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Officine Panerai

I think water resistance on a Panerai is like off-road capability of a Jeep

 

As others have stated, expectations are higher from the true fans than they are from the average buyer nowadays. When the marketing people want to "water down" the Water Resistance OR off-road capability to save money and appeal to a broader audience, it causes the true fans (us) angst. It's not that we can't wash our hands with a Panerai strapped on, or that we can't drive our 2WD Jeepster across a muddy field, IF we know what we are doing as a driver. 


But Jeep came up with a brilliant solution - the adoption of the tag line "TRAIL RATED" which means, specifically:

"From the original Willys MB to the 2011 Grand Cherokee, the Jeep® brand has been the leader in 4x4 innovation and off-road capability for over 69 years. The proof is in our exclusive Trail Rated standard.
 
We test Jeep® 4x4s on the toughest trails in the world to prove one thing: They can take whatever you dish out. The Trail Rated® badge means that your Jeep 4x4 has been designed to perform in five categories of off-road conditions: 

1. Traction: Traction in 4x4 is equivalent to grip on Asphalt. Trail Rated® traction helps you stay in control on untamed terrain, slippery (wet, mud, snow) conditions, and on steep grades.

2. Ground clearance: clear nasty logs, rocks, and uneven ground without sustaining undercarriage damage. Jeep® Trail Rated® 4x4s feature optimized approach, departure, and breakover angles to keep you in the clear.

3. Maneuverability: Athletic. Agile. Trail Rated® Jeep® 4x4s have the footwork to navigate narrow gaps, dodge emergency situations and avoid cosmetic damage to underbody sills thanks to precision steering and optimized wheelbases. 

4. Articulation: A Trail Rated® suspension is limber like a gymnast. How exactly? Flexibility is the key to good articulation. The more a wheel can travel, or flex, the better it can maintain contact with terra firma and provide the traction needed to cross an array of obstacles.

5. Water fording: Hit that riverbed with confidence. Trail Rated® Jeep® 4x4s feature additional electrical and body sealing, along with a high air intake location for optimum water fording capability. Note: Do not attempt water fording unless depth is known to be less than 19 inches.

This is a lot more information that we get from these water activity charts, especially since you can't SEE 3 BAR or even FEEL it easily. These 5 things seem to be important criteria and I can trust that Jeep took them into account in their design and manufacture. Land Rover no doubt does the same, but not necessarily all 4x4 manufacturers.

But could there be a watch manufacturer's equivalent of Trail Rated so you can be confident in the water? I guess we are saying this isn't enough (particularly when they all differ slightly).

Seiko water resistance chart:

Cazalea


This message has been edited by cazalea on 2016-07-20 13:36:32

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