Scuba Diving Accessories: Scuba Diving Watches

The movie, Men of Honor, shows the rudimentary history of diving and the equipment that Navy divers were forced to use. Well, if you have watched the movie, don't be disheartened by the heavy gear. The modern equipment is much lighter, safer and diver-friendly. Scuba is short for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

Scuba diving gives you the opportunity to see the underwater life in lakes, seas and oceans. Scuba equipments help the diver to stay under water for long periods of time. Professional scuba divers dive for commercial, scientific and military endeavors.

I would love to be the most smart looking diver swimming in the pristine waters of the oceans. But you may ask, how can I possibly look smarter than the others, when everyone is wearing the same kind of equipments. Well, the answer is, to look smart, take along smarter accessories. The primary equipments for diving are fins, mask, tank, gauges and a watch. The suit which a diver wears can be wet or dry depending on the water temperature. The tank on the back of the diver provides the vital air supply for breathing underwater. Gauges display an important information about the whereabouts of the diver in the water. A compass and watch also comes in handy.

One of the equipments that may help you create a style statement among fellow divers is dive watches. There are many brands of watches, which are available in the market today. These watches come with a variety of features, looks, and price range that will suit all budgets. Watches are not only a timing device, but also a safety device. They help in tracking dive time, so a diver can avoid running out of air. It also helps in monitoring time decompression stages, when a diver ascends. Many brands offer the features, which are useful during diving. There are three styles of dive watches available - Digital, Classic and Dive computer.

Digital is the most popular style. It offers water resistance up to 200 meters. The classic range includes mechanical or quartz analog models. They cost under $100 US and can reach up to $20,000 US. The dive computer is the latest computer model that is the size of a wrist watch. You can strap them on your wrist and use it as a time displaying machine!

One of the features include setting yacht timings and tide graphs in the dive watch. Few watches are light powered, so they never need a battery change. They can charge themselves in any light, even underwater. Few sport the electronic depth sensor and have maximum depth memory. Watches made especially for women are also available in the market. They are mid-sized, have a large display, which helps in increased visibility underwater.

The maximum water resistance for a diving watch is 200 meters, though scuba divers don't dive to 200 meters. The screw-down crowns of an analog watch is said to be more waterproof. There are few 200 meter watches, that have push-pull crown, which works fine.

The analog watch has a defining feature, a rotating bezel. This feature is used to track elapsed time. The time is marked by zeroing the bezel to minute hand, up to 60 minutes. The hour hand can be timed up to 12 hours. The bezel should ideally be removable for cleaning. The markings should be engraved and not printed, so that they do not wear out. The bezel should be unidirectional. It should move only in the counterclockwise direction. The elapsed time appears longer, when the watch is accidentally knocked by your body. It's safer as the diver comes up before time, than overstaying in the water. There are a few watches which have the feature of lockable bezels. Built-in stop watch or countdown timer are found in digital watches.

There are the watches, which offer underwater illumination options. Digital watches have Light Emitting Diodes (LED) or other glow systems. But this runs down the battery, it is better to use the solar powered ones. Luminous paints is very popular. They are charged with light and glow in the dark. High quality paints can glow for hours, while the others have a maximum life of about 1-2 hours. The Tritium vials used in certain analogs give a better glow than luminous paints, but they fade out over the years.

There are watch straps, which are specific for wet and dry suits. The metal straps have a wet suit extension link, which expands and fits over a wet suit. The dry suits do not require any extension link. Plastic straps are fine. One can use rubber straps, but they wear out in a few years. It is very difficult to find replacements for rubber straps.

One should remember that many watch-makers void their guarantees once the watch is opened to change the battery. One should open the mechanical wind-up and automatic watches only for servicing and repairs.

Dive watches are cool style statements! They double up not only as timing devices but also as a fashion statement underwater. It is your personal choice when selecting a dive watch. The basic need for all dive watches is telling the time. So whether you choose digital, classic or dive computer, remember accessibility, reliability weigh more than the style. Happy Dive Watch Shopping!