Waterproof: How many years can I be relaxed after a review?

[doramas]

After a review, how many years will the seals last to ensure that no water enters the watch?

Some will say that when the next service is due, but if the watch is at - 5 seconds a month and does not need immediate service, how long do the seals last?


I took the Datejust into service three years ago

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by doramas

After a review, how many years will the seals last to ensure that no water enters the watch?

Some will say that when the next service is due, but if the watch is at - 5 seconds a month and does not need immediate service, how long do the seals last?


I took the Datejust into service three years ago

The seals should easily last ten years unless there is some extraordinary occurrence.

[SearChart]

If you're in a lot of UV light year round and also salt water then I don't trust them for more than 5 years.

For normal use I'd definitely get them replaced every 10 years at least.

[bp1000]

Originally Posted by SearChart

If you're in a lot of UV light year round and also salt water then I don't trust them for more than 5 years.

For normal use I'd definitely get them replaced every 10 years at least.

this

[Chester01]

I don’t know. I went 17 years without servicing my sub, never gave it a moments thought.

[doramas]

Originally Posted by Chester01

I don’t know. I went 17 years without servicing my sub, never gave it a moments thought.

And you dipped your watch in the sea?

[Greg 59]

I guess it really does depend upon how deep you are going to dive. If you're just talking about swimming around on the surface then I'd say up to 10 years bearing in mind there are triple seals to protect the movement. But if you want to go down 300 metres then maybe get them checked every 1-2 years.

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[904VT]

Originally Posted by SearChart

If you're in a lot of UV light year round and also salt water then I don't trust them for more than 5 years.

For normal use I'd definitely get them replaced every 10 years at least.

Thanks Bas

[doramas]

Originally Posted by Greg 59

I guess it really does depend upon how deep you are going to dive. If you're just talking about swimming around on the surface then I'd say up to 10 years bearing in mind there are triple seals to protect the movement. But if you want to go down 300 metres then maybe get them checked every 1-2 years.

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It's a 100m Datejust. Just swim

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by doramas

It's a 100m Datejust. Just swim

100m Rolex are good for diving to 100m and much deeper than surface swimming, fwiw. Most never go deeper than 10 feet however (about 3 meters). Not even beginning to tax the watches capabilities.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Greg 59

I guess it really does depend upon how deep you are going to dive. If you're just talking about swimming around on the surface then I'd say up to 10 years bearing in mind there are triple seals to protect the movement. But if you want to go down 300 metres then maybe get them checked every 1-2 years.

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You do realise this is a fact there have been more men to go to the moon,that have got past 250m underwater just on scuba. But most recreational divers today stick to around 30m- 40m max depth on just air.Some more technical recreational divers would go to perhaps 120m but for this type of diving you must be very experienced with plenty of planning and backup.But if any watch like the sub was used for diving regular then it would be prudent to have it pressure checked once or twice a year.

[Chester01]

Originally Posted by doramas

And you dipped your watch in the sea?

Lol. Indeed many times. My mother wore her day-date for 25 years and it was never serviced. She wore it while swimming many, many times and surprise, surprise no issues. Ever.


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[doramas]

Originally Posted by Chester01

Lol. Indeed many times. My mother wore her day-date for 25 years and it was never serviced. She wore it while swimming many, many times and surprise, surprise no issues. Ever.


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I've heard similar stories.

I get the impression that Rolex joints last longer than they "recommend"

[Tools]

Modern Viton, Nitrile, and Delrin gaskets will last for many years and are UV and chemical resistant far beyond what older rubber gaskets were.

As long as you have a reasonable maintenance schedule, it is very unlikely that you will have an issue because a gasket actually breaks down.

It is way more likely that you would knock a crystal and move the gasket out of place, or incur other physical watch damage that affects sealing during the viable life of a gasket.

Shelf life for Nitrile o-rings is 5 to 10 years, twice as long as rubber.

[JChips]

Originally Posted by padi56

You do realise this is a fact there have been more men to go to the moon,that have got past 250m underwater just on scuba. But most recreational divers today stick to around 30m- 40m max depth on just air.Some more technical recreational divers would go to perhaps 120m but for this type of diving you must be very experienced with plenty of planning and backup.But if any watch like the sub was used for diving regular then it would be prudent to have it pressure checked once or twice a year.

I agree 100%. When I was diving on a regular basis, I would try and have it done yearly.

With that said, I know a handful of guys in my unit that didn’t do sh*t with their Subs between a 5-10 year service interval, and things seemed to work ok for them too...

It’s perplexing to me to see how people believe these watches are so fragile....

[doramas]

Originally Posted by Tools

Modern Viton, Nitrile, and Delrin gaskets will last for many years and are UV and chemical resistant far beyond what older rubber gaskets were.

As long as you have a reasonable maintenance schedule, it is very unlikely that you will have an issue because a gasket actually breaks down.

It is way more likely that you would knock a crystal and move the gasket out of place, or incur other physical watch damage that affects sealing during the viable life of a gasket.

Shelf life for Nitrile o-rings is 5 to 10 years, twice as long as rubber.

I have heard that it influences how often you open and close the crown to adjust the time or day. The less you open, the harder it is. Is that right?

[Tools]

Originally Posted by doramas

I have heard that it influences how often you open and close the crown to adjust the time or day. The less you open, the harder it is. Is that right?

Shelf life, or time-in-service life, is generally a function of time, rather than use - unless it is abuse.

I don't think that opening and closing the crown will have much affect on viable gasket material, that's it's job. As the gasket ages and becomes more brittle, then you could see faster deterioration from use. However, if you wait that long, the gasket should have already been replaced.

[doramas]

Originally Posted by Tools

Shelf life, or time-in-service life, is generally a function of time, rather than use - unless it is abuse.

