Water Resistance Explained

Water Resistance

The issue of water resistance is a particularly important one when considering which watch to buy. Watches always have their water resistance rating on the case, on Find Watches we always put this information in the product specifications.

Some watches have only minimal water resistance, for example the Seksy range by Sekonda. These watches are designed with fashion in mind. They should be fine if accidentally splashed but they are not intended to be more than beautiful accessories. So no washing up or showering whilst wearing them!

The next common rating of water resistance is 50m or 5 atmosphere. This is where it gets a little more complicated because the depth ‘50m’ does not refer to the depth that the watch can go down to but is representative of how much pressure the watch can withstand. Therefore 50m watches are suitable for swimming, but not for diving as the pressure at the moment of impact with the water would exceed 5 atmosphere. Many of the watches in the Kahuna range are of this rating; perfect for the beach but not designed for water sports.

If you want to do more than just swim you need a 100m or 10 atmosphere rating. These watches, such as the majority of the Caterpillar range stocked on Find Watches, are perfect for water sports including snorkeling.

Divers watches vary in their capabilities. Some watches marked as having 200m water resistance are not suitable for diving, such as the Casio Blue G-Shock. This is a durable watch, but is not specifically designed for diving. Unlike the Citizen Gents divers watch, which is made for divers and as such complies with international standards for divers watches. It is imperative to always check the specific details before using a watch for diving.

Watches with higher ratings than 200m are generally suitable for diving and generally their durability increases as the pressure rating goes up, such as the Citizen Aqualand Titanium Professional Divers Watch which has a 300m water resistance rating.

As always there are exceptions to the rules; Rotary have created a range of ‘Dolphin Standard’ watches. Due to a unique way of screwing in the button these dress watches can be used for swimming, water sports and even in saunas.