1000m on the Dial! What's the Story?

Is a diving watch with a 1000m depth rating really of any practical use? PADI (The Professional Association of Diving Instructors) recommend a maximum depth limit of 40m for a recreational diver breathing air on open circuit scuba. A good deal of this is to do with the partial pressure of Oxygen (ppO2) and staying well clear of the maximum operating depth (MOD) on air of 56.6m with a ppO2 max. of 1.4 atmospheres absolute (atma). Without elaborating further on Dalton's law of partial pressures and turning this into a somewhat less than welcome diving lecture, we can ascertain that the 1000m printed on the dial of our watch is, shall we say, somewhat over-optimistic, but what about saturation divers? The deepest dive undertaken to date, as far as I'm aware, is 701m, and this was back in 1992 by the French diving company Comex; the dive was conducted in a pressure chamber and not in actual water, although there is little difference in real terms as if anything goes wrong it's 'curtains' whichever way you look at it! To put it into context, a 200m saturation dive would take approximately 8 days of decompression! The term 'saturation' refers to the diver's body tissues becoming 100% saturated with the inert carrier gas that the diver is breathing. Not all of the diver's tissues saturate or 'on gas' at the same speed, but the vast majority will be at equilibrium in around 24hrs or so. All this is to do with Henry's law, and here we go again! Needless to say, we're still nowhere near our 1000m depth printed on the dial, so why do people like me buy a 1000m watch, or indeed, watches? Although I'm a diver, we've already ascertained that this cannot be the reason. In order to get to the bottom of it, let's dive a little deeper (sorry, that one's really too good to miss!).

It's Not About the Depth!

So! If it's not about the depth, and it's not about showing your mates down the pub, what can it be about? Well, it's all about toughness! The pressure exerted at 1000m is upwards of 1400psig, so a watch with 1000m on the dial is likely to be a smidgeon better suited to handling the odd knock or two; the thicker crystal will be stronger, and the case will be almost indestructible! The sealing system will keep out everything except a stray asteroid and it will remain legible in complete darkness for 300 years after our Sun decides to give up the ghost. These attributes make it extremely suitable for those of us that never take our watch off, no matter what we're doing, well, almost never, but I can't see that bothering it. Just because people dive doesn't mean that they don't do other things! As an adventurer, I often find myself in sand, mud, rivers, caves, mountains and deserts, not to mention snow, blizzards, freezing rain, baking sun and high winds, as well as diving for pirate treasure on occasion. While these things are unlikely to bother any decent sports watch, they will bother the person that's wearing it to some extent! These places and conditions often demand all your attention, and a watch that you have to think about keeping safe in the event that you should take a tumble or scrape it on a boulder becomes a liability. You really don't need to cosset these watches in any way whatsoever.

They're Not Lookers!

As a rule, these watches are rarely termed 'lookers' so to speak and, more often than not, drag attention to themselves. Even so, beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder, and while they may not look like a million dollars, they're a lot more use than a watch that has just cost you that! It's undeniable that they all seem to follow a trend in their appearance and this is mainly due to what they need to endure; sure, you can change the colour of the dial, the handset and the bezel design, but at the end of the day they all have to perform the same task. On the aesthetic front, I certainly don't have a problem, but I've been wearing these watches for most of my life; a dress watch wouldn't last a day out with me! But suppose we do want to wear a suit? What are the options?

But They're not 'Ugly Ducklings' Either!

While many watches of this type really don't sit well with a suit, there are the odd one or two that manage it quite well. My Christopher Ward C60 1000m Elite Automatic GMT Chronometer doesn't look out of place at all with a suit and, being made from grade 2 titanium, it doesn't prevent me from lifting my left arm should the occasion demand it! In fact, on the odd occasion when I find it necessary to 'tart' myself up a bit, the CW 1000m is always my first choice and, should the end of the world become imminent while I'm wandering around looking dandy, I know that my CW will be able to deal with it while I turn my attention toward a change of attire. But is the CW my favourite 1000m?

Enter the Seiko 1978 Re-Creation 'Golden Tuna' S23626

This watch takes me back many, many years and, to be honest, it still evokes the same thoughts of exploration and adventure now as it did then. It's an incredible design with only two seals and no gas escape valve; the seal design, along with the way that the crystal is held in place means that it doesn't need one! It's an absolute dream to work on and its legendary 7C46 high-torque quartz movement in my particular specimen gains a second every 3 months or so! The ceramic bezel shroud is removable, allowing the bezel, along with the ratchet assembly to be removed for cleaning and re-lubrication. The thick, Seiko 'Fat Boy' spring bars remove any doubts about 'popping' one and the crown is threaded on the outside to increase the thread diameter as it mates with the 'one piece' titanium case. The luminescence of this watch is also legendary; the handset, markers and bezel 'triangle' remaining completely legible throughout the entire night without needing further recharge. I could go on about this watch for pages and pages and pages, in fact I probably have done somewhere! Although my Rolex Sea-Dweller served me well for almost 20 years, and it looked great with a suit, it was no match for the 'Tuna' when diving; the 'Tuna' was designed and built for one job only and, for me, it does that job better than any other watch.

The Seiko 7C46-7009 'Golden Tuna'

I bought this watch back in 1986 and kept it for quite a few years; it went everywhere with me and at that time I believe it was one of the toughest watches in the world! I bought it back from it's third owner three years ago and completely rebuilt it; the memories of an earlier time were rekindled and, after quite a few hours work, it sat on my desk in front of me as good as new. The bezel operation as crisp now as it was then! Is it better than the S23626? I'd say that although the materials have improved, the actual quality of the engineering has deteriorated slightly. Would I place my trust in it today? You bet!

Less Than 1000m on the Dial?

Of course, watches without this depth rating are quite capable of surviving everything that you're likely to throw at them; the 1000m on the dial is merely an initial indication of the toughness. Indeed, the 'Tuna' could live at 1000m for the entire 5 year life of the battery, and has been tested by Seiko at well over 3000m in actual seawater without any problems whatsoever; the 1000m automatic 'Tuna' being happy at well over 4000m! That doesn't mean that other watches are incapable of accompanying you wherever you may roam; some 300m watches such as the HELM Vanuatu and the HELM Komodo are exceptional tool watches; I have extensive personal experience of both watches and can confirm that these two are well up to the job, and then some! In fact, in my opinion, you won't find a better, tougher tool watch than the HELM Vanuatu or HELM Komodo without spending ￡1000 more! These watches are exceptional value for money and I'd put them up against the best in any toughness test.

The Last Word

What it boils down to is this. The 1000m on the dial is a reasonable indication as to the toughness of the watch; it's even better if it states 'Diver's' on the dial, with that all important apostrophe before the 's'. Only dive watches that conform to ISO 6425 are permitted to put this on the dial, and these watches have not only been tested to 125% of their stated dial depth but also need to comply with all the other standards within ISO 6425. For those with a little more knowledge, other watches present themselves based on their build quality, features, design and materials. It's not sufficient to just accept the hype from the manufacturer; look for the signs and, if you can, take someone with you that knows their stuff. Quite often, some of the really tough stuff is only available on the internet direct from the manufacturer, such as HELM. Take your time and get it right; remember, you're likely to have that watch for a very, very, very long time!