“This watch is water resistant up to 30 meters.”
Anyone with experience of buying a watch has probably contemplated putting this statement to the test.
In fact, “Water resistant” might rank as one of the watch industries’ greatest myths. The question remains then, why do watches tell us that they are water resistant at all and what does it actually mean?
If a watch is designated as water resistant, it is humidity-protected and can endure splashes of water, perhaps from the rain or washing your hands. However, it is far less prepared for a trip alongside you in the shower, swimming pool and most certainly not the open ocean.
Today, standards for water resistance are provided by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). One such standard – ISO 6425 – refers specifically to dive watches which you can read more about in our dive watch article on our blog, but we’ll instead focus on ISO 22810, the standard for everything else including popular fashion brands such as Gucci, Armani, Tissot and more. It specifies the test methods used to verify the water resistance of watches and moreover, indicates the marking which the manufacturer is authorised to apply to them.
