What does 50mtr water resist watches mean?

Question

What does 50mtr water resist watches mean?

Answer 1

As others have said, it's the rating for the minimum depth the watch can go without the case breaking

"-50 meters (1 meter is about 3.3 feet), which means the watch is suitable for swimming;

-100 meters; indicating it can be worn snorkeling;

-200 meters, suitable for recreational scuba diving and, believe it or not,"

I have a problem with this guideline system.

50m = 164 feet

100m = 327 feet

200m = 656 feet.

most recreational divers aren't really going to be going down past 40m/130 feet anyways (the limit for NAUI advanced divers...PADI advanced is only 30m/100 feet), so a 50m watch is perfectly acceptable to use for recreational diving, which makes a 100m watch useful for certainly more than just snorkeling.

Answer 2

It means that your watch will work under water up to 50 meters deep. Any deeper than that, and it may break.

Here:

Watches with the lowest level of water resistance are labeled simply "water-resistant." They can withstand splashes of water but should not be submerged. Above that (or below it, literally speaking), the most common designations are

-50 meters (1 meter is about 3.3 feet), which means the watch is suitable for swimming;

-100 meters; indicating it can be worn snorkeling;

-200 meters, suitable for recreational scuba diving and, believe it or not,

-1,000 meters (roughly three-fifths of a mile).

Watches in this last category can endure deep-sea diving. Their gaskets are made of materials that can withstand the helium used in decompression chambers. Some have valves that let the wearer release the helium that has seeped into the watch so the case won't explode as the watch and diver adjust to normal atmospheric conditions, says Peter Purtschert, technical director at Breitling USA.

Answer 3

You can go down up to 50 meters with it on and it'll still work. Anything lower than that (where the water pressure would be greater) and things like its protective plastic casing might break causing water to get into the watch which would make it not work anymore.