There is no doubt that diving is an engaging activity, whether you do it as a profession or for recreation. Having a complete set of diving gears is enough, but if you want to sport a dive watch too, then it is helpful to understand its importance other than being an aesthetic and time accessory.

The myths about dive watches create confusion and mislead divers, even watch enthusiasts. It is time that these pieces of misinformation get corrected.

Here are some of the common misconceptions on diving watches.

The rotating bezel is intended to track the oxygen supply left.

It is a hoax. The rotating bezel is never used to track the oxygen while submerged in the water. Instead, it is used to track the elapsed time underwater. What measures the air left is the submersible pressure gauge, and unless your watch has this, you will never be able to tell how much oxygen is left in the tank.

The helium release valve will allow you to dive deeper.

No verified source can support this. Even if a diver can go deeper underwater, this due to their skills, not because of this valve in the watch. The helium release valve is designed to relieve the helium pressure on the watch’s case to prevent it from breaking. That’s it.

All divers have dive watches.

Divers choose, dive computers or dive watches? Well, no one can speak on behalf of them, but it is undeniable that dive computers are far more functional than a watch.

However, this alone does not make a watch obsolete. Even if not all divers wear watches, some still want to have it on their other wrist as a backup timer and as a tracker for surface intervals.

When diving, your watch should have more than 100 meters of water resistance.

This is not true because it is already stated in ISO 6425 that dive watches should have a minimum water-resistance no less than 100 meters.’

A watch with an orange dial is perfect for diving.

When it comes to underwater visibility, the dial’s color is not that significant. What matters is its illumination property that makes the indices and hands glow in the dark. That glowing effect is caused by the luminous substance used in the dial.

A quick ascend to the surface will make you explode.

It is true that ascending too fast is not suitable for the body, but not because it can make you explode, but rather, it can cause bubbles to form in your blood due to the stored nitrogen being released faster than what your body can. This is the reason why some divers experience decompression sickness.