Frequently Asked Questions
Q) What is water resistance?
| ATM | METERS | FEET | USAGE |
| 3 | 30 | 100 | Suitable for everyday use. Splash/rain resistant. NOT suitable for showering, bathing, swimming, snorkeling, water related activities. |
| 5 | 50 | 165 | Suitable for swimming, white water rafting, non-snorkeling water related activities. |
| 10 | 100 | 330 | Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and water sports. |
| 15 | 150 | 500 | Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and water sports. |
| 20 | 200 | 660 | Suitable for professional marine activity and serious surface water sports. |
| 30 | 300 | 990 | Suitable for professional diving. |
A) Water Resistant is a common mark stamped on the back of wrist watches to indicate how well a watch is sealed against the ingress of water. It is usually accompanied by an indication of the static test pressure that samples of newly manufactured watches were exposed to in a leakage test.
An indication of the test pressure in terms of water depth does not mean a water resistant watch was designed for repeated long-term use in such water depths. For example, a watch marked 30 meters water resistant cannot be expected to withstand activity for longer time periods in a swimming pool, let alone continue to function at 30 meters under water. This is because the test is conducted only once using static pressure on a sample of newly-manufactured watches. The test for qualifying a diving watch for repeated usage in a given depth includes safety margins to take factors into account like ageing of the seals, the properties of water and seawater, rapidly changing water pressure and temperature, as well as dynamic mechanical stresses encountered by a watch. Also every diving watch has to be tested for water resistance or water-tightness and resistance at a water overpressure as it is officially defined.
Q) What is a chronograph?
A) A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive pressure on the stem.
Q) What is a multi-function?
A) Multi-function watches can contain a number of different subdials including 60-second, day of the week, day of the month, 12-hour, 24-hour, dual time, as well as others.
Q) What is "IP" or ion plating?
A) Ion plating is one of the most advanced surface finishing processes ever developed. In traditional processes, the gold or other metal coating on the surface of a watchcase can be rubbed off relatively easily. Ion plating makes the coating more durable, more wear resistant, and also has higher color brightness. The watchcase is bombarded with precious metals, atom by atom. The atoms are accelerated by a magnetic field in a vacuum environment. First, a titanium nitride layer, which has a high chemical stability, is applied to the component to be plated. The final coating follows, normally not exceeding 0.3 urn in thickness. When heated and bombarded by electrons at low pressure (one thousandth of mercurial pressure) solid metal vaporizes and turns into electric ions also known as plasma. A great advantage of this process is that the titanium nitride produced is both harder and chemically more stable than can be achieved through traditional plating methods.
Q) What is a movement?
A) A movement is the mechanism that actually calculates the passage of time--the "guts" of the watch, if you will. Like the engine and transmission of a car, watch movements are so fundamental to the quality of the watch that they are often manufactured by separate companies, or by the same company in a different factory. The movement is also the part of the watch which is usually covered by a warranty--much like the "engine and drivetrain" warranties that come with new cars.
Q) What's the difference between a mechanical movement and a quartz movement?
A) Mechanical movements are what most people think of when they talk about the fine art of watch making--a precise, intricate system of tiny gears and springs which use mechanical energy to operate. These watches have a mainspring, which is wound either by hand or by "automatic movement" (self winding). The spring power is then transferred to the hands of the watch via a precise timing mechanism known as a balance.
A quartz movement is a simpler, less expensive timing mechanism which regulates time by sending an electric current from a battery to a tiny quartz crystal, which vibrates at precise and predictable rates--32,768 cycles per second to be exact. Quartz movements are superbly accurate and reliable. Because they can be mass-produced, quartz movements are used in everything from clock radios and digital watches to some very fine timepieces. However, what is gained in efficiency is lost in elegance, according to some epicureans.