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If you are considering buying a SCUBA diving or dive watch here are some important features you should look for.
The first and most important is resistance to water of course. Recreational diving takes place down to a dept of 130 feet and a good dive watch should be rated to at least 200 feet.
The higher the number of meters, feet, or bar (one bar equals one atmosphere) the better since this indicates the watches overall resistance to water and quality of construction.
A good dive watch should have a watch stem that screws down tight against an o ring for water resistance. -
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Another feature to look for is a rotating bezel. A rotating bezel is used as a timing device when diving. You merely set the bezel's zero marker to the minute hand and then you an easily read elapsed minutes by glancing at the outer bezel.
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The third feature you should look for is luminous hands. Some models are more luminous than others and there are many patented types of luminescence that watch makers use. The kind found most often releases photons from light stored up at the surface over time. As time passes the markers and hands become dimmer but may remain visible for several hours. Another kind used by watches such as Luminox uses tritium gas inside small tubes at each minute mark. Tritium is a very low danger radioactive gas that will make the hands and markers glow at the same intensity for up to ten years.
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Another good feature to have is a locking clasp. This prevents the watch from coming off if you brush up against an object. Another feature that some watches have is a strip of metal in the band that you can fold out and make the band longer if wearing a wetsuit. The wet suit extender feature allows you to wear the band on the outside of your wetsuit instead of having to peel back the sleeve to see your watch.
Dive Computer Watches.
Dive computer watches are a whole different species. These devices monitor your bottom time and hypothetical bloodstream nitrogen loading and enable you to dive without using the traditional dive tables.
For more info on these see the link below.
