Guide To Understanding Watch Water Resistance [0:00:00]
So, at the start of the movie Lord of the Rings, there’s this quote, “But they were
all of them deceived.”
That’s how I felt when I learned about water resistance in watches because I thought a
watch when they said it was water resistant, it could resist water.
But, apparently this is a tricky subject.
In today’s video, gents, I’m taking the confusion out of a watch water resistance
and I’m going to explain it to you in layman terms.
[Music] All right, gentlemen.
So, let’s start things up by defining two terms: What is waterproof?
What is water resistance?
So, some guys think that their watches are actually waterproof.
And to be waterproof, you have to be a hundred percent water resistant and no watch on this
planet is a hundred percent waterproof.
That’s just not going to happen because with water comes something called pressure.
And pressure is where we start to have issues where on a watch all of a sudden the seals
the gaskets, you’re going to start to get penetration at some level of pressure with
water.
So, that’s why no watch can be a hundred percent water proof.
And now, let’s talk about water resistance.
So, some watches are not going to be water resistant at all.
Ce careful with those watches getting caught in a rain shower is going to damage the watch.
Other ones are going to have just a bit of water resistance, so you can wash your hands
you can take a shower without watch.
But, you don’t want to go swimming, you don’t want to go diving.
But, understand some of these watches are made incredibly tough and that’s really
where the water resistance comes down to is the construction of the watch.
Now, let’s talk about the specific terms the specific words you’re going to see on
your watch and what they mean with water resistance.
So, ATM, what that stands for is atmosphere.
1 atmosphere is equal to 10 meters.
Now, you’re also going to see the word bar.
Bar is simply going to mean atmosphere, it’s the same thing.
So, this Master G Mudmaster G-Shock right here it says it’s water 20 bar resist.
What that means it’s 200 meters water resistant.
Now, this is where it gets confusing because what the watch companies are saying whether
it’s Rolex whether it’s G-Shock is that they’ve tested this in a lab and that’s
the pressure that the watch can withstand, not the water depth that you actually can
take the watch to.
Now, some people may think the watch companies are being deceptive, if it says 50 meter water
resistance, you want to be to wear it down to 50 meters.
But, here is the thing is it’s all about pressure because pressure changes.
It’s actually independent of the depth that you go.
Yes, in a perfect lab it could go down maybe to 50 meters, but here’s the issue is what
happens if you dive into that water and that watch hits the water all of a sudden the pressure
is going to spike and that’s what the companies have to pay attention to.
So, it’s difference between slowly putting a watch in versus against slamming it into
the water.
So, throughout this video I’ve been wearing this watch right here.
This is the Master of G Mudmaster.
It’s model GG1000-188.
Now, this is the latest in the new edition of the Master of G Mudmaster series.
Guys, I love this watch.
It’s got the mud-resist construction.
Basically, it ensures nothing is going to get into the watch.
We’re talking about water resistance, well, mud is a whole another issue and this watch
has got you covered.
In addition to being mud-resistant, this watch has tons of features.
So, first up we’ve got the twin sensor capabilities, we’ve got a thermometer, and we’ve got
a compass.
This watch is 200-meter water resistance.
It’s a got 24-hour stopwatch chronograph and stopwatch.
It measures down to 1/100th of a second.
It’s got a full auto calendar, five alarms, a two-year battery.
And, let’s talk about in the dark, the face is illuminated by a super illuminator.
It’s got a high brightness auto LED lights to ensure high visibility under any conditions
imaginable.
It’s a beautiful tough watch.
I love how they paid attention to the details, a little bit of texture here on the band right
here, the bands they’ve got the sure grip.
This is a great watch.
Guys, I’m linking to G-Shock down in the description of this video.
Go check it out, go look at the price, look at the details, see if this is the watch for
you guys.
Again, linking to them down in the description.
All right, gents.
So now, we’re going to talk about the various levels of water resistance, what you can do
at each of these levels and what you should not do.
And, gentlemen, to make this easy, I’ve created a very simple to understand chart
for you.
You can download it, I’m linking to it down in the description.
Go grab it, guys, yours absolutely free.
First up, we’ve got 30 meters 3 ATM 3 bar.
So, this is usually going to be the lowest form of water resistance you’re going to
see out there.
Basically, with this watch, you can wash your hands.
You could take it into the shower, but I’m going to say even be careful there because
shower heat steam, that is going to penetrate even more.
You got to be really careful with this watch.
I would treat it like it has no water resistance even though they say it does.
Next up, we’ve got 50 meters 5 ATM 5 bar.
All right.
So, we’re doing a little bit better here.
You could actually take this into the shower if you so choose, although be careful if it’s
got a leather band.
You could actually, you know, you’re caught in a rainstorm you’re out simply working
outside, someone splashes water on you.
You are going to be okay, unless you want to go swimming.
Do not swim with this watch.
