Is a watch that's water resistant also humidity resistant?
Is a watch that's water resistant also humidity resistant?
I can't think of any reason why not. Essentially humidity is also water and under way less pressure. I'd have to say yes, but not an authoritative opinion.Originally Posted by Tinker
I can't see why not, unless it was sealed with some moisture present which then shows due to temp changes etc.
Id agree too
Yeah provided the seals are relatively new, I don’t see an issue with that.
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I think the question is whether a watch can be watertight but not airtight? Seems a strange question to ask!
If the seals are working correctly the watch will definitely be airtight.
I suppose there could be a scenario where a seal isn`t able to keep air out but can just manage to keep water out. I`m thinking of a situation where a sealing surface is pitted and the seal can`t seat correctly, if the seal and sealing surface are hydrophobic (light covering of grease will achieve this) a drop of water at atmospheric pressure won`t be able to find it's way in, it'll remain as a droplet and won`t creep into the tiny gap. However, by reducing the surface tension of the water (a drop of detergent will cause this) it may well find its way in.
As for the watch being sealed in humid air and subsequently being affected by condensation inside, I`ve tried to replicate this effect several times and never succeeded.
Putting my engineering hat on - seals can need 'energising' so they may require pressure on them to activate fully and to hold pressure. So when you are testing the seals, you should do both a low pressure and a high (max pressure) test to truly see if the seals holds. It may seem odd, but in my experience low pressure tests can be harder to fulfil because of this 'energising' factor.
Thinking aloud, it would depend at what pressure the watch is at. So in the case of humidity we're talking, atmospheric - so it could be possible, but I think that would also mean that the 'splash proof' of the watch would also be compromised(?).
Water is water. As long as the water isn't at more pressure than the seal is rated for it will hold
Yes
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I had a bun-fight with Goldsmiths on the same subject. A Breitling Navi GMT and myself were caught-out in a tropical rainstorm. Drenched to the skin. The Navi - under a shirt cuff took a bit of moisture and developed misting under the lens.
Goldsmiths claimed it was my fault. I denied any fault and claimed that the WR on the watch back, the manual, Breitling's own website and goldsmith site were all contradictory and did not inform me correctly. I got a credit note and purchased an Omega AT GMT Chrono which has been solid but not as much fun as the Navi with that slide-rule which I used alot.
Interesting question, never really considered this before. I would have thought if a watch is water resistant it would be resistant to humidity on some level
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Such a technical thread but interesting to read! I would suggest that the answer is 'yes'.
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1
Did you just want to know whether you could take your watch in the steam room in holiday?!!!
2 -How many chemists and physicists have answered this thread?
3 - this is probably the most intellectual watch thread I've ever read.
Holy thread revival, Batman.
Mellor-72, bought Jan-21. 5atm, so never been submerged.
May-21, condensation under crystal. Sent back to CWC, who were great. Dried it, checked seals, even polished out the little scratches on the crystal. No more condensation.
Watch was not worn from Aug-22 until yesterday. Took it off to wash pots and shave last night, so can't have received any more than a light splash at the sink. Condensation again this morning. Hmmm.
We are in the UK, and do live in rather a damp old house. Maybe it is water vapour is getting in?
Will dry it tonight, and maybe store with silica gel in the future?
Would it be worth getting the seals checked again? Anyone else have this problem with one of these?
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May just be condensation related to temperature and humidity change .
Pull the crown out , heat up the watch body gentky with a hairdruer and hopefully that might expell any moist air from the watch . No seal is perfect but it may just be temp change thats condensed it out .
Did they check that the pendant tube was watertight? I`ve restored a few older CWC G10s and had problems with the pendant tube not sealing into the case. I suspect the beadblasted finish may contribute to the problem.Holy thread revival, Batman.
Mellor-72, bought Jan-21. 5atm, so never been submerged.
May-21, condensation under crystal. Sent back to CWC, who were great. Dried it, checked seals, even polished out the little scratches on the crystal. No more condensation.
Watch was not worn from Aug-22 until yesterday. Took it off to wash pots and shave last night, so can't have received any more than a light splash at the sink. Condensation again this morning. Hmmm.
We are in the UK, and do live in rather a damp old house. Maybe it is water vapour is getting in?
Will dry it tonight, and maybe store with silica gel in the future?
Would it be worth getting the seals checked again? Anyone else have this problem with one of these?
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Thank you both! Will dry it tonight and see how it goes, but very helpful information about the pendant tube. I can certainly believe that if there was a problem with the seal, the moisture in our air would find its way in. It never ceases to amaze me how much water I have to empty from our dehumidifier.
To clarify, I don`t believe humidity is the problem, the air in your watch should be sealed and not exchanging with the atmosphere. Even with the crown pulled out the O ring seal in the crown will still be engaged with the pendant tube (or it should be) so there's no way air can bbe getting in and out. Watches get wet through splashing and I suspect some part of your watch isn`t sealing correctly.
