Buying a watch
Divers rely heavily on accurate time-keeping. A few years ago you could always spot a diver through two simple signs: compression marks around the wrists from wetsuit or dry-suit and the diver's watch. Now, with sports watches being worn by your grandma and your three year old niece, we have to rely on the compression marks alone - but a diving watch is still the most crucial piece of kit a diver owns.
Choosing a watch
All dive watches need a depth rating of at least 200m. While very few divers see those sort of depths, the rating remains important not because it relates to the depth you may dive to, but to the pressures the watch may have to withstand, which massively increase as divers move rapidly when much closer to the surface.
As divers must be able to monitor exact times to stay within safe diving limits, the bezel on a diver's watch should also be unidirectional, that is, move in all directions. A bezel that rotates only to the left might get knocked, especially on a line and so it could shorted the dive, resulting in the diver surfacing early to remain within apparent safe limits.
Second hands on analogue watches are vital as they show the watch is still working. A watch that stops while on a dive will give the impression that less time has been spent underwater which is dangerous, and the second hand is the easiest way to constantly check your watch is okay.
Luminous coatings either on the watch face or on the hands are important for reading information in low light. Digital watches are becoming more popular with divers, and it is vital that the time display is large and easy to read. The watch should have a light, and the button that operates it should be easy to press, even with cold hands.
You Might Be Interested in
SPF-60-D-7AVER Casio Divers Watch |
Click here to see our full range of divers watches
Additional Reading
Air Saving ... Archaeology ... Bridges ... Buying Fins ... Cliff Divers ... Cold ... Competitive Diving ... Cousteau ... Decompression ... Dive Equipment ... Diving Ear Problems ... Diving Medication ... Fin Saftey ... Mestre ... Perl Divers ... Photography ... Scuba ... Top 5 World Wide Dives ... Top 5 European Dives ... Top 5 UK Dives ... Torch ... Torch Saftey ... Underwater Danger ... Watch ... Wetsuit
Related Links
Seiko Watches, Seiko Divers Watches, Casio Watches, International Diving Association, PADI