Is a screw down crown a necessity?

I am looking for a daily watch. I do have a pool and don’t want to take the watch off to swim. I like the Formex essence line but it does not have a screw down crown. It does claim to have 100M of water resistance. Do you think a screw down crown is a necessity for swimming?

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This thread came up a few days ago. https://www.watchcrunch.com/XplusYplusZ/posts/watertightness-screw-down-crowns-32650

Some do swim without screw down crowns and 100M WR, depends on your personal risk tolerance tbh.

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I was going to say no you dont!! but then I read the swimming part...LOL it will be in teresting to see the suggestions you get here...enjoy the hobby

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You SHOULD be okay, but I would get a screw down crown. 100 m water resist is plenty for swimming.

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Buy a good watch, don't worry about. A screw-down crown is not required for WR, it's just a security measure to prevent the crown from accidently being pulled out. Most watches that don't have a screw-down crown have crown designs that don't tend to get caught on things and pulled out.

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I’d be confident with a Formex and swimming. From what I can recall when checking them out the crown somewhat pops in and out with a little force required.

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I will probably get told and hear that having a screw crown does not improve water resistance by those in the know, but I have my fingers in my ears and I cant here them, personally I would not go swimming with a watch without one, balls to 100m watches without a screw-crown, it has to be 200m rated WITH a screw down crown for me to take it in the sea.

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The Formex site (whose dive watches have a screw down crown) has an interesting article on this subject. https://formexwatch.com/blogs/formex-world/screwdown-crown-vs-pushpull-crown-which-one-is-better-for-me/

Their point, as many have noted, is that it is the O-rings that provide water resistance for both a screw down and a push pull crown watch. The main advantage of the screw down is not accidentally popping the crown. Here is what they say about the screw down crown:

"The principle is simple: the tube of the watch ends in a screw thread, the counterpart of which is located on the inside of the crown. Here too, O-rings are used for sealing, with only one difference. In the screwed state, one of the rings is pressed against the tube. With diving watches, this serves an essential function - which hardly anyone is aware of and which has nothing to do with water resistance: a screw-down crown cannot be operated accidentally. Underwater, correct observance of decompression and diving times is essential for survival. A wrong time indication could be fatal. For a watch that is not used for professional diving with an oxygen bottle, however, a screw-down crown could be regarded as overkill. In addition to that, some owners tend to exaggerate a little when screwing down the crown and do so with more torque than is required, which can damage the seals and the thread."

Beyond the push pull crown debate, does anyone really need more than 100m of water resistance? The limit for the recreational diving cert is 40m because any deeper and you have to account for decompression stops. Don't get me wrong, I am a complete hypocrite in this regard because the Walter Mitty in me has to be ready to dive to the deepest of depths and travel to space so give me that helium escape valve too.

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I’m OCD in nature and extra fastidious when it comes to watches, airing on the side of caution by never submerging any watch (let alone non screwdowns) - regardless of what I read or been told. Why take the chance and last, how often do you gawk at a watch while swimming? This is where a trusty Casio saves the day….👍

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You spend good money on a watch so you can swim with it, get the screw down crown. Your risk your money.

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I actually prefer push/pull crowns over screw down simply for ease of use. I don’t worry about accidentally popping the crown out, as it’s never happened to me…ever. For that matter, I don’t even care if there are crown guards. I’d be more worried about putting on scratches…let alone thinking some impact with force enough to rip off the crown entirely 😱As long as it’s got 100m+ WR I’d be more than fine jumping in the pool with it, regardless of crown design.

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Thanks all

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Why would a screw down crown be necessary? To prevent pulling the crown under water?

I dare you, try pulling out the crown while the watch is on your wrist without using the other hand. I'll wait...

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Formex does enough testing to prevent the crown to pop out without you knowing. Just check that the crown is pusher before going in to water ans go for it.

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My advice is to read the manual and see what the manufacturer suggests. 100m is obviously enough for swimming on the surface etc, as it is water pressure that generally allows water entry, but my view is to go with the manual, as they have engineered it to a certain level.

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if you only have ONE watch i would say a sd crown is necessary. if you are a collector and have multiple watches just buy what u like because if u go on vaccation or on a poolday u can always choose one of ur sd watches 🤷😄

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I don't really know, I have some with and without and while swimming in our pool I've used both with no problem, however ocean and depth I would say yes it is a neccessity.

