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I’m off on holiday in a month and I wanted to check my watches are still up to a bit of swimming and snorkelling.
Can anyone recommend somewhere I can send them for a water proof test +/- replacement of seals? I’m not looking for a full service, just peace of mind that they’re not going to fill up with water.
I’d be happy to send them to the forum watchmakers too but presumed that it might not be worth their time.
Thanks all
Leave them all at home and buy yourself a holiday watch. 😂
Ha! Sadly my watch budget has been wasted on a holiday!Quote:
Originally Posted by estoban7
Pressure testing and re-sealing (new gaskets) multiple watches isn’t going to be cheap - especially via postQuote:
Originally Posted by Idontgram
Just one, in fact. I’m not sure why I said watches(pl)Quote:
Originally Posted by lewie
My local branch of Timpsons can pressure test up to 100mts I believe.
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Casio Mrw200 from argos.....job jobbed
Timpsons do advertise that you can have your watches pressure tested at their branches. Timpsons aren't of course your go to place for watch servicing, but as I guess you really only want to know that you can go swimming with them, rather than scuba diving past 100m, I guess their pressure test will be sufficiently reassuring!
What is the one watch ?
Nomos club neomatik. Supposedly 200m water resistance. It’s a recent used pick up with a 12 month dealer guarantee so I don’t feel compelled to service it at this stage.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheTigerUK
Thanks for the Timpsons suggestions, wouldn’t be my first port of call usually but maybe this is the right sort of job for them.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...00f383709c.jpg
Hmm. Wouldn’t trust a nice watch like that at Timpsons tbh. They’ll probably lever the back off with a big screwdriver first in an effort to change the battery before dropping it into the pressure tester. My father took a Longines dress watch to Timpsons a few years ago for a battery and it came back with a caseback that looked like they’d used a can opener. I wouldn’t trust them with a £20 Casio.
Take the watch off before swimming,Your on holiday so time isnt an issue.You will know when its time to get out for another beer.
Certainly wouldn't get new seals and pressure tests.
You wouldn't ask Timpsons to change the battery - I'm not that daft! But they do say they do pressure testing as a separate service, so they wouldn't have the chance to wreck the watch, just test it. I wouldn't say that their testing would be definitive either, but it should be a good enough indication....if they say its failed, then you'd need to go somewhere else to get it serviced!Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDad
No they don't, you hand your watch over, it is then positioned in a 'bell jar' then pull down a lever with tab onto the centre of the crystal, and 30 seconds later a digital readout shows the level of pressure test, 30/50/100 mts.Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDad
Of course if the test failed you would then have to decide whether you would trust the person to 'lever the back off with a big screwdriver' or not.
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Ok I was being deliberately facetious. It’s a shoe menders with a bell jar in the back and watches are expensive. The story about my father’s watch is true.
I know it's not answering your question and apologise for that, but for the price of a pressure test you'd probably be halfway to a decent Casio which you wouldn't have to worry about underwater. And not to have to worry about your lovely Nomos.
I nipped into The Watch Lab in York to have mine tested before a holiday. He did it there and then, my watch and my wife’s too, we had a nice chat and he didn’t charge a penny. I forget how much pressure it was able to test but I have a feeling it was at least 200m.
100%^^.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom-P
Thanks again to everyone for the comments and suggestions. I have a Casio I can wear, I just want to wear and enjoy the nomos without worrying about taking it off and keeping it safe, be it at the beach or questionable hotel room safe.
Besides, what’s the point of buying a 200m WR watch if you can’t get it wet.
My main issue with taking a decent watch like that on holiday isn’t the water resistance, I’m more concerned about whacking it off the side of the pool whilst swimming or messing about tbh! Even a supposedly super tough watch like a Deepsea won’t enjoy a good whack off a concrete surface - and let’s face it Rolex will insist on replacement parts for a hairline on the crown nowadays!
That’s the beauty of a G shock - you can use them as a squash ball and they won’t show a mark!
A nice watch like that Nomos will be ruined by a ding in the case, I know watches are made to be worn though so perhaps I’m overthinking it?!
Bomb & Pool proof.
