I always had a sneaking suspicion that I was doing something horrible to my watches by wearing them in water and now I know: almost nothing under the sun is truly waterproof. This older post by a watchmaker spells it out in plain English: most waterproof watches are, at best, not waterproof at all. Also, don’t wear your watches in the shower, for Wango Tango’s sake!

Finally – do not wear your watch in the shower. Watches are designed for cold water only. After swimming, rinse your divers watch under tap. Have the case and bracelet cleaned every 12 months. Do not expose to direct sunlight or heat. Use common sense and submerge only if you really have to. Do not be fooled by brand / model names like “promaster, diver, seamaster, shower-proof” – very often this is just another advertising gimmick.

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Cleaning your watch isn’t as complex as it sounds. If you have a real issue with your watch – it’s running fast or slow or seems to contain water – you need to take it into a watchmaker. However if you just want to clean up your watch get yourself an ultrasonic cleaner.

I bought a $70 Chinese model on eBay but you could also get something like this Braunsonic. The cleaner vibrates a water bath which in turn creates tiny, energetic bubbles. These bubbles get into all of the nooks and crannies of your watch bracelet to pull out dirt.
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I’m just full of helpful hints this week. This one comes after seeing a comment on my other site, WristWatchReview about the BR02, a 1000M diver with a fairly striking design. I liked it when I saw it but at $4,800 I could probably pass. But did you know you could get it for a mere $168?

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OK. I just suffered a fairly hair-raising situation with my new baby. Due to my own carelessness, I dinged the Jaeger a few times and wanted to polish them out. I got a few types of polish including one designed for delicate metals and tried to do it by hand. BAD IDEA. This created a fog of fine scratches that only I could really see but that drove me crazy nonetheless. So I tried Flitz by hand. More scratches. I was at wits end.
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