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If I'm not mistaken, WatchGeek on YT got his SNK805 (literally only 30m WR) and it survived being submerged in the ocean.. But yeah for security and assurance, screw down crown for me.. Especially if it's going to be used in water repeatedly

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I watched a video on youtube the other day where a couple of people tested cheap dive watches rated to 100m. The quartz pulsar was able to withstand pressures of more than a kilometer deep! The other watch was a Vostok. It held up to pressure equaling about 600m. So it makes me wonder if we are all being paranoid about waterproofness.

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Screw down crown or no screw down crown, a new watch rated at 100m is fine for swimming in my book.

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I bought my everyday Casio with 100 meters WR and without SDC 10 years ago, wore it EVERY DAY all these years (😱), swum regularly, never had any problems until around 3 years ago water suddenly entered case and slightly damaged movement. BUT! It was quite cheap quartz watch, I wasn't into watches and had no idea they need any service except battery replacement and in the end gasket inside crown tube just deteriorated. So if you would buy watch from reputable brand and will change rubber gaskets every 3-5 years I'd say you're good to go 😀 👍

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I never thought of doing gasket changes. I have never had a fancy enough watch to send out for regular mantinence. I live in the under $1000 watch category.

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I wouldn’t take anything into the water of value. Water resistance is measured in a controlled laboratory environment, and may not be exact. Suggest spending an extra $50 to get a G-Shock or even a Casio Duro if you have to go into the water with a watch.

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To be absolutely 100% safe I would use a screwdown crown. They have 2 gaskets not just one. They have a gasket on the inside of the tube and one that sits flat on the end of the tube when screwed down. I work in a kitchen cooking and wash my hands a lot. I have push down crowns and have had problems with moisture. That's on many different brands at different ratings. New and used watches. Just letting you know my experiences I have had just from washing my hands. Also Seiko watches have been the brand that I have had the worst moisture problems with. Nothing like looking down at your nice pretty watch and the crystal is all streamed up. It's your call.

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t.zffl

Well actually it's not 😅

Water resistant to X meters means the watch can handle a STATIC pressure equivalent to the one you found at X meters (which is roughly X divided by 10, for example 100m ~ 10atm ~ 10 bar).

But if you swiw or jump in the pool or dive or surf, you're not static so your movements increase that pressure!

That's why you need more "meters of WR" for extrem nautical sports (like jet skiing, water skiing, etc...) than for snorkeling : if you fall from a jet ski at high speed the pressure applied on the watch will be huge even if you're at a depth closed to "zero meter"(atmospheric pressure or 1 atm).

Each brand have there own recommandations on the matter, here are the ones from Casio as an example :

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As many have said, check the brand guidelines. They don't necessarily mean the same thing brand to brand. The big ones (at least) have legal depts. who I know make sure they test or have support for all of what they claim in marketing material.

As for static pressure, I have read several annoying sites where people brought way too much math into the picture and say it is not really a factor. DIY Watch Club (for as much as you trust them) says the same but also mentions other factors:

"But dynamic pressure, contrary to urban myth, is not the main factor in influencing water resistant capability; in fact it only contributes to an increase of 5 metres of additional water depth. The ISO divers’ watches standard dictates that the watch should be able to withstand 125% of the required test pressure as a safety margin against not only dynamic pressure increase, but also thermal shock (think diving from a hot sunny day into icy cold water then back up again), difference in water density (seawater is 2% to 5% denser than freshwater) and degradation of the water seals. These all are contributing factors in determining the water resistant capability of a watch." https://diywatch.club/en/blog/true-meaning-of-water-resistance-rating-on-watch

Regardless, the reality for most of us is that 100m will be more than enough for whatever we plan to do (with the recreational dive cert being limited to 40m) but again, I don't follow what I am almost certain is true so all my Dive watches are at least 200M and my next one will have the helium escape valve too (for all my desk diving).

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In my rumble opinion is necessary only for diver watch. For other watches, it just annoys me having to unscrew every time to wind it and screw it back.

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My Santos doesn’t have a screw down crown but it has 100m of WR and survived beach very well.

Conclusion: It isn’t necessary per se but it’s much less likely to open when there is a thread holding it to the case. Had a weird feeling the whole time. But it’s alive!

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Went snuba diving with a push/pull crown watch, with a 100m WR rating. No issues. Now days, I prefer a push/pull crown. Having the unscrew the crown gets annoying.

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Thanks. That helps.

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I have taken my dive watches, a Seiko SKX and a Squale 1545 swimming in surf, and the bathtub. However, I never have any fear taking my Timex Expedition in the a pounding surf, and it only has 50m of water resistance, and a push-pull crown.