Obligatory Wristwatch Thread

[Wondering Beard]

Now you tell me; Im adding a screw-down crown to sapphire on my list of must-haves for an outdoor watch. This is after a slip into the Loyal Hannah river just outside of Pittsburgh.

Attachment 117175

Ouch.

Water resistant to 10 bar. I figured I could at least fall into hip deep water for 1-2 seconds and not have ingress?!

10 bar most certainly should have handled that. I'm going to guess that the seals were used up.


Wait ... this Hamilton had a water resistance of ten bar and no screw down crown?

[TOTS]

Ouch.



10 bar most certainly should have handled that. I'm going to guess that the seals were used up.


Wait ... this Hamilton had a water resistance of ten bar and no screw down crown?

Correct. Right off the case back

[BillSWPA]

I have seen watches rated as high as 200m with push-pull crowns. The manufacturers claim the watches can handle it. I prefer a screw-down crown.

[Wondering Beard]

Correct. Right off the case back

And it was a push-pull crown?

[MountainRaven]

Screw-down crowns are not necessary to ensure water resistance and, in fact, do basically nothing for water resistance.

What they do do (haha, doodoo) is prevent the crown from being pulled and twisted by your gear (and prevent the crown from getting damaged from being pulled out and then taking a lateral impact or otherwise being bent). A watch should be just fine with the crown pulled out of the watch when submerged.

Unfortunately, and what is probably the case here, everybody makes lemons. And sometimes watches that are supposed to be water resistant to 100 or 200 meters (or more) turn out to not hold up to a brief dunk in the shower or, in this instance, the Loyal Hannah River. Nevertheless, I would assume the watch is still under warranty and Hamilton should repair or replace it.

[DMCutter]

Now you tell me; Im adding a screw-down crown to sapphire on my list of must-haves for an outdoor watch. This is after a slip into the Loyal Hannah river just outside of Pittsburgh.

Attachment 117175

I bet that was cold. Is it all water intrusion or maybe some condensation?

[davisj]

The Orient automatic I recently purchased (photo up thread) was running 3-4 minutes fast per day so I returned it. Decided to go with another Vaer, D4 Meridian Solar, as I like the accuracy of quartz and the longevity of solar. Not a fan of the date window as it is cut too small. Would have preferred time only, no date given the suboptimal execution.

[BillSWPA]

Screw-down crowns are not necessary to ensure water resistance and, in fact, do basically nothing for water resistance.

What they do do (haha, doodoo) is prevent the crown from being pulled and twisted by your gear (and prevent the crown from getting damaged from being pulled out and then taking a lateral impact or otherwise being bent). A watch should be just fine with the crown pulled out of the watch when submerged.

Unfortunately, and what is probably the case here, everybody makes lemons. And sometimes watches that are supposed to be water resistant to 100 or 200 meters (or more) turn out to not hold up to a brief dunk in the shower or, in this instance, the Loyal Hannah River. Nevertheless, I would assume the watch is still under warranty and Hamilton should repair or replace it.

I have read that theory before. However, the number of failures of water resistance I have seen with push-pull crowns is significant, and includes only one exception. The number of failures I have seen with screw down crowns is zero, including a Pulsar watch from the early 1980's that lasted until at least 2015 without ever having the waterproof seals replaced.

[Wondering Beard]

I have read that theory before. However, the number of failures of water resistance I have seen with push-pull crowns is significant, and includes only one exception. The number of failures I have seen with screw down crowns is zero, including a Pulsar watch from the early 1980's that lasted until at least 2015 without ever having the waterproof seals replaced.

Let's put it in simpler terms.

Remember Todd saying something along the lines of "rare pistols are rare for a reason"?

It applies here.

None of the high end diver companies use a push pull crown, there's a reason for that.

For that matter, no door that is meant to be watertight sealed on ships and subs is push pull. There's a reason for that.

Both systems have seals (basically rubber gaskets that can be arranged in a simple or complicated manner), those seals get used up just by winding and setting the time. Push pull gets used up more easily than a screw down (cue Panerai from WW2). Plus a screw just closes down tighter.

So, while I imagine that a very well made push pull crown can work about as well as a screw down, most (which are produced by, let's be kind, "value" companies) are not.

[theJanitor]

Coincidentally wearing my Panerai today. It doesn't have a screw down crown, but it does have a cam lock mechanism that ensures the seals are engaged properly.