent sixty bucks
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dlukask
·This is an interesting thread!
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scapa
·I skied with my FOIS at a pretty chilly -23 C earlier this winter. It was mostly under my cuff, but I did leave it out for a bit and no issues.
I suspect that bringing it in from that cold into a hot, humid environment might not have been ideal, however.
I suspect that bringing it in from that cold into a hot, humid environment might not have been ideal, however.
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PATRICK JP
·Being in Canada, I’ve had watches on the wrist in -40*C weather. Haven’t seen any specific issues. I supervised a project near Hudson’s Bay for a number of a months a few years ago and exposed a 300M “Bond” to -20-40*C for hours at a time with no obvious ill effects.
As soon as you wear the watch strapped to your wrist it should not encounter any issues as your body temperature will keep it heated up. Now, off the wrist that would be very different, I have no idea…
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorTook a pie out of the freezer and put it in the oven last night. Speedmaster handled it without drama 👍
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Omegafanman
·I revisited this briefly. I saw a statement on Chronocentric that,,,,
OMEGA reports that the mechanical movements used in their watches use oils that allow the watch to operate at temperatures between -20 and +70 C (-2 to +158 F)
I Imagine the official range for a mechanical Omega watch would be in that order, and I assume it is off the wrist. Of course it might do better than that. Even within the listed range one imagines the operational accuracy will vary at the extremes (also depending on how rapid / uniform any temperature changes are.
In terms of ultra low temperatures (off wrist) seals, gaskets and oils will start to be effected but some point any moisture in the air inside the watch will also condense out and freeze maybe?
OMEGA reports that the mechanical movements used in their watches use oils that allow the watch to operate at temperatures between -20 and +70 C (-2 to +158 F)
I Imagine the official range for a mechanical Omega watch would be in that order, and I assume it is off the wrist. Of course it might do better than that. Even within the listed range one imagines the operational accuracy will vary at the extremes (also depending on how rapid / uniform any temperature changes are.
In terms of ultra low temperatures (off wrist) seals, gaskets and oils will start to be effected but some point any moisture in the air inside the watch will also condense out and freeze maybe?
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SpeedyPhill
·During a spacewalk, any watches worn are exposed to minus 200 degrees Celsius in shadow or nighttime side, and to plus 200 degrees Celsius in direct Sunlight/radiation... of course for sort periods as the space station orbits Earth every 90 minutes.
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Pkohli
·Just as an FYI, part of the testing for water resistance includes a condensation test. In this test the watch is heated to as much as 56 degrees C.
@Archer and others
I foolishly left my new Planet Ocean 8900 off my wrist, outside, in direct sunlight on a 90* Fahrenheit day for about 20 minutes. When I realized that I left it there and went to get it, it was definitely very warm, but not hot to the point where I couldn't it back on my wrist. My laser thermometer said that the crystal/dial reached about 107 degrees, but I neglected to check how warm the actual stainless steel case got. I'm far from knowing the basics on metallurgy, but could I have risked warping/deforming the stainless steel case during those 20 minutes? The dial was 107 degrees F but not sure how hot the case got. Or does it take way more heat to risk warping stainless steel? All I know is it wasn't scalding hot to the point where I couldn't handle it...I put it on my wrist afterwards.
Is this a non issue or do I have reason to worry?
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerIt’s unlikely to be a problem if you can wear it while still warm...
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··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorP Pkohli@Archer and others
I foolishly left my new Planet Ocean 8900 off my wrist, outside, in direct sunlight on a 90* Fahrenheit day for about 20 minutes. When I realized that I left it there and went to get it, it was definitely very warm, but not hot to the point where I couldn't it back on my wrist. My laser thermometer said that the crystal/dial reached about 107 degrees, but I neglected to check how warm the actual stainless steel case got. I'm far from knowing the basics on metallurgy, but could I have risked warping/deforming the stainless steel case during those 20 minutes? The dial was 107 degrees F but not sure how hot the case got. Or does it take way more heat to risk warping stainless steel? All I know is it wasn't scalding hot to the point where I couldn't handle it...I put it on my wrist afterwards.
Is this a non issue or do I have reason to worry?
Fahrenheit is a lot different to the rest of the world's Celcius 😉 107f is only 41C and in Australia,s Northern Territory that's a regular day on my wrist 😁😁
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Pkohli
·If you are concerned, get a pressure test done.
Hi there Al @Archer
Will a standard pressure test done at an Omega boutique suffice to establish if the integrity of the case itself is still within spec (i.e, no warping, no cracks, etc). Or would a vacuum test need to be done as well? I believe the boutiques only pressure test to 5Bar or so and not the full depth that the watch is rated to. So even for a 300m/600m watch, would passing a 5Bar pressure test mean that the case and seals are still within spec?
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerIt will tell you that you can go 50 m without issue.
If the boutique has a watchmaker, I would expect them to have a dry tester that can do vacuum and pressure, with the pressure going to 10 bar.
If the boutique has a watchmaker, I would expect them to have a dry tester that can do vacuum and pressure, with the pressure going to 10 bar.
