diver bezel pip, any purpose?

[LondonNeil]

Most divers have a raised pip at the 0 second point on the bezel. and if nothing else that is luminous. I'd assumed that there is a purpose to it being raised, so you can feel it if the lume is poor perhaps. However, taking a second look at a Tudor Pelagos today..no pip. its a mere printed marker on the bezel, not a raised pip. Eh? isn't there a standard for divers and isn't raised pip part of it? Although on the other hand...if you can't see a pip you probably can't see the hands so what does a feelable pip give you? I'm just asking as I'm intrigued. The watch btw...nice, its growing on me!

[Wyvern971]

The point iirc is to allow you to set the pip to where the minutes hand is when you start a dive, you then know how long you have been down.

For the most part not used as intended by most (Inc me). and superceded by dive computers anyway.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using TZ-UK mobile app

[alphajet]

The Tudor Pelagos has a fully lumed ceramic bezel that glows as brightly as the hands and indices, no need for a pip, which will eventually fall out anyway.

[robt]

I've always assumed the reason for the pip was to make it luminous when at some point in time not enclosing the lume would have led to it being washed away. It being raised is then just a side-effect of that design. Brands like Rolex don't like changing their designs too much because they are iconic, even if newer technology would allow it.

I could be wrong though. Would also be interested to know if there's a practical reason for it. There's nothing in spec according to wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving...diving_watches

There are certainly plenty of divers certified watches that don't have any kind of bump at 12 on the bezel. The wikipedia description of the spec does make it clear that visibility is complete darkness is a requirement, but nothing about being able to feel it. I would imagine many divers would be wearing gloves, thus are unlikely to be able to feel the pip anyway.

PS: I see that predictably, nobody else actually read your post.

[LondonNeil]

thank you robt, for reading my post and giving an informative answer. the rest of you....hmmm 2/10, please try harder.

[carryondentist]

My thoughts were that it was just a historical method to gain a sufficient thickness / volume of luminous material adhering to a thin aluminium bezel.

It’s certainly not in the MOD spec for a divers watch, as the original SM300 had infilled lume on the thicker acrylic bezels rather than any raised section.

[bedlam]

Most divers have a raised pip at the 0 second point on the bezel. and if nothing else that is luminous. I'd assumed that there is a purpose to it being raised, so you can feel it if the lume is poor perhaps. However, taking a second look at a Tudor Pelagos today..no pip. its a mere printed marker on the bezel, not a raised pip. Eh? isn't there a standard for divers and isn't raised pip part of it? Although on the other hand...if you can't see a pip you probably can't see the hands so what does a feelable pip give you? I'm just asking as I'm intrigued. The watch btw...nice, its growing on me!

There is a standard for dive watches and it requires a lumed marker at the 12 position on the bezel. It also requires the bezel have minute markers up to 60 minutes with the 5min intervals being more pronounced. Compliance is voluntary though and some makers choose not to comply, Rolex being an example.

Dive watches are still useful in diving as a timer but are not the central tool they once were.