Science experiment...

[douglasf13]

Originally Posted by Llamathurst

You know, I sent my Rolex to the RSC, and they said I blew a seal.

I told them to leave my personal life out of it.

[CharlesN]

Whilst this is a perfectly valid scientific experiment to make it into an experiment where the results will have a bearing on very many of the Rolex watch owners here the experiment needs to be widened jut a little.

The 1401 L of liquid in he hot tub needs to have a sizeable addition of mica or similar added to the liquid. I would suggest over 100 kilos.

This would enable the chlorinated water to become more like the saltwater found in some of the seas around the world.

I will not entertain the idea of adding a portion of raw sewage as this would just be distasteful although getting closer to the reality of the seas woud be interesting.

This experiment could very easily be taken a lot further and would possibly eventually be awarded the high honour of an IG for science.

[Dirt]

People, let us get back on track.
The OP is not taking the whole watch into the hot tub.
Only the spare link is being submerged into the solution, so the watch will be fine

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by Rolexken

Rational fear or not, I would not wear an expensive watch in a hot tub because heat = expanded metal = looser seals.

Hasn't this been settled.

[WilsdorfNDavis]

Originally Posted by Llamathurst

You know, I sent my Rolex to the RSC, and they said I blew a seal.

I told them to leave my personal life out of it.

I told them I didn't, I'm just a messy vanilla ice cream cone eater...

[Llamathurst]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

Hasn't this been settled.

The heat and water ingress, certainly. This is about chlorine oxidation.

[Carondelet]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

Hasn't this been settled.

And to add to this, I would think that watches will heat up on your wrist in the sun, more than the temp of a hot tub. Certainly a more uneven heating too. I can't imagine how laying down in the sun while poolside, and then jumping in to cool off wouldn't pose the same problem of seals and metal expanding and contracting rapidly. I can't imagine that would cause a meaningful impact to the hermaticity of the watch. I'm sure this has been done many times with no ill effect.

All that being said, I'm not saying that anyone should or shouldn't wear a watch in a hot tub, merely that I don't think it would matter if they did. I myself don't wear my watches in the pool or hot tub (mostly because chlorinated water or salt water really messes up my hair) so I may be biased.

[Carondelet]

Originally Posted by Llamathurst

The heat and water ingress, certainly. This is about chlorine oxidation.

I think the comment was in response to a concern raised about seals and metal expansion.

Regarding the oxidation, I'm exited to see the results of the experiment!

[saxo3]

This experiment is very clearly described by the OP.

One spare link of his 116618 LN gold bracelet remains for 48 hours at constant temperature of 40 °C in chlorinated hot tab water.

His aim is to study the surface reaction of gold (noble metal) under this condition, a very simple test. During these 48 hours the link remains permanently underwater and there is no air exposure.

As soon as the OP stops his experiment he will move the link out of the tub water into air. I am interested what happens at that specific moment. Does the surface color change quickly due to air oxidation?

[CharlesN]

The problem might be that as air is pumped through the solution of water and Chlorine bubbles will abound in a random manner.

With these bubbles a change in the metal could happen before the metal is removed from the solution.

Somehow I think perhaps a test sample should be used to show the difference if it is left in the liquid

[BDII]

Originally Posted by padi56

Why anyone would need to wear any watch in a hot tub defeats me.

Because you might like to know the time.

[Db7566]

Originally Posted by padi56

Why anyone would need to wear any watch in a hot tub defeats me.

How about because they don’t care to take it off?


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[Dirt]

Originally Posted by WilsdorfNDavis

I told them I didn't, I'm just a messy vanilla ice cream cone eater...

Just how messy are you?

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by Db7566

How about because they don’t care to take it off?


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Or it may not be wise to try and hide it if one was at a party.
It may not be there when one comes back.

[Chester01]

My parents wore there gold day-dates laying concrete, not a joke and in every environment imaginable and there were no Ill effects, and it outlasted her life. The reality is, before gshock there was Rolex and they can take what ever you dish out. The investment hype obscured their history unfortunately.

[77T]

It ain’t the chlorine (or whatever chemistry) that’s in the pool/spa - it’s the…

•Urea
•Chloride
•Sodium
•Potassium
•Creatinine

In the pool/spa…

The urologists on TRF know what I mean…


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[Schmed]

Stainless steel's achilles heel is chlorides. The chlorine in a pool eventually degrades to chlorides. The good news, is that the corrosion is typically a cracking type corrosion, but only if stress is also applies in the presence of chlorides. And, chloride levels >300 ppm or so are the typical levels where you get concerned.

I seem to recall that Rolex uses 904 alloy stainless steel, and that's more resistant to corrosion due to chlorides than 316 or 304 stainless.

