Does Resistance Bands Give You A Better Workout?

Watches and the facts about Water Resistance by Jamie Brown

It is now becoming more and more common for watches to offer some level of water resistance as standard, even when the watch is not specifically designed for diving. In this article, I will look at some of the common misconceptions about water resistance; tell you where it's safe to use your water resistant watch and finally how to care for your water resistant watch.

A watch labelled as water resistant, usually carries a unit to which it has been shown to be water resistant during a lab testing. The most common measurements of water resistance are the atmosphere (ATM), which is also equivalent to 1 bar, and the equivalent measurement in metres. A single atmosphere is equivalent to 10 metres water resistance.

Most manufacturers recommend different water resistances for safe use in different activities, Seiko Watches use this scale:

Basic Water Resistance: Accidental splashes only

5 Bar/50M Resistant: Accidental splashes, swimming

10 Bar/100M Resistant: Accidental splashes, swimming, snorkelling, water sports

15 Bar/150M Resistant: Accidental splashes, swimming, snorkelling, water sports

20 Bar/200M Resistant: Accidental splashes, swimming, snorkelling, water sports

100 Bar/1000M Resistant: Accidental splashes, swimming, snorkelling, water sports, scuba diving, professional deep sea diving

Seiko state that only watches marked "Divers" on the dial should be used for diving, as they fully comply with the international standards for diver's watches and therefore 200M Seiko Watches are usually not recommended for scuba diving and deep sea diving.

Now this makes the whole business of water resistance seem easy to understand. Just follow the manufacturer's instructions and your watch will keep ticking? Not always the case. Several of our customers have often complained that they've been wearing a watch stating 50M resistance, haven't gone no way near as deep as 50M but find their watch is no longer operational. The first common misconception is that the 50M stated resistance only applies to lab conditions, where the watch is completely still and 5 ATM of pressure is applied to the watch. But in real life conditions, moving the watch in the water quickly increases the pressure applied to the watch. The amount of pressure applied to when either jumping or diving into a shallow pool is can be enough to damage the gaskets of the watch case and compromise the seal. This often leads to confusion amongst customers.

Another misconception is that it is safe to wear a watch in a hot-tub, steam room or sauna. Most of the securely sealed gaskets on water resistant watches can be compromised by warm moisture much faster than in cool conditions, making hot-tubs, showers and saunas very likely to damage even water resistant watches. This should be avoided to maintain the seal on the watch.

Any water resistant watch should be handled with as much care as possible. When wearing a water resistant watch to swim or dive, make sure that you do not touch the crown or operate any on the watch buttons. Enter water slowly and avoid jumping or diving as this is very likely to cause damage.

Watches also should be checked at the very least every time the case is removed to make sure the resistance is maintained. Ask for new gaskets when the watch battery is replaced and use an authorised service centre to ensure your warranty is not invalidated.

Here are some of the other most common questions about water resistant watches:

What can damage my watch other than high temperatures?

Some chemicals can corrode the gaskets and make it vulnerable. Heavily chlorinated water can cause problems, as can spray-on perfumes and hairsprays that work their way into the watch's seams and damage the gaskets. (They can also damage your watch's finish.)

My divers' watch came with a leather strap. Will the water harm it?

It may. Wearing a leather strap in the pool or diving is not generally recommended, says TAG Heuer's John Sokol. "It's like wearing your shoes to go swimming." Instead, choose a metal, plastic or nylon strap, he advises.

However, some manufacturers do offer leather bands which have been specially treated to resist water and are guaranteed safe for swimming. Check your warranty before you wear your leather strap in the water.

Seiko Watches
Rotary Watches
Breil Watches

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Watches-and-the-facts-about-Water-Resistance/190605