Vintage Rolex/Tudor Subs & Fresh Water Submersion

[joshuagull]

I've been Black Bay shopping because I want a dive watch with some style and character that I can admire from a WIS standpoint, wear to a nice dinner or church outing with the family and then go to the sprayground, swimming pool or out on the lake with my daughter afterwards all in the same watch without having to take it off for fear of damaging it.

I've been stuck in the mindset of looking at modern divers for fear of spending money on a vintage piece only to have it get ruined, and the Black Bay is my front runner, but it doesn't speak to my as loudly as the vintage Subs from Tudor and Rolex do like a 79090 or a 1680/16800 with a flattop plexi crystal and matte dial for example.

I have to wonder though--even if it passed a pressure test, would you trust a vintage Sub in fresh water swimming situations at depths no deeper than 10-20' for instance, or do you think it best to keep the vintage dive watches away from water just to be safe?

I've just been steering clear of the vintage stuff because I've been worried about water submersion with older pieces, and if I kept it away from water it would defeat the whole purpose of this watch purchase anyway.

Wondering if I need to give more weighty consideration to a vintage piece or not and I really appreciate any input. Thanks guys!