Understanding Rolex Water Resistant Watches

Before today’s Rolex watches were developed to have their 100 meter depth rating, the Rolex Submariner was the first to achieve this feat.

Almost three decades after they developed the Oyster case, Rolex set out to create a timepiece especially for professional diving. In the Basel of 1954, Rolex introduced the Oyster Perpetual Submariner – the first commercially available watch capable of submerging to 100 meters.

Today, the modern Rolex Submariner has a depth rating of 300 meters (1,000 feet).

Most owners of Rolex Submariners won’t actually go into the water with it, much less wear it near the said depth, but at its core, the Submariner was created and tested to be worn in real and harsh diving environments.

While the Oyster case and the Rolex Submariner were already amazing feats, Rolex continued to develop and improve the water resistance of their watches. In 1967, they introduced their most water resistant watch yet – the Rolex Sea-Dweller.

At this point, the Rolex Submariner was already capable of reaching 200 meters (660 feet), which was by no means inadequate. However, it presented one problem – when used during saturation dives, the crystal would pop out during decompression.

Rolex’s solution to this problem was through the helium escape valve. By letting the helium particles escape through this controlled mechanism, they found a way to safely depressurize the watch as it reaches sea level.

And so began the lineage of the Sea-Dweller line.

Today, the Sea-Dweller has two lines of watches designed for extreme diving: the Sea-Dweller and the Deepsea Sea-Dweller.

The Rolex Sea-Dweller has a depth rating of 1,200 meters (4,000 feet). While the Rolex Deepsea, launched in 2008, has triple its depth rating – 3,900 meters (12,800 feet).

At the core of the Rolex Deepsea’s brilliant engineering is the Ringlock System. The result of decades of collaboration with diving professionals, the Ringlock case architecture is designed to withstand enormous pressure without making the case as bulky as is usually necessary.

While Rolex watches are water resistant up to certain depths, the wearer must still exercise precaution when exposing the timepiece to water. Everyday activities have an impact on the watch parts and compromise the water resistance of your watch.

Here are some things to look out for:

1. Exposure to heat
While hot tubs, saunas, and showers are not deep, the heat in these places can cause damage to your timepiece. One should be particularly concerned about the gasket, which creates an airtight seal that prevents water from entering the watch case. As it’s made of rubber, high temperatures may potentially alter its shape.

2. Vintage models
When buying older Rolex models, one should assume that they have no longer kept their water resistance. This is because over time, gaskets and seals lose their elasticity, thus affecting their ability to form a proper seal against water. It is best to have your vintage watch checked by an authorized Rolex dealer before exposing it to water.