Thank you for clarifying, that makes sense. Will get my chap to have a look.
This isn't correct. Whilst seals might be a barrier to liquid water they are permeable to some extent to all gases and in particular to water vapour.
I spotted someone over on WuS had this same issue with a Mellor. I’ll try and find the thread.Holy thread revival, Batman.
Mellor-72, bought Jan-21. 5atm, so never been submerged.
May-21, condensation under crystal. Sent back to CWC, who were great. Dried it, checked seals, even polished out the little scratches on the crystal. No more condensation.
Watch was not worn from Aug-22 until yesterday. Took it off to wash pots and shave last night, so can't have received any more than a light splash at the sink. Condensation again this morning. Hmmm.
We are in the UK, and do live in rather a damp old house. Maybe it is water vapour is getting in?
Will dry it tonight, and maybe store with silica gel in the future?
Would it be worth getting the seals checked again? Anyone else have this problem with one of these?
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Thank you! That is not a place that I frequent, so haven't seen the article.
It's an interesting discussion, up to a point, but I notice that contributors are now talking about two different (I'd have thought) situations - watches such as dive watches with high WR and those such as the CWC Mellor with low WR - without differentiation. It seems to me intuitively obvious, or at least likely, that this might be an issue for one and not the other.
Like others, I've worn dive watches in sauna and pool etc without any problem.
Surely there’s been enough hot air vented on this thread by now that we can just look down at our wrists and form our own conclusions?
Disagree.
I don`t see how the issue is related to the WR of the design, I`ve assembled hundreds of watches and believe me there's very little difference in the seal designs between watches with 50mWR and 300! The difference is in the rigidity of the case and crystal to resist distortion.
To clarify, I think it likely that very faint misting can be attributed to moisture in the air trapped in the watch when closed up under certain conditions or traces of condensation that have been deposited on the inside of the watch in some way. This refers to a scenario where the watch passes a pressure test but has a history of showing traces of misting when subjected to low temperatures, I'm not referring to the tendency for a watch to leak when exposed to water, that's due to failure of a seal or failure of the pendant tube to seal into the case and it's got nothing to do with the WR of the design.
As I`ve stated earlier, I`ve restored a few CWC G10 watches with beadblasted cases and I`ve experienced problems with the pendant tube not sealing into the case. I put this down to the uneven finish on the surface, in each case the tube seemed tight enough to seal but didn`t. I rectified this by refitting using araldite and that worked, the case then passed a 6 bar test.
Will drop you a PM
I had a 1970'd Hamilton W10 that had the same issue. Different manufacturer but the same design. After a service it didn't reoccur.
So did I, still needs correcting.
indeed this needs correction
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
Vapour can get pulled into the watch case, if the only seal is an annular o-ring.
It occurs if the watch goes through heating and cooling cycles, where the pressure inside the watch varies with the expansion and contraction of the ‘fixed’ internal volume of air.
The pressure imbalance across the seal will either expel the air out, or cause ambient air to enter the watch casing.
The cap-o ring seal on many watches should prevent that.
I once popped in and out of sauna and pool repeatedly wearing my swatch chrono.
I learnt the lesson.
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I did the same (various saunas, steam rooms and pools etc.) with an old Pulsar - absolutely no problem experienced.
Just read the report regarding permeation of water vapour through rubber, Have to confess I`d forgotten this. However, if we accept the phenomenon (no reason not to) how does that translate to the situation in a typical watch? That requires a bit more thought. I remain unconvinced that the cause of misting in watches is directly related to permeation of water vapour across the seals.
On a far more practical note, one thing to be careful of when working on a watch is the risk of condensation forming whilst the caseback is open. If the watch is cold and the surrounding air is warm and humid this can happen and needs to be addressed before the watch is closed up. Another unavoidable source of warm humid air is the human being who's opened the watch and subsequently got up close to it, unfortunately humans do need to breathe, wearing a fresh air breathing kit whilst working on a watch would eliminate the hazard but there are obvious drawbacks. On a serious note, once the tiny droplets of condensation are in the watch it will be prone to misting up, the atmosphere inside the watch will become significantly humid as the watch warms up and the humidity will cause condensation on the inside of the glass in cold conditions. I take extra precautions to avoid this happening, not something I wish to be caught out on.
I`ve come across 1 case of a watch misting up with no obvious cause, that was an Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch with acrylic crystal. Owner had seen traces of misting when outdoors on a very cold day. I took the movement out of the case, refitted the caseback and crown, then pressure tested to 6 bar. The watch (without movement) passed this test without problems in a wet tester and no amount of persuasion could cause any misting. I cased the watch up carefully and re-tested, the problem didn`t re-occur despite subjecting the watch to -5°.
If the permeation across seals theory was the cause of misting, the problem would be far more widespread, especially where watches are worn in areas of high humidity.
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