Fratello Talks: A Summertime PSA For All Watch Enthusiasts

Get your watches checked and avoid fog, rust, and hearbreak

July 13, 2023

comments 19

Welcome to this week’s episode of Fratello Talks. Today, we offer you, our dear Fratelli, a public service announcement: get your watches tested for water resistance before jumping into the pool/sea/ocean this summer!

Inspired by one of Lex’s recent experiences, which serves as a cautionary tale, the guys keep it brief with summertime PSA. The moral of the story? Please don’t risk the repair; get your watch tested before you get it wet! Morgan, Lex, and Nacho offer tips and advice on where and how to get this done. They also exchange some anecdotes about their experience with water-adjacent use of watches, but not before we do our…

Wrist check

So, what are the guys wearing on their wrists today? We kick things off with Lex, who’s wearing an eye-blistering transparent G-Shock with a dial that remains an enigma to us all. It’s not practical, but it sure is bold. If you want to check out his article on the G-Shock “CasiOak” GA-2100SRS-7A, you can find it here.

In a somewhat more classical approach to his wrist accouterment, Morgan is rocking the classic Speedmaster Professional. However, he’s decided to wear it on a black NATO strap. This is nothing unusual per se, but for him, it’s a departure from his usual styling of the watch and one he’s testing out with a reasonable degree of success thus far. What do you think of this combination? Is it classic or cliché?

Finally, Nacho is wearing a new acquisition that he still hasn’t wrapped his head around owning. It’s a big, bold, beautiful Panerai PAM00055 — a titanium Goliath with a tobacco-brown dial and enough Super-LumiNova to light up a small town. He’s wearing it on a PAM strap from the lovely folks from Artem Straps for the first time today. But don’t fret; he’s not going anywhere near the water with this one — not until he gets it tested and is sure he’s safe to do so.

Summertime PSA: if you’re going swimming with your watches, get them tested!

That’s it, folks! We felt that this announcement was too important to fuss around with too much. It’s certainly something to remember this summer to avoid the heartbreak that Lex was subjected to with his watch.

Don’t feel like getting your watch tested for water resistance? No problem; buy a new one instead!

While it’s an unorthodox alternative, it’s perhaps not one to discard completely. And if you’re looking for a proper summer watch, there’s no better option out there today than the lovely new Fratello × Aquastar Deepstar II. Check it out here.

Catch you next week!

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Fratello Talks: A Summertime PSA For All Watch Enthusiasts

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MarkB says:

Jul 13, 2023 at 09:52

This is part of the reason that I opt for a G-Shock ‘Square’ or a titanium Citizen Eco-drive diver when actually swimming.

Reply
1. Ignacio says:
  
  Jul 13, 2023 at 13:38
  
  Same here! MY trusty DW-5600 has never let me down. That said, my 2254 did a great job in the pool last week. But it was just recently serviced, so there was no reason to doubt it 🙂
  
  Reply
  1. Enuona says:
    
    Jul 13, 2023 at 14:18
    
    Gaskets needs to be checked and replaced, other than that, I see no reason why you should take your gem off for a swim or a dive. They are made for that, not for collecting dust ??
    
    Reply
DG
GoldenYears says:

Jul 13, 2023 at 11:42

I‘ve owned a Casio watch most of the years since the company first started making watches. (Yes, I’m an old guy.) My Casio watches, G-Shocks, and Pro Trek watches were in the water (ocean, swimming pools, lakes, rivers, etc.) all the time. Never once did they leak, rust, fog, etc and never once did I have them pressure tested. I consider Casio watches, especially the solar powered ones, to be maintenance free, worry free, practically indestructible watches. I can see why people in military forces around the world use them.

Reply
1. Enuona says:
  
  Jul 13, 2023 at 14:15
  
  Have taken a liking to the Casio GA-2100-1AER, it made quite a bit of sense on the wrist of Major General Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
  
  They don’t need a killswitch which the owner cannot press when he is dead either. Casios certainly have beneficial features ahead of smart/pulse/tactical watches with tracks and maps on them.
  
  I like what the segment brings to table in terms of legibility, reliability and functionality. Nothing new in the approach, the efforts seems to have arrived by the development/focus on field watch qualities in the Boer wars I believe, continuing with trench watches of WW1 and so on until focus evolved into pilotwatches of the fighterplane era, and post war divers from Blancpain and others.
  
  Somewhat interesting that the segment hasn’t arrived at it’s final conclusion within different technologies and purposes yet, but I’d argue you are right about Casio ticking a lot of boxes for field usage, and may very well make a lot more sense than my choices.
  
  Reply
  1. DG
    GoldenYears says:
    
    Jul 13, 2023 at 15:52
    
    To me. it doesn’t make much sense to take an expensive mechanical watch into the field when you know it’s going to get hammered. An inexpensive Casio G-Shock has more than enough capabilities and then some. The great thing is that in the very unlikely event of watch failure, they’re cheap enough to just replace the entire watch.
    
    Reply
    1. Enuona says:
      
      Jul 14, 2023 at 09:18
      
      Yeah, am aware and agree to that.
      
