First 15 minutes on the Submariner bezel

[Sponon]

Can someone explain to me why the sub (+ most divers) only have the first 15 minutes on the insert in single minutes, followed by every 5 minutes? I`ve been told it has something to do when you`re diving, but never been fully explained....

[mike]

One of our diver members can give you a better explnation but as I understand it typically while diving the most crucial things to time are your decompression stops. Unless you’re doing saturation or some type of technical mixed gas diving the decompression stops range from 15 down to 3 minutes. So I would assume that Rolex chose to index the first 15 minutes to facilitate accurate timing of the shorter decompression times.

One of the neat things about the DSSD that often gets overlooked is a true 60 minute bezel like the old Mil. Subs.

[nickriebe]

Sounds right to me Mike... Here is Wikipedias answer....

Most contemporary dive watches with conspicuous 15 or 20 minute markings on their bezels, are the result of copying a Rolex bezel design of the 1950s. Back then divers typically planned a dive to a certain maximum depth based on now obsolete US Navy dive tables, and dove according to the planned dive profile. If the dive profile allowed a bottom time of 35 minutes the diver, upon entering the water, would set the marker on the bezel, 35 minutes ahead of the minute hand. The diver calculated this with the 60 - bottom time formulae (60 - 35 = 25, for 35 minutes bottom time the diver would align the 25 minute bezel-mark with the minute hand). Once the minute hand reached the main-marker on the bezel the diver would begin his ascent to the surface. The 15 or 20 minute scale helped with timing the ascent and whatever safety stop the diver deemed necessary. For contemporary diving methods the 15 or 20 minute "count-down" bezel is quite antiquated.

[Sponon]

Thanks guys

[joeychitwood]

Modern dive computers are marvelous pieces of ingenuity and technology, but I always wear my Sub (and now my Sea Dweller) while diving and use the rotating bezel to time dives. There are a hundred ways a computer can malfunction, but the Sub is bullet-proof.

For many deeper recreational dives, one or two decompression stops of 15 minutes or less at different depths are mandatory. Since one is just hanging under the boat with nothing to do, I rotate the bezel and use it to time the stops.

[Zed Homme]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Modern dive computers are marvelous pieces of ingenuity and technology, but I always wear my Sub (and now my Sea Dweller) while diving and use the rotating bezel to time dives. There are a hundred ways a computer can malfunction, but the Sub is bullet-proof.

For many deeper recreational dives, one or two decompression stops of 15 minutes or less at different depths are mandatory. Since one is just hanging under the boat with nothing to do, I rotate the bezel and use it to time the stops.

Bingo! I've always been a believer that anything with a battery can and eventually will fail. I consider my mechanical dive watch to be an extra level of redundancy in my safety gear. When I'm on a dive where I take two deco stops, I usually keep the watch running through the first one after Ive noted where the minute hand was at the start of the stop, and then reset my bezel like you do for the final shallow deco stop. Doing it that way also preps me for measuring my surface interval minus however long that shallow stop was which for me is rarely longer than 5 minutes....

[nickriebe]

Most of my deco stops are only 3-5 minutes so a bezel works great!