What to do when water gets in your watch!
by Dino Standjofski on August 20, 2008
tagged as: hydromax bell & ross movement watches
Sometimes we get a little careless, especially when we're on vacation and everything is relaxed. On a nice hot sunny day, you decide to go for a refreshing swim, but you forget to check that your screw down crown is not properly screwed in. You do a couple laps, you notice that the timepiece is all fogged up, or has water inside the case.
Nothing feels worse, but it really isn't a problem as long as you get the watch to a watchmaker as soon as possible. The best thing you can do is screw the crown in to keep the least amount of air from getting into the movement, so that it stays wet inside. The longer you wait the more risk of getting the movement rusted. More problems will arise as rust sets in.
The rustier the movement, means the watch will have to be serviced and there's a big chance that parts will need to be changed.
If you can't get the watch to a sufficient place in 24 hours, keep the watch damp until you can get it properly checked.
Of course the best solution is to keep your watch properly serviced and make sure all the seals are leak free. Most of all make sure you're swimming with a watch that is rated to a minimum 200 Meters and make sure it has a screw down crown and pushers (if you really want to go crazy check out the Bell & Ross Hydromax, its rated to 11,100.Meters, the deepest watch in the world).
Watches rated at less than 200 Meters are still susceptible to water, as your arm moves through the water, it puts a lot of pressure on the seals, crown and crystal.
Always check that the crown is properly screwed down before jumping in and have a worry free swim.
Water-resistance: 100m under water equals 11kg of pressure!
by Dino Standjofski on February 7, 2008
tagged as: watches hydromax br02 bell & ross tides corum
Water-resistance means a watch is sealed against dust and water. It refers to the pressure the watch can withstand, measured in atmospheres or bars. Pressure is a force applied to a surface where 1 bar = 1 kg / sq. cm.
There are two types of pressure:
- Relative or hydrostatic pressure which is the pressure exerted by water.
- Absolute pressure which is water pressure + atmospheric pressure.
The water-resistance indicated on a watch usually corresponds to relative pressure. During diving, the pressure on the watch is absolute pressure. At sea level (zero altitude), atmospheric pressure equals 1 bar and increases by 1 bar for every 10 metres below sea level.
- 10 metres = 2 bars
- 20 metres = 3 bars
- 100 metres = 11 bars
Freshwater has a density of 1, meaning one litre of fresh water weighs 1 kg. Saltwater has a density of 1.026 because of the salt it contains. In reality, relative pressure increases by 0.98 bar in freshwater and by 1.007 bars in saltwater.
Here are some examples of water watches:
- Corum Tides 48 is resistant to 300 meters = 31 bars
- Bell & Ross BR02 is resistant to 1000 meters = 101 bars
- Bell & Ross Hydromax, deepest watch in the world, resistant to 11,100 meters = 1111 bars
