[Spaceman Spiff]

I will be getting my first 50 meter water resistant watch in a few days. All my other watches are 100 meters or more, so I never worry about swimming, submerging, or showering with them on. Now that I an getting a 50 meter watch, what are my limitations? I assume rain and washing my hands are no problem, but what about full submersion in a sink to wash it off, swimming, or wearing it on the shower?

Let me know what you think, and if you've ever run into problems with getting a 50m watch wet.

 

[sixtysix]

Here is a guideline from the internet:

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 helium safe / Suitable for saturation diving (helium enriched environment). / Watches designed for helium mixed-gas diving will have additional markings to point this out.

 

[lysanderxiii]

How much water is too much for a watch rated at 5atm (50 meters)?

5.01 atm (50.1 meters).

 

[Krnbk2]

5.01 atm (50.1 meters).

:-d you win!

 

[valvestem]

I will be getting my first 50 meter water resistant watch in a few days. All my other watches are 100 meters or more, so I never worry about swimming, submerging, or showering with them on. Now that I an getting a 50 meter watch, what are my limitations? I assume rain and washing my hands are no problem, but what about full submersion in a sink to wash it off, swimming, or wearing it on the shower?

Let me know what you think, and if you've ever run into problems with getting a 50m watch wet.

Personally, I would not wear a watch into any water situation if I could help it. You won't know how water resistant your watch is until it is too late. That's just me. Naturally I know people wash their cars, get caught in the rain, etc., without taking off a watch. And the watch gets wet, but full submersion? I wouldn't do it on purpose unless it was a good diver rated for such things. Then where soap or where any other type of surfactant is involved, I'd remove it regardless of what type of watch it is. JMO

 

[cdude]

I test all my water resistant watches by taking them in the shower everyday for 2-3 weeks, and I take HOT showers! I pour soap on them and push their buttons and rotate their crowns. If they survive, they're usually water resistant enough for my needs. I've tested this on watches from "water resistant" all the way through the 200M models. The only time one ever leaks is when a gasket is missing or bad, or when the watch isn't water resistant to begin with. My vintage Casio databank calculator survived about a week in the shower with soap and water, but fogged up in week two. It had a slow leak. It didn't say it was water resistant though.o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|o|

I've swam with "water resistant" watches with pop off type backs.

I've taken this in the spa a few times and held it against the jet for 20 minutes!
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Classic/F105W-1A/

I've also taken my 50M twin graph watch, world time watch (50M version), and several other 50M version in the shower, pool, and spa.

I've shower tested my Seiko 5s too. No problems, and they're just water resistant.

These watches survived too:
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Classic/W201-1AV/
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Classic/W96H_Series/
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Databank/DB36-1AV/
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Databank/DB37_Series/http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Databank/DB37_Series/product/DB37H-1AV/
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Sports/RFT100-1V/

And these had no problem:
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Sports/W727H-1V/

I got this one July 2, 2008, and I'm still testing it, but so far it hasn't leaked:
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Sports/W756_Series/product/W756B-1AV/

And of course, the G-shocks:
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/G-Shock/DW5600E-1V/
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/G-Shock/G2300_Series/
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/G-Shock/G2500-3V/
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/G-Shock/G7500-1V/

I like doing these tests when the watch is new because it's under warranty, and it SHOULD survive just fine. I'd be careful with new old stock, vintage, rare watches, family heirlooms, or anything with odd protrusions, like this:
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Databank/CA53W-1/
It says water resistant, but I don't trust it, it has rubber buttons sticking out.
(It's NOT a databank either!!!)

And I would NOT try unscrewing a crown while it's wet. Some screw down crown watches do NOT have gaskets on the stem!!:---(

Every 6 months I retest my watches until they're about 3 years old. Then I just assume they're water resistant until they're 9 years old, then I assume they're NOT water resistant anymore.

I do these tests at home because if one fails I can take it apart and dry it out immediately, can't do that out on the lake or at the beech.

I don't take my watches a-showering everyday. The heat eventually ruins the gaskets, but the few times I do it over the watch's lifetime seems OK. Also, I think it's good to get extra gasket lube off. That stuff absorbs dirt and crud that I've seen ruin gaskets.

If you're worried about your 50M watch try getting a new one of these and see if you can get water in without doing something extreme like boiling it.
http://www.casio.com/products/Timepiece/Classic/F105W-1A/
Take it in the shower, Spa, and Spray it with the garden hose. Try getting it wet continuously for several days on end Don't worry too much, it's inexpensive. Try anything you're afraid to do on a watch you care about.