Officine Panerai

The maximum depth given on many watches always refers to the maximum static compressive stress which the watch case is guaranteed to withstand. When swimming, or in a jet of water (washing hands or showering), there are also directional flows with dynamic pressure peaks which impact upon the relevant parts of a watch to a greater extent than the diving depth alone. 

In order to use a watch safely when swimming we therefore recommend a compression resistance of at least 100 m! (bold italic by Cazalea)

Diving watches are recommended for intensive and frequent use in water. The compressive resistance of a diving watch is given in bar or in depth, measured in meters. When diving, the pressure increases by one bar every 10 m. In everyday use it is important to note that seals can suffer from wear or ageing and that small direct particles can build up in them as the result of a wide range of factors which arise when wearing a wristwatch. These particles can themselves assume a part of the seal function if the seal elements are already suffering from extensive wear. Tensides from detergents or similar cleaning agents can then coat such particles, making it easy from them to be washed away. For these reasons the airtightness of a wristwatch should be checked on a regular basis (once per year).

Testing for water resistance and pressure resistance

Since 2005, DNV GL has been testing our diving watches for water resistance and pressure resistance. In accordance with these certification standards, the EZM 3 and EZM 13 are pressure-resistant to 50 bar, the T1, U1, U212 and the U1000 series are pressure-resistant to 100 bar, while the T2, U2 and U200 series are pressure­resistant to 200 bar and the UX series is actually pressure-resistant to any accessible diving depth. For this series, DNV GL has confirmed the pressure resistance of the case to 12,000 m and of the movement to 5,000 m diving depth. The tests are repeated at regular intervals on all of these watches in order to document the consistency of the quality.

Premiere: certification for compliance with European diving equipment standards

In a standardised test situation, will a diving watch deliver the same reliable performance as, say, a breathing apparatus? To answer this question, Sinn were the first who have watches tested and officially certified according to the European standards for diving equipment. Also these tests are performed at regular intervals for all these watches. The testing and certification according to the European standards EN250 and EN14143 was completely new territory for both sides. This was the case because the standards for diving equipment cannot be applied to watches without modification. The experts at Germanischer Lloyd thus adapted the standards appropriately and defined two series of tests. In the first of the two, they put the timepieces in a test cabinet for three hours at minus 20°C, then for three more hours at 50°C. The timepieces were subsequently checked for accuracy and functional reliability at both temperatures. In a second test, the watches had to withstand three hours at minus 30°C and 3 hours at 70°C with 95% humidity.