I don't think that opening and closing the crown will have much affect on viable gasket material, that's it's job. As the gasket ages and becomes more brittle, then you could see faster deterioration from use. However, if you wait that long, the gasket should have already been replaced.

Thank you very much.

[GoingPlaces]

I inherited my fathers DJ maybe ten years ago or so, can't remember when TBH. He had never serviced it since 1989 or so when he bought it. I remember him and later myself washing it under the sink all the time. Finally took it in for service around the 25 year mark. No issues.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Chester01

Lol. Indeed many times. My mother wore her day-date for 25 years and it was never serviced. She wore it while swimming many, many times and surprise, surprise no issues. Ever.


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Well your Mother was extremely lucky especially on any watch used in water that old and never serviced.

[Chester01]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well your Mother was extremely lucky especially on any watch used in water that old and never serviced.

She always said to me when I was 21 and got my first Rolex. It’s just a watch, wear it. She felt that when you have a Rolex it will take what you can dish out. I mean she was not scuba diving with it, but she was in the pool frequently, wore it morning to night, doing dishes, gardening, even working with cement on a couple occasions and to dinner out and everything in between. It was serviced I believe at 25 years, I forget what the specific issue was but was not water related, lol.


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[SubMariner55]

Is it the same with the older ones? There's been a few threads over at the vintage section where people don't wear their vintage watches around water?(plexi models, from the early 60 and up) and that even Rolex says that they don't recommend you wear these old watches around water even tho they are waterproof when they test them during service.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by SubMariner55

Is it the same with the older ones? There's been a few threads over at the vintage section where people don't wear their vintage watches around water?(plexi models, from the early 60 and up) and that even Rolex says that they don't recommend you wear these old watches around water even tho they are waterproof when they test them during service.

This has nothing to do with how waterproof a vintage watch is.

It has everything to do with risk associated with any possibility that something may go wrong. You cannot replace cosmetic parts on an original vintage watch - ever, and still retain it's "value".

A vintage watch with sound seals and flat sealing surfaces is just as waterproof today as it was when it was first made.

[Polarexplorerii]

just have it pressured check once a yr for piece of mind..

[77T]

Older watch cases and/or casebacks may have pitting from earlier corrosion that was cleaned up during a service.

That factor can influence the lifecycle of water resistance. When supple, a gasket conforms to small irregularities and performs well. Water resistance remains consistently strong.

Over time this pliability changes due to oxidation and UV degradation.

So it’s more about the surfaces no matter the age. Any surface that is irregular - whether it is a modern watch or a vintage one - whether pitted or pristine - any gasket can yield to aging.

IMHO, 5 years after gaskets are replaced, I would have regular pressure checks before relying on water resistance for periods of submersion.


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[Greg 59]

Originally Posted by padi56

You do realise this is a fact there have been more men to go to the moon,that have got past 250m underwater just on scuba. But most recreational divers today stick to around 30m- 40m max depth on just air.Some more technical recreational divers would go to perhaps 120m but for this type of diving you must be very experienced with plenty of planning and backup.But if any watch like the sub was used for diving regular then it would be prudent to have it pressure checked once or twice a year.

Yes i do realise that and another nautical fun fact... more people have gone into space than have sailed single-handed non stop around the world. With regards to your suggestion that the watch gets checked twice a year. Bearing in mind a service includes replacing all seals followed by a rigorous testing of its waterproofness and following all that, a 2 year guarrantee. I'm not sure there would be much to be gained by additional testing unless of course you don't trust the company or its components?

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[Tools]

Testing is for peace of mind - at that point in time.

If you have a 20 year old watch, pressure test it, and it passes, you might get away with a day of swimming. Would it still be sound a week later? A month later? Time is ticking?

[Verdi]

Originally Posted by Tools

This has nothing to do with how waterproof a vintage watch is.
A vintage watch with sound seals and flat sealing surfaces is just as waterproof today as it was when it was first made.

Yes, if it passes the water pressure test it is....
but, that is not always the case......
and, also, if the watch is valuable, I would not take the risk. It takes very little moisture to ruin a dial....

I don’t think I’d take a 70s watch near water but Id probably do it with a ‘80s model that has been serviced and passed the test.

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well your Mother was extremely lucky especially on any watch used in water that old and never serviced.

Correct. I sometimes take apart a watch hardly 10 years old and the gaskets simply disintegrate when touching them...

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by Greg 59

Yes i do realise that and another nautical fun fact... more people have gone into space than have sailed single-handed non stop around the world. With regards to your suggestion that the watch gets checked twice a year. Bearing in mind a service includes replacing all seals followed by a rigorous testing of its waterproofness and following all that, a 2 year guarrantee. I'm not sure there would be much to be gained by additional testing unless of course you don't trust the company or its components?

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I had a very nice vintage Sub once that was in marvelous condition throughout and had passed a rudimentary 100m pressure test.
Which on the face of it should've been fine for any daily wear purposes. Right?

Within a couple of months of the pressure test it unexpectedly developed some fogging under the Crystal which was bad enough for it to be rather concerning
The watch was well cared for and had suffered no damage.

Off it went to Rolex for a full service and as one would expect it came back with a clean bill of health and pressure tested to 250m in accordance with their(Rolex) specifications and no conditions or provisoes imposed.

This is an example of what can easily happen with any watch.
As a Marine engineer/Shipwright by trade I can tell you the problem is with anything like this, is it's impossible for any individual to predict with any degree of certainty when the failure point will be reached except to say that the older the assembly the more risk one carries.
Fortunately, these are only watches and the worst that can happen is the internals can be ruined. In most cases it's only money. Right?

For a diver back in the day before Dive computers.
It could have been the difference between life or death if one had a flooded watch under the worst circumstances.