An important part of buying a luxury watch is understanding its water resistance. For many, a watch’s water resistance is an essential part of its specifications, whether you are someone who needs a watch that can survive the rain or someone who is an avid deep sea diver.
Understandably, watch water resistance can get a little confusing and many people make the mistake of thinking a 100 metre water resistant watch can survive going 100 metres under water. However, this is not the case at all. A watch’s water resistant is based on the pressure the watch can withstand.
Before a watch is released to the market, it must undergo a static pressure test to find out the maximum water pressure it can endure. The results are based on factors much more than just how deep the watch can survive in still water. They also consider pressures of moving water and the actions of the wearer pushing and pulling the timepiece through water as they swim. Different bodies of water and activities can also greatly affect a watch’s water resistance with sports like jet skiing and surfing building up pressure tenfold.
How do I find out the water resistance of my watch?
If you are curious as to what water resistance your watch is, there are several places you can look. If you have seen the watch online and haven’t purchased it yet, click into the specifications tab on our website where you will see the water resistance listed.
If you already own the watch and can’t find it on our website, the water resistance may be written on the case back or on the front of the dial. If you are still struggling to identify your watch’s water resistance, don’t hesitate to contact the manufacturer for more information.
What does my watch’s water resistance mean?
Now you understand a little bit more of how a watch water resistance it calculated, you can find out what your watch is able to withstand. In the handy table below, you can see what activities are considered safe for your watch. For example, if your watch is no more than 50 metres water resistant, we don’t recommend you wear it in the shower or while shallow swimming. However, if you have a watch that is 1,000 metres water resistant or more, your timepiece will be able to withstand the pressures of deep sea diving.
Please note that this chart is just a guideline and is based on a timepiece that is well looked after and serviced regularly.
