Waterproof watches: protect successfully your watch from water!

Rolex Deepsea
Rolex Deepsea

Remind that a watch can be defined “waterproof” only if their water tightness is guaranteed for more than 10 bar pressure/100 metres depth (to know more, see previous tip)… below you can find a list of tips to preserve successfully your watch form the damages caused by water infiltrations:

  • The winding crown is the most fragile part of a waterproof watch. Watches supplied with screw crown have a higher resistance to water. Remind to keep it always well closed!
  • Buttons of chronographers watches are water resistant only if they are supplied, like the crown, with a screw closure. In any case, do not activate the chronographer in case of excessive humidity or in water, in order to avoid infiltrations.
  • Dives and violent water squirts exert a pressure higher than 3 bar, so they are a violent stress for the watch. Watches resistant until 30 metres could be damaged.
  • It is advisable not to wear watches during hot, sauna or Turkish baths, because high temperatures can damage, even irreversibly, watch gaskets.
  • Preserve the watches from the risks related to sea salt water or swimming pools chlorinated water. Wash accurately the watch with fresh water (always keeping the crown closed!): in this way it will be protected from chemical aggressions, which can damage gaskets, and salt scaling, which can lock the rotation of a possible rotating bezel.
  • Once a year, test the impermeability of your watch, before summer or before using it frequently in water. The impermeability of a watch depends also on quality and state of preservation of its gaskets. Their life is not unlimited, and it varies according to material, function and care.

Pay attention: within the group of manual winding watches there are the thin and valuable extra flat watches, which do not bear the humidity of summer. Their case, often not protected by any gasket, could make infiltrate sweat, damaging the refined and expensive mechanism.

Fortunately, in case of hidden water infiltrations, the watch can give a signal of alarm. If you see the glass of your watch steaming up, this is the signal that there is water inside, even a minimum quantity, but always dangerous. The assistance of your watchmaker  is necessary!

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