      I have “retired” from the hefty winter trips, but the caveat for Casio is the -10C lower limit. That’s a bit theoretical as the wrist will never reach -10C with me breathing, but battery temp capacity used to be a highly relevant issue for my activities, and they drain fast in those conditions.
      
      As far as activity watches goes, the first one with decent battery/charge capacity only arrived this year, Suunto Vertical Solar, but solar doesn’t work efficiently with less than 2 hrs daily low sun and clouds/bad weather half the time. Need a charging source to make it work.
      
      Having said that, temp is of course an issue with mechanical watches too, but when heated again a battery will still be drained whereas mech will be ok.
      
      I decided that I wanted a mechanical, and that is the main reason really.
      
      Reply
      1. DG
        GoldenYears says:
        
        Jul 14, 2023 at 09:43
        
        I am also retired from downhill snow sports due to being old, out of shape, and more averse to broken bones and head injuries. ? With that said, I always wore a Casio skiing and in the snow and I’ve never had any problems in minus zero temps. Maybe it’s because I have an Icebreaker thermal layer and ski jacket over my watch. Anyway, I gave my 16+ year old Casio Pro Trek away a couple months ago. Still searching for a quartz or mechanical beater replacement.
        
        Reply
        
        Enuona says:
        
        Jul 14, 2023 at 12:26
        
        I’m into wool and cotton myself ?
        
        I’ve spent long stretches (months) of winter in remote areas with external supplies unavailable, and for that, batteries are an issue. Could always bring spares, but opening up a watch in those conditions is generally not a good idea. Moist is bound to happen.
        
        We are sort of discussing the extra rough gada, and it would not make sense if you applied my experiences to define your extra rough gada. A great rough gada suits and serves the individual user, and my definitions are most certainly stuck in the past, with a touch of reality ? The good thing is that when picking a watch for that purpose I’m fairly certain it would put up with anything reasonable given that the watch keeps brand’s promises. Casio does that.
        
        My chase is done, thus I almost envy that you’re still at it. Probably harder for you than me though, where to go post perferction? ?
        
        Reply
        
        DG
        GoldenYears says:
        
        Jul 14, 2023 at 13:15
        
        Thanks. Yes, your extreme use is hundreds of times more severe than my use. Currently, my roughest use would be the pool, lake, river or beach or maybe hiking. Most any watch, quartz or mechanical, with a little WR can easily handle these kinds of scenarios. Cheers!
        
        Reply
        
        Enuona says:
        
        Jul 14, 2023 at 14:20
        
        A bit more to the Jungles of Papua New Guinea I’d say, I could always stay in control and have a decent overview…
        
        Have fun ??
        
        Reply
Enuona says:

Jul 13, 2023 at 12:46

….a new first owner watch from a reputable brand should really not require opening, check of gaskets and presstesting. Would argue that a wr watch should always be presstested whenever opened.

“Rubber” gaskets are likely to degrade over time even if they are rather protected, but 3 years shouldn’t really do that if the gasket is of suitable materials. Some gasket solutions are designed to be compressed/used one time only and have to be replaced after disassembly, for instance liquid gaskets and spiral teflon gaskets.

My take is that there is a number of things that may happen to a gasket: It may harden and loose required flexibility, it may dry out by loosing chemical components used in manufacture or inherit within the compound and shrink.

It may suffer from UV (not likely), natural oxidation or react to salt sweat, sun lotion or whatever chemical used for personal hygiene, or whatever liquid like dishwashing detergents, carwash or whatever. Maybe a lot of dry storage time and little wrist time could be an issue?

When it is required to carry out a check would be dependent on gasket compounds and how the watch has been used I presume, perhaps a check would be prudent prior to expiry of warranty? Replacing gaskets makes sense when a watch has been opened, and the independent watchmaker might use a different/generic gasket where the brand have used a specific one with specific qualities….

Reply
EB
EDDI2142 says:

Jul 13, 2023 at 13:36

Thanks for the PSA.
Would be interesting to hear what Oris says on the matter, can you follow-up on this in a future episode?

Reply
Ron_W says:

Jul 13, 2023 at 17:22

I am not getting it, dictionary says ;
– PSA definition: prostatic specific antigen : an enzyme secreted by the prostate gland ??

Reply
1. Timo says:
  
  Jul 13, 2023 at 17:45
  
  Not sure if serious or not, but here it goes: public service announcement 🙂
  
  Reply
  1. Enuona says:
    
    Jul 13, 2023 at 19:23
    
    2CV, DS, CX, 205 and 5o5. My image of French car industry is forever ruined and I’ll never touch a French car seat ever again.
    
    Reply
  2. Ron_W says:
    
    Jul 13, 2023 at 22:48
    
    Serious about not knowing yes Sir, but prostates are no joke either ?
    
    Reply
BB
Bobbejaan says:

Jul 16, 2023 at 09:24

is this where all the comments are or is er a better way to meet fratellian fratellonians.

And a watch with screwdown crown that has moisture! Oris be ashamed!

That Momotaro strap needs wear! Keep it dry and wear it when u can. It needs love like jeans. Just dont get mayo on it like i had on my Samurai 21oz ??

Reply
BEN says:

Jul 17, 2023 at 17:54

I was considering taking my Oris65 to the beach this summer, but after your story i will stick to my G-Shock.

Reply