My prediction is that you won't see a visual issue when your test is complete!

https://www.corrosionpedia.com/chlor...s-steel/2/7216

[Jimbo]

I thought everything eventually oxidates. It's just a matter of the rate. I assume stainless steel just oxidates at a very slow rate compared to bronze but probably faster than gold.

I have to believe that putting in 904L and/or gold in chlorinated water will not immediately show signs of oxidation, but it may accelerate it given that chlorine is literally an oxidizing agent.

The real experiment is before putting the link in the hot tub, take a macro photo of the surface, do your own observations with a loupe, then place the link into the hot tub.

Then when removing it, wipe off 1/2 of the link and let the other half still remain wet. Let the link sit on a paper towel for another 48 hours, and then re-observe with the macro and loupe.

Pictures would be nice.

[Schmed]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I thought everything eventually oxidates. It's just a matter of the rate. I assume stainless steel just oxidates at a very slow rate compared to bronze but probably faster than gold.

I have to believe that putting in 904L and/or gold in chlorinated water will not immediately show signs of oxidation, but it may accelerate it given that chlorine is literally an oxidizing agent.

...

What's odd about stainless steel, is that its protection is an oxidized outer layer of metal. It corrodes in the absence of oxygen. To passivate and protect stainless, they often use nitric acid. Not only a very strong acid, but also an oxidizer!

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by 77T

The urologists on TRF know what I mean…

...and that's why none of you are invited into our spa / hot tub / firepit / pool.

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by Schmed

What's odd about stainless steel, is that its protection is an oxidized outer layer of metal. It corrodes in the absence of oxygen. To passivate and protect stainless, they often use nitric acid. Not only a very strong acid, but also an oxidizer!

I think though that is only true because of the chromium content of stainless steel and its reaction to oxygen at the surface. If that chromium layer is damaged, then stainless steel will corrode.

If an acid or oxidizer is strong enough, then that chromium layer may oxidize away leaving the steel underneath exposed.

That's why the length of time in the hot tub may matter.

Also, very high heat can corrode stainless steel. You can see this in stainless steel parts red with rust after an intense fire. My guess is that if you boil a Rolex in chlorinated water, you will get corrosive effects much faster than either 1 or the other alone.

As for the Rolex ad with the boiling Rolex....that only shows the watch mechanism can survive....not that the watch will look fine afterwards. It also depends on whether that DJ was full gold or SS. Also, no watch can survive sustained high temperature like that, so the length of time the watch was in the boiling water will also matter.

As a comparison, the Sinn Artkis 206 was specially designed for extreme cold to extreme hot temperatures, but I don't think even Sinn means high water temperatures. Remember, water contains more energy at the same temp vs. air.

[Llamathurst]

As, we are getting closer to the experiment conclusion...

My predictions: I expect no change in the gold at all. Now, will I wear my YG Sub in the tub? Probably. At the 2-3x per week for ~20m I use it, I'll be deep in Hell long before discoloration or metal or seal fatigue.

And if I'm wrong, a) it's insured b) that which can be made can be fixed and c) I can always buy another one.

[Goupax]

It's not the gold that oxidizes, it's the other metals in the alloy (mostly copper) that might react with the chlorine solution in your spa. If OP really wants to see some magic on his gold link, I would suggest a mixture of 3 parts of hydrochloric acid and 1 part of nitric acid

[Krash]

Originally Posted by padi56

Got nothing against hot tubs, but cannot see any reason to wear any watch in one, unless in one of these hot tubs you self destruct after a certain period of time in tub.

I’m in our hot tub all the time. It’s nice having watches that can handle it.




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[Calatrava r]

The seals are made of a rubber compound. Exposing them to hot chlorinated water makes no sense to me. I think the watch was designed with cold seawater in mind.

[Laostuh]

Just curious, why 48hrs? For real world application purposes shouldn't it be a couple hrs at most? Who sits in a hot tub for 48 hours or am I missing something?

[Llamathurst]

Originally Posted by Laostuh

Just curious, why 48hrs? For real world application purposes shouldn't it be a couple hrs at most? Who sits in a hot tub for 48 hours or am I missing something?

Just wanted an extreme edge case.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Laostuh

Just curious, why 48hrs? For real world application purposes shouldn't it be a couple hrs at most? Who sits in a hot tub for 48 hours or am I missing something?

True. If you sit in 104 degree water for more than 30 mins, that could really screw you up. Especially if you have a heart condition. Don’t do it. Look it up if you don’t believe me.


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[Llamathurst]

Results: no discernible color difference. Also no change in structure under 10x magnification.

[enjoythemusic]

Thx for doing this