How to use a dive watch?
Dive watches are very popular watches with sports fans, divers and aquatic collectors. Made specifically for diving, the best dive watches boast high water-resistance and ultra-resistant cases, sometimes with highly illuminated dials and features specifically made for ambitious divers. Ensure the proper use, maintenance and understanding of your dive watch to enhance your dive experience.
Watch Requirements
A dive watch is rated by either depth or pressure. Simply displaying water resistance as an attribute is not enough to qualify a timepiece as a dive watch. It is recommended that the depth resistance be a minimum of 200 meters, to ensure functionality at any possible dive depth. Additionally, a dive watch must have a unidirectional adjustable bezel. The bezel must only turn counterclockwise so that, should it be knocked out of place when diving, it can only move conservatively. It will then show a dive of longer than real time, rather than a shorter period of time, a misreading that could put the diver at risk of diving for too long. The bezel should be tight enough that it will not easily move.
Setting the Watch
Before you use the watch, it must be properly set, according to its instruction manual. If you do not have access to the instruction manual, see if you can access it online. Proper setting, battery installation and user understanding is a prerequisite for all dive watch users. Understand how to properly read the watch as well, by referring to the user manual.
Proper Bezel Use
The rotating bezel can show up to 60 minutes of elapsed time. To use, align the triangular zero mark of the bezel with the minute hand upon entering the water. Read the elapsed dive time during your dive by following the minute hand of the watch to the bezel-indicated time.
Dive Watch Maintenance
Thoroughly rinse your watch in fresh water after each dive. You should also rinse it after getting out of a pool to get the chlorine off. Inspect the watch and wristband for defects before every dive in case either came in contact with a strong chemical, or was damaged in some fashion during a dive.
Warnings
Do not rely solely on a dive watch when diving. Dives should be planned using a dive table or computer, allowing the watch to simply track time. If your dive watch is your primary source of timing, always ensure your watch battery is sufficiently charged. If you have a dive computer that will also keep track of your dive time, your watch can act as a secondary resource.
