Watch water resistance explained: can you swim with it?

Water resistance ratings by activity

Why the gap between the stamp and the use: moving your arm through water, jumping in, or a jet from a tap all create brief pressures far above the static depth, and warm water followed by cold pulls air through a weak gasket. The table follows the manufacturers' own guidance, summarised below.

Can you swim with a 50 m watch?

Yes, in a pool or calm water. Seiko, Citizen and Casio all list 5 bar / 50 m as suitable for swimming and not for diving. What 50 m does not cover is a diving board, water skiing or any sport where the watch hits the water at speed. Keep the crown pushed in and rinse the watch in fresh water after the sea.

Can you shower with a 50 m watch?

Manufacturers say yes for 50 m and no for 30 m, and watchmakers generally advise against both. The problem in a shower is not depth: it is hot water softening gaskets, soap reducing surface tension so water creeps past seals, and the jet hitting the crown. Many owners shower with 50 m watches for years without trouble; a leather strap will not survive it even if the case does.

Is 100 m enough for snorkeling?

Yes. 100 m with a screw-down crown covers swimming, snorkeling and surfing; with a push-pull crown (Seiko 5 Sports) it covers them while the gaskets are young. 100 m is not a scuba rating whatever the number suggests; for that you want 200 m, ideally ISO 6425.

What the manuals say: Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Timex

All four also say: do not operate the crown or pushers in water, rinse after salt water, and have gaskets checked every two to three years. The wording varies by manual; the categories do not.

What ISO 6425 adds

A "Diver's 200 m" marking means each watch (not a sample) passed tests for water resistance at 125% of rating, condensation after heating and cooling, resistance to shock, magnetism and salt water, and that it has a unidirectional timing bezel, markers legible at 25 cm in the dark and an end-of-life battery indicator where relevant. On this site the ISO-certified watches are the Seiko Prospex divers (Seiko Prospex Turtle SRPE99, Seiko Prospex Samurai SRPL51, Seiko Prospex Solar Diver SNE597) and the Citizen Promaster Dive BN0151-09L. Orient's Kamasu and Mako carry a 200 m stamp without certification; the Casio Duro and Invicta Pro Diver likewise. The dive watches under $300 page ranks all of them.

The crown is the weak point

A screw-down crown clamps a gasket shut; a push-pull crown relies on friction. The Seiko 5 Sports is rated 100 m with a push-pull crown and is fine for swimming when new, but gaskets dry out, which is why we give the screw-down crown 5 points of its own. Never operate any crown under water, and check that a screw-down crown is actually screwed in before you get wet; it is the single most common cause of a flooded diver.

Gaskets age

Rubber gaskets harden in 3 to 5 years. A watch that swam happily at two years old can leak at six. A pressure test at a watchmaker costs $20 to $50 and takes ten minutes; do it before a holiday if the watch is older than three years.

Watches by water resistance in our catalog

9 automatic divers, 2 solar divers and 5 quartz divers have a verified price today; the best value automatic diver in stock is Invicta Pro Diver 8926OB at $88.00. Rankings: automatic divers, solar divers, quartz divers.

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