Does a dive watch really need to be "Diver's" rated?

Hey All,

Need to get a new everyday/diving watch. I was contemplating getting a Seiko Orange Monster (Diver's 200m), but see another Seiko (SNZF49K1/"Monster-lite") with a cooler color scheme, but rated at 100m water resistant (not diver's) - Considering the last few watches (rated 30-50m water resistant) I've seen get moisture - would you think a watch rated at 100m should be ok for 70' or less diving?

Thanks,

Bob

I suppose either one will do fine at <130'
But, the question is, which one will serve you best at depth?

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa get a simple Timex iron-man and it will do everything you need a dive watch to do and if you loose it ( once) or it breaks (never happened to me in > than a 1,000 dives) you replace it for less than $40.00. I generally keep 1 extra handy. Now if you are looking for a conversation piece, get the largest and fanciest watch you can find and everyone will ask you if you are a diver. By the way, the most expensive are the most expensive to service.

I imagine it depends on manufacturer. "Water Resistant" ratings are known to be notoriously aggressive, since they tend to be tested in a static pressure pot, without any jostling or button pressing. I've had 50m and 100m watches (albeit cheap Casio and Timex digitals) fail at 50-60ft depth. My current watch is a Timex Ironman rated to 200m water resistance, which has been fine multiple times down to 100ft (and others I know who have the same watch have been down to 150ft with it multiple times).

My working rule of thumb is, 100m is 50-60% reliable at recreational depth, 200m is 90-95% reliable. Right or wrong, I try to keep them cheap enough not to matter.

I dove - dived - scuba'd (blast that post) with my Casio Sea Path Finder which is "water resistant to 10 Bar".
I had it down to 60' 3 times. Still ticking or whatever it is these electronic things do.

Bob01:

Hey All,

Need to get a new everyday/diving watch. I was contemplating getting a Seiko Orange Monster (Diver's 200m), but see another Seiko (SNZF49K1/"Monster-lite") with a cooler color scheme, but rated at 100m water resistant (not diver's) - Considering the last few watches (rated 30-50m water resistant) I've seen get moisture - would you think a watch rated at 100m should be ok for 70' or less diving?

Thanks,

Bob

Click to expand...

Actually to be a "divers'" watch, the watch needs to be rated for twice the expected maximum depth. 100m is 300ft. If you adhere to the recreational limit of 130ft, then this watch is okay.

The minimum standard for diving with a watch is probably a rating of 100m, or 10 atmospheres. Most "dive" watches will probably be in the 200m to 300m range. If you don't necessarily want to buy it twice you might consider 200m, and being stated as a "diver's watch", as a minimum standard for future purchases.

Wikipedia has an interesting table about divers and water resistance watches...

Diving watch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Water resistance classification

Watches are classified by their degree of water resistance, which roughly translates to the following (1 meter = 3.2808398950131 feet):[17]

Water resistance rating Suitability Remarks

Water Resistant 30 m or 50 m Suitable for water related work and fishing. NOT suitable for swimming or diving.

Water Resistant 100 m Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and water sports. NOT suitable for diving.

Water Resistant 200 m Suitable for professional marine activity and serious surface water sports. NOT suitable for diving.

Diver's 100 m Minimum ISO standard (ISO 6425) for scuba diving at depths NOT requiring helium gas. Diver's 100 m and 150 m watches are generally old(er) watches.

Diver's 200 m or 300 m Suitable for scuba diving at depths NOT requiring helium gas. Typical ratings for contemporary diver's watches.

Diver's 300+ m for mixed-gas diving Suitable for saturation diving (helium enriched environment). Watches designed for mixed-gas diving will have the DIVER&#8217;S WATCH L M FOR MIXED-GAS DIVING additional marking to point this out."

SkipperJohn:

I had it down to 60' 3 times. Still ticking or whatever it is these electronic things do.

Click to expand...

They buzz. You just can't hear is because it's usually at 32kHz.

The only problem I've ever had with a Timex Ironman was when I pressed a button at depth. It died, but it was fine once I dried it out and replaced the battery. I've had it for 17 years and it has outlasted dozens of watches that I have owned in that time.

My last two "dive watches" have been Armitrons (price went up three dollars to $18.00 for the last one at Wal-Mart). They are rated to 100 meters, have a big digital display (good thing with my eyes), and the buttons work just fine at depth. I routinely use the stopwatch function to time safety stops. The only reason I replaced the first one was the band finally broke. For the model I was using it was nearly as cheap to buy a new watch as it was to replace the band.