How does a helium escape valve work on a watch?

Since helium atoms are the smallest natural gas particles, they are able to diffuse into the watch, past the seals which are able to prevent ingress of larger molecules such as water. As a result, the valve releases the gases trapped inside the watch case during decompression, preventing damage to the watch.

Why do divers watches have helium valves?

The helium valve protects the watch from damage During ascent, the increasing pressure difference can blow up the glass of the watch. The system of helium valve on dive watch has been developed to protect their diver watches from damage.

What is helium valve on Omega Seamaster?

The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean is equipped with a helium escape valve at 11 o’clock. How It Works: The mechanics of the helium escape valve is relatively simple. A one-way, spring-loaded pressure release valve that expulses any gas inside the case during a dive ascent in dry decompression chambers.

Why does Omega Seamaster have two crowns?

The second crown (at 10 o’clock) is a Helium release valve to allow helium out of the watch after wearing the watch in a diving bell with an atmosphere rich in helium.

What is the gas escape valve for on a Rolex?

helium
To address this issue, Rolex invented and patented the gas escape valve for watches, a one-way valve which safely allows the helium trapped in the watch to be released at a given pressure during decompression, while preserving the tight waterproofness of the Oyster case.

What is the second crown on a Seamaster?

What do saturation divers do?

Saturation diving is diving for periods long enough to bring all tissues into equilibrium with the partial pressures of the inert components of the breathing gas. It is a diving technique that allows divers working at great depths to reduce the total time spent undergoing decompression.

Do you need a helium escape valve?

Unless you are one of a very small handful of elite commercial divers who actually saturation dive as part of their duties, you more than likely do not need a helium escape valve on your watch at all.

What watches do divers actually wear?

So to answer the original question of what watches divers actually use. Yes, a particularly well-heeled and experienced diver can use a Swiss timepiece, but the majority are more likely to pick up a digital dive watch from Suunto or a diving computer from Aqualung or Shearwater.

Can I open the helium escape valve?

Unlike their automatic siblings, manually operated helium escape valves must first be unscrewed before they can allow trapped helium to exit the case, and they must remain open for the entire duration of decompression in order to fully allow the pressure inside the watch to equalize with its surrounding environment.

Why do you need a helium escape valve?

The purpose of a helium escape valve is to allow the trapped helium molecules to safely vacate the watch case in a controlled manner before the built-up internal pressure reaches a point that risks damaging the watch.

Why don’t dive watches have helium valves?

Most dive watches do not have helium valves because they are of use only in saturation diving, when a diver spends time in a diving chamber. A helium valve prevents the watch crystal from popping off when the diver is in a decompression chamber. Why do the rotating bezels on most dive watches turn in only one direction?

Do professional diving watches really go diving?

Helium release valves are now commonplace in so-called professional diving watches, despite how few people actually need them or actually understand their purpose. As a commercial diver myself, though on a shallower and less extreme scale, I reached out to a few saturation divers to get the skinny on what watches actually go diving.

Is a helium release valve necessary for an undersea watch?

While much real and virtual ink has been spent proclaiming the necessity of the helium release (i.e., “escape”) valve for any professional diver’s watch, this subtle and relatively simple case feature remains one of the most misunderstood complications in the undersea watch world.

Can you put a dive watch over a wetsuit?

Some dive bracelets and straps are equipped with an extension device that enables the watch to fit over a dive-suit sleeve. Some dive watches have a helium valve and/or a depth sensor. A bracelet with a divers’ extension can be lengthened to fit over a wetsuit. What is a helium valve?