No watch is 100% waterproof at every depth. And most "water resistent to 50m" are barely able to keep their seals intact in a swimming pool.

We were at the local LTF and I was wearing my Seiko and the other father with the friends of my kids was there as well.
Swam in the shallow area, then jumped off the diving boards a few times, then sat in the spa/pool for a length of time.

He was wearing his watch as was I. As we were leaving, we both checked the time and his had fog in it. Mine was crystal clear.
His Fossil is now ruined (most likely).

Folks, 50m is merely a stamping on the dial, not an actual pressure test. If you want a really water resistant watch, get one.

200m or bust

Trusting the WR rating on a Fossil watch was the biggest mistake.
Disposable watches are... disposable.

I have an Omega that I think the salesman said was good to 300 meters.  I told him that was great cause anything past 5 was telling time to a corpse.  

The important thing to remember is the water resistance rating is based on static pressure. When you start dragging the watch through the water things change.

Also you need to check/replace the seal after changing the battery to ensure it functions or the rating goes out the window, even on your dive watch.

I have well over 100 dives at between 100ft and 165ft using a variety of dive watches.  I have never had an issue with any watches I've worn.  All were rated 200m at a minimum.

The issue with dive watches isn't the depth rating but the beating they take from gear on the boat and shit the get beat against under water.  I would be more concerned with durability of watch more than depth rating.

i wouldnt trust a Fossil watch to tell time, much less stay waterproof

You get what you pay for.

As a guy new to watches, I don't understand how a 50M rating can be questionable to 5ft in reality, and how that's acceptable. I get the static pressure vs swimming/jumping in pool but that just seems crazy.

I wear my watch into the shower everyday with NO fear whatsoever.......it is rated to 2000ft.

My G-Shock has never given me issues.

My Sea Dweller is tested almost daily against torrential bathroom showers and the deep end of my swimming pool. $10K is a small price to pay when weighed against a catastrophic failure at 1.5 meters while testing out snorkels.

My seiko SKX007 has numerous desk diving and door way dings on the case, has several scratches on the crystal and bezel, was on my wrist during an F5 tornado, and has survived 6 years of police work... it's tough.

After I read this thread I checked mine. I was happy to see the water resistance shown in bar instead of depth.

That's because cheap Chinese watches have fake WR ratings and since cheap Chinese watches are what most people own and wear, bad info gets passed around and around.
Then you have the guy with a decent watch (like a Seiko) who had the battery changed out at a Paki mall kiosk and they didn't change the case O-ring or pinched the O-ring or cross threaded the back etc. and that watch fogged up after a dip in the kiddie pool.

If you buy a quality watch from a quality manufacturer and have it serviced by a competent person you can generally trust the ratings (outside of cliff diving or other really high impact activities).
Anyone who tells you that you cannot recreationally dive close to 100M with a 100M rated Rolex/Omega is full of shit.
If they tell you that swimming or doing a cannonball off the 10' board with your 100M rated Rolex/Omega is going to blow water past the seals they're full of shit.

The idea of static pressure is just "resting on the bottom"

Pressure goes up and down as you move through the water and at different depts.

the move changes a vessel undergoes, the more stress it creates on individual parts. In particular, the seals.

Most watches rated for 100M are good for swimming, but, not diving at depths.

And many quartz watches don't have the rigid frame/parts to handle lower depths or lots of water activities. (sorry G-shock)

I found a G-shock under a wad of duct tape near the aft shore-power trunk on a Trident submarine about 20 years ago.  It had made at least one patrol there.  70+ days submerged continuously, multiple trips up to periscope depth on most days, and at least one trip past 800ft.  Most of the rubber was in an advanced state of decay, but the watch was otherwise fine.  Wish I'd kept it, but I've never really cared for the blockiness of them.

100m stopped being recreational diving 70m ago.  That is very technical diving. One diver in a thousand will go that deep and tell the tale.  

I use Seiko divers for diving.  They are cheap enough to not even bother with servicing.  Just buy a new one every decade or so.  

They are as tough as woodpecker lips. They cost not that much more than a "toy" watch like a Fossil.

No.

Recreational diving to 100m?



No.

Check this out, it will help.  Some.

Yep, advertising.

I've been down below 100ft with my Rolex DateJust, Tag and Citizen EcoDive.
No issues with any of them.
Although the Rolex isn't really a dive watch, I forgot I had it on, and didn't want to leave it on the boat.

Go Oyster or Go Home

Not a Rolex fan, but - their water named watches are tested to 125% of the printed rating on the dial, and their "normal" watches get pressure tested, too. For the money, Rolex makes sure you don't get a bad watch even if it's abused beyond expectation.

On the other hand -  someone asked what's the deal with 50m vs ? and the answer is there are two - 2 - ways to rate a watch for water resistance. The first and most important in this thread is Diver's testing, which is governed by an ISO standard which requires at a minimum testing every case made in a pressure vessel to at least 125% of its rating claimed on the dial. It was, a long time ago, 100m or about 300 feet, then they got into a depth rating race and jumped to 200m which for the most part covers the bulk of diving. So most Divers are tested to an AIR pressure rating of 125% of the psi that water would exert on the watch at that depth. Both Rolex and Seiko do take them down for marketing and testing purposes. There are vid's on the tubes.

The other rating is "WR" which is the water resistance rating that the company chooses to put on the dial. Most of the established ones play conservatively. In some cases marketing gets a say so to keep from competing with other watches in the market - price tier and basically not giving away the farm on a watch with just a different dial and no bezel means they down rate it some. Other less scrupulous makers just put whatever. "WR" is a real world of difference compared to Diver's - 200m Divers are good repeatably to that depth, 200WR might stand splashing around in the ocean and maybe some snorkeling.

WR gets you no testing - just some engineering consideration and a pass by marketing it fits their product goals. Totally different ISO standard and frankly, for the most part, it's puffery. Why they allow it at all is an industry thing.

Real Divers watches get compressed, hard, use mineral glass, and will slowly deform but not fail far beyond their printed limit. WR - good luck with that. It makes Divers extremely rugged for every day use, and WR watches a risk just out in the field in uniform.

Recreational as opposed to professional.
As in you do it for a hobby not as a job.

Yea....I think the 1000m (yes 3 zeros) of the watch i have on now will survive a trip in a pool.  Probably.

That being said, i dont dive.  I just buy dive watches because they are durable, are easy to read, and look cool.

Who dives to 328 ft?

Close call

You will see more g shocks on divers in the Navy than anything else.

I have been to about 110 ft with my gshock when it was factory new no problems. now that I have changed the battery a few times... I wouldn't be surprised if it can't take 100ft any more. but if it doesn't, it will be in the onboard ship's trashcan before we dock. and I will be buying a new one within a day.

The kind of diving I do I would be more worried about what that watch is going to get caught on at 30+ feet than if the seals will hold up.

I don't get the luxury of sight when I dive anyways, so a watch is useless.  

Ohio river FTW!

You will see more g shocks on people who need watches for abusive professional use period.

Not a diver, but had a suunto vector (30m) under water most, snorkeling to 20ft and/or for hours at a time. No problems through several battery changes. I would not have used it diving.

Only real watches I ever had leak were seiko divers.