[0:04:54] Next up, we’ve got 100 meters 10 ATM 10
bar.
So, this watch right here is 100 meters, it’s a 10 ATM.
And with this watch I can go swimming.
I could even maybe go snorkeling, but I’m not going to go scuba diving.
Everything else getting caught in the rainstorm, washing my car, I’d even jump in the hot
tub.
Yes, with this one, but I would, again, be very careful with heat anything that’s super
hot, that can actually change the size of the gaskets and it’s something you want
to be careful of.
So, even if it’s a hundred meters, still be careful with heat.
All right.
Next up, we’ve got 200 meters, 20 bar, 20 ATM.
So both of these watches made by G-Shock are 20 ATM 20 bar 200-meter water resistant.
That means I can go scuba diving, I can go swimming, I can go diving, and I can knock
this watch up against the water and it’s going to be perfectly fine.
Now, the only thing I don’t want to do is go deep sea diving.
I don’t want to drop this to the bottom of the ocean because once again it goes past
definitely 200 meters, we could start to have issues.
So, watches that go beyond 200 meters, 500 meters, 1000 meters, that’s very, very rare.
All right, gents.
So now, let’s hit the FAQs.
First up, is why is water going to damage the inside of the watch?
When you think about a watch, it’s a closed system nothing should go in nothing should
go out.
You’ve got moving parts on it, it will say it’s an automatic mechanical watch and all
of a sudden you could have – that could really throw things off, you got little bits
of oil in there and this is not something that you want to do for those high-end watches.
Next up, you’ve got maybe a quartz battery, you’ve got something has a little bit of
electricity going there.
Let’s think about that, water electricity do not mix.
So, guys anytime you get water into a watch, that is a bad thing.
Now, this takes us to question number two because what do you do when water has penetrated
the watch.
First up, how bad is it?
If you just got a little bit of steamer you can – you can tell there’s a little bit
of water in there, it may be something may not be bad, you can put the watch to the side
and get it away from the water, put it in a dry area, softly the water can work its
way out.
But, you may have to send it off to get repaired at this point.
And where to send your watch for repairs?
Well, if you bought if from the manufacturer, they should actually have a warranty.
If you’re within that warranty, send it to them.
If you’re beyond the warranty, you’ll probably have to pay for the repairs.
But, if you don’t have any of that, let’s say it’s a used watch or it’s a watch
maybe it was an heirloom, you’ll want to send it off to a watch maker to a watch repair
place.
That’s what they specialized in and they’ll be able to help you out.
Now, let’s talk about leather bands.
So, there’s a lot of watches out there maybe that are a 100- meter water resistance, you
could swim in it, but they’ve got a leather band.
So, does that mean you should swim with this watch?
The answer is no, even though the case of the watch may be 100-meter water resistance,
that does not mean that the band itself is in fact leather bands, you need to be very
careful with.
That leather is going to absorb the moisture.
The issue with leather is when it expels the moisture, usually a little bit more goes out.
So, what’s that’s going to do is it’s going to end up drying out the strap and then
causing it to crack.
If this does happen, make sure that you use a lot a leather conditioner on the strap and
that should help it out.
So, the next question, is there anything that watch owners do that totally negates the water
resistance of the watch?
Yes.
They leave that crown wide open and guess what?
They dive in.
If you left that open, water is going to find its way in and that’s what you got to be
careful about.
In addition, guys, you’re exposing this to chemicals.
Let’s say you apply a lot of fragrance, you put that fragrance on the watch consistently
over years, guess what?
Those gaskets, again, can start to break down.
So, Antonio, are you telling me that I should check my watch for water resistance?
If you’re going to use it, if you’re going to rely on this watch, yes, I would recommend
that.
Every two years is what is stated out there, but really it comes down to how often are
you using it, under what conditions.
And it is something if you’re a professional if you rely on your watch, it is something
that you want to look to upgrade it probably every couple of years.
All right, gents.
So, that’s it for water resistance, but I know a lot of you guys now are going to
go buy a watch, guess what?
I’ve got you covered with this video right here, a complete checklist to everything you
need to know about buying a watch.
Go check it out.
I’m linking to it down in the description.
All right, gentlemen.
Now, it’s your turn.
I want to hear from you down in the comments.
What did I miss?
What would you have added to this video to make it better?
Let me know down in the comments maybe you’ve got some stories about water resistance or
not so good water resistance.
Guys, I want to hear from you down in the comments.
If you like this video, click on that like button.
If you’re new to Real Men Real Style, make sure to subscribe become part of our community.
And, guys, don’t forget, go check out the sponsor G-Shock.
I’m linking to them down in the description.
You could see all the specs on this watch right here, this beautiful Mudmaster GG 1000-188.
This is the new one, just came out.
Beautiful, beautiful watch.
All right, gents.
That’s it.
Take care.
I will see you in the next video.
[0:09:27] End of Audio