Disaster strikes!

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Last week our weakest link abruptly made itself known. An M6 bolt roughly 60mm long, corroding away very slowly in the rusty bowels of an old dental compressor.

How could a three cent bolt (probably from China) bring to a grinding halt, the well oiled machine that is Nicholas Hacko Watches you may ask? Put philosophically, an old dog just couldn't learn new tricks. In reality, the haemorrhaging compressor in question that used to supply our water pressure tester with beautifully dry, high pressure air, could no longer cope. We upgraded our water pressure testing equipment from the Witschi Proofmaster S to the Proofmaster Pro shortly before this happening. The increased accuracy of the new machine meant that the system remained under pressure for a little longer. Our 'little engine that could', never stood a chance.

Alas the unit could not be salvaged. So we were forced to upgrade our compressor as well. Until such time, we were unable to release any sold or repaired watches. This was priority numero uno for the entire business, and certainly contributed to several hours of sleep lost. Fortunately, Witschi also sells compressors, manufactured by a formerly German now American partner. The price of the compressor certainly reflected the quality, but can you really put a price on customer confidence? The compressor was here in no time. Crisis averted! However, the outlet to our pressure tester featured a random quick connect fitting that would not work with what we had. Crisis reverted! After what seemed like several hours of anxious scouring online, we found a supplier who could ship the connector we needed in a single business day. Crisis re-averted. We have since fitted and set the new system, and are now back in business. But why so much stress? Without the ability to pressure test our watches, we can not relay the confidence to our customers that the watches we make, sell, and service, are fit to be worn. Water pressure testing a watch is not the end of the story, though. It's highly likely your vintage Submariner may only pass a 3 bar test after servicing. And that's not a problem. Because if you are deep sea diving with a vintage Submariner, you might have big problems coming.

I'll explain: 1 Bar of pressure is what you feel when you are at sea level. Barely perceptible, but your watch is under the same pressure. A watch that fails a 1 Bar pressure test will allow humidity to seep in as you are walking around at sea level. 2 Bar is the pressure you would feel if you were approximately 10m below sea level. 3 Bar is the pressure you would feel at 20m below sea level. So on it goes in similar fashion the deeper you swim. A 'deep dive' is considered to be any dive deeper than 18m. This can only be legally and safely achieved with a professional scuba diving certification. In this way, if you aren't an open water deep sea dive certified scuba diver, any rating over 3 Bar is completely superfluous in regards to what strain you will be putting the watch under. When you are buying a brand new James Cameron Sea Dweller from Rolex (almost as likely as seeing the Titanic from the Deepsea Challenger with the man himself), you'd be fair to expect it to work to its rated pressure plus 25%. However when you get your Grandfather's vintage Seamaster back from its ninth service, just because it says 300m on the dial, doesn't mean you should rush to get your PADI certification (keeping in mind the sun's light doesn't even go that deep). If you do desperately want it to be able to go that deep, mentally and financially prepare yourself for the possibility of having the original plexi, crown, crown tube, and maybe even the entire original mid-case and case back replaced. This is obviously not really a possibility in 2022, for independent watchmakers without access to time capsuled spare parts. Most big brands might even have to remanufacture some components. A ship of Theseus issue indeed, assuming a big brand is even going to do that for you.

Water resistance is a feature that must be maintained. Seals must be regularly replaced, the watch should be regularly tested. More often than its minimum service interval. After years of wearing the watch, maybe even a few drops here and there, screwing in and unscrewing the crown, pressing the pushers, you are slowly degrading the integrity of your seals, of your threads, and the seating of your plexi or crystal. You may not lose the rated pressure resistance entirely, but it is being slowly eroded much like the bolt in our old compressor. It worked until it didn't. All this really just to say: your Grandfather didn't have a cool 'vintage' diver. You do. Maybe he wore it in the surf, maybe in the shower. You shouldn't. So what do you need to do? Get your watch serviced before it starts showing issues. Generally it's every five years for a big brand Swiss watch. Second, do not wear a vintage watch in the shower, or the ocean, or a pool. The heat, salt, and chlorine will eventually destroy your seal integrity and that will certainly happen before your five year service interval is up. Rinse any watch (new or old) that's been in a pool or the ocean with fresh water, and then dry it as soon as possible. If you get your watch wet, do not pull out/unscrew the crown or press pushers until you have dried it. Lastly, be realistic with your expectations and where you take your watches. Can you take your 1937 Bugatti Type 57 race car through a Pikes Peak rally? Of course you can, it's your car. Should you do that?

Probably not.