Attachment 20793
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Years ago I got an Aerospace from here as a holiday watch. I had Timpsons pressure test it before I took it on holiday just to be on the safe side. Was perfectly fine in the pool and sea when I chose to wear it as such but it gave me the peace of mind to do so.
You might have gotten a bit lucky there - lots of horror stories about Aerospaces shipping water when taken swimming. Breitling's official response when challenged has been to say that the crown must have been used / knocked.Quote:
Originally Posted by reecie
Breitling's webpage for the Aerospace @
https://www.breitling.com/gb-en/watc...o/E79363101B1/
rates it at 10 bars but when you click on the adjacent info icon for that it says:
'This watch can be worn in the shower and for swimming at surface level.'
- which is a scarily cautious formulation.
To add to this thread, I have a number of expensive (to me, not the high-rollers) watches, when I go on holiday I take a cheap Casio that cost me under £20, if anything happens to it on holiday, I care not a single jot! There was a year that I was daft enough to take a Lange 1815 on holiday and spent the entire holiday making sure I did not knock it against anything, never again after that.
If anyone abroad sees the Casio and thinks ‘cheap SOB’, I don’t care a jot about that either! :tranquillity:
As a PS to this, I've just bought a pre-owned box, and whizzed straight round to Timpsons to have it pressure tested! Which they did while I waited - for free! They can only test to 100m pressure in-store, but it gives you some confidence that the seals are in decent condition. If you want to Scuba dive, you'd probably go elsewhere.
I guess so then. Was a fair number of years ago and the watch got nicked in a break in anyway. Since then I used an Orange Monster but found it annoying that if you are on a sun bed type holiday and not wearing it much the power reserve was a bit poor. So now use a Scurfa Diver One which is pretty bomb proof in any direction you might consider 😀Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom-P
Googles Scurfa Diver One ... bloody hell yes no worries there.Quote:
Originally Posted by reecie
Just an update on this: I took it to Timpsons: they said they could only test to 100m. I said that was fine as I was only looking to get the watch wet not go deep sea diving. They refused.
I took it to a chain called the watch lab. They said I was mad to take the watch swimming but tested it for free. Seals held up to 20 atm. No charge.
Proper watch enthusiasts, then. Reckon you need 1000M minimum for a swim in the pool! :biggrin:Quote:
Originally Posted by Idontgram
The 'get a Casio' posts baffle me - What's the point of having a nice watch if you leave it at home and wear a cheap thing?
Then again, I don't ever feel the need to take a selection of watches on holiday, so what do I know?
M
The silly thing here being that The Watch Lab are part of the Timpson Group: https://find-and-update.company-info...mpany/11640971, so Timpsons sent you away and you went to...Timpsons.Quote:
Originally Posted by Idontgram
Good that they've got machines that'll go up to 200m/20ATM, and that they did it FoC - the prices they advertise for a new battery (and then pressure test) are pretty eye watering.
Hold on - they refused to test it to 100m because some ethical reason or what?Quote:
Originally Posted by Idontgram
I didn’t want to get into it with the guy in the shop. I just assumed he didn’t understand and accepted his recommendation to go elsewhereQuote:
Originally Posted by ped
I had exactly the same conversation in my local Timpsons, but they were happy to test to 100m! Obviously you came across an idiot...Quote:
Originally Posted by Idontgram
More importantly, did you/are you going to swim in it?
I plan to. I’ve thought about posting a photo when the time comes but frankly, I suspect I’ll feel too self conscious to be standing in a pool with a phone in my hand taking a picture of my wrist underwater.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harryb
Idontgram indeed, then!
Don’t worry. I see loads of wanybe “influencers” here taking short videos of themsleves standing half in the sea or on the beach at sunset. You’ll not be noticed taking a few photos in the pool.Quote:
Originally Posted by Idontgram
As an aside I regularly wear my watches is the sea and the pool. OMG kill me already! I got a new white rubber strap for the VC 4500. Just check the crown is screwed down and a pressure check is a good idea every couple years though modern seals and gaskets are much better than they used to be.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...50b8489ab6.jpg
Not in the water but you’ll have to take my word for it!