Laws preventing "waterproof"

[pacifichrono]

As most of you know, the watch industry has been prevented from marking watches as "waterproof" since about 1969. "Water resistant" has been the preferred marking since then. Rulings by the U.S. Federal Trade Commision (FTC) in 1969 and later by the international standards group (1990s and 2010) were the sanctioning bodies.

I don't recall seeing any new watches manufactured after 1969 marked "waterproof" until this past week. I saw that the Benrus Ultra Deep and a couple of Serica watches are engraved "waterproof" on the back.

Anybody know what's up with that?

[Merod]

Logically it will depend upon the legislation of the country of manufacture and/or how the watches are ‘sold into’ a country with differing legislation? Just a thought.

[Ruggertech]

I believe, though am not 100% sure, that Seiko's way around it, or at least to comply with ISO standards is to mark the watches that have been individually pressure tested with the word "DIVERS" and the depth on the dial. Those models they don't test such as 5's just have the water resistance figure on the dial.

[monogroover]

I'm sure I have seen the text WATERPROOF on a new watch in the last few years. Can't remember which one, a Rotary maybe? I also thought it was prohibited so I was surprised.

[MrGrumpy]

Yeah, I have a couple of Rotary Chavitimers (Navitimer hommages) that are marked 'Waterproof' rather than Water Resistant. Ironically, both of them now seem to have lost what water resistance they once had! They are around 15-20 years old, whilst a newer version is marked Water Resistance 50m.

[Boss13]

From the Submariner product page:

Triple waterproofness system
The Submariner’s Oyster case, guaranteed waterproof to a depth of 300 metres (1,000 feet), provides the movement with optimal protection from water and dust. The Triplock winding crown – fitted with a triple waterproofness system – screws down securely against the case, ensuring watertight security.