Re: Common misunderstandings...
: Right... BUT we're not talking about the watch
: being strapped to the OUTSIDE of a diving
: bell. It is INSIDE the bell on a person's
: wrist. The inside pressures in the bell are
: still within the human-tolerable range. So
: the watch is never exposed to the crushing
: pressures outside ... {SNIP} This is the most common point of confusion with
: diving watches! In any diving over 75
: meters, the human and the watch are INSIDE a
: pressure controlled chamber. The watch is
: NOT touching water, but is instead dealing
: with AIR pressue issues in the
: human-tolerable environment in the
: controlled chamber.
Right, I agree. My point was that a de-pressurizing aircraft cabin cannot match the pressure differences experienced under water. Although the chamber is pressure-controlled, making the outside depth irrelevant as far as the watch is concerned, let's consider a human immersed in water. Most recreational dives stay within 20m, and most dives in general stay above 30m I'd guess. Considering that moving one's arm increases the pressure seen by the watch, a watch worn by even a recreational diver sees more pressure than a watch worn by an unfortunate plane passenger. I'd not expect watches to have a problem with a depressurizing aircraft cabin for that reason - though thankfully I'm only guessing.
OTOH even good dive watches have issues with water; I know this first hand. My guess is that the pressures are greater than one thinks at a given depth due to arm movements etc., and that repeated dives and exposure to the elements add to the potential problems. That's why water leaks are more common than owners would like to think I guess.
