New York Times: Eric Wind Quoted on Water Resistance

The New York Times just published an article ‘Can I Wear My Watch in The Shower?’ In the article, Eric Wind is quoted about water resistance.

Mr. Wind said he tried to warn customers, describing how a recent buyer of a Seiko 62MAS wore the watch while splashing around in a New York City fountain with his daughter and then found that it had fogged up: “I thought, ‘Oh man, I’ve been there’.”

He has the watches that he sells tested by experts — usually using pressure chambers rather than water immersion, which could flood a flawed watch — and he has preached caution, even with relatively new watches.

“Sometimes you’ll see it where the crown won’t even screw in because it’s essentially worn out,” he said. “I’ve even seen that with five or 10-year-old Submariners. It was a big wake up call for us; now we check just to be safe.

“People buy these things and expect, as it’s a modern watch, they can dive or do whatever in the water with it, and in some cases you really can’t.”

Servicing becomes particularly important for vintage models, according to Eric Wind, a dealer in Palm Beach, Fla., who is a former Christie’s watch specialist.

“In the pre-owned and vintage space,” he said, “even pre-owned modern watches, almost no one does water resistance checks, and that’s problematic. Auction houses really don’t do it; they just sell everything as is.”

Learn more:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/30/fashion/watches-water-resistance-rolex.html