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[From a sign on a rotating-rack display of FreeStyle® watches in a hardware store. Text in brackets added.]
©1996-2008 by Marc Rochkind. All rights reserved.

DEPTH RATING EXPLAINED

Confused by the depth ratings on watches? You're not alone. Because industry standard testing is done in a static, laboratory setting, watch depth ratings have little to do with how deep you can actually go in the water with your watch. The chart below offers a "real world" explanation of what depth ratings really mean.

What Depth Rating Means in a Dynamic, Real-Life Environment

50 feet [15m] Get wet at your own risk.
100 feet [30m] Watch should withstand a brief hand washing experience.
150 feet [45m] Watch should withstand swimming near the surface.
330 feet [100m] Watch built to withstand underwater depths of up to 100 feet and swift arm movement.
660 feet [200m] Watch built for extreme undewater conditions such as scuba diving.

[It's not clear that a hand-washing experience gets the watch as wet as hand-washing. :-)]

(2815 hits when counter was turned off on 2-June-2008)

Last Updated: 19-Jul-2003 04:56:06 PM

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