Diving Watch Filled With Oil

Diving watches are notoriously bulky affairs, and it isn't just for looks. The heavy construction and thick crystals are necessary to keep the timepiece from imploding in deep waters. The Ressence Type 5 recreational diving watch takes a different approach by adopting a shape inspired by sea turtles and filling it with oil, which not only makes it more pressure resistant, but also makes it readable underwater from any angle.

If you've ever gone scuba diving, you may have noticed that dive watches are often very difficult to read due to what's called "total internal reflection." Underwater, the refraction in an air-filled space behind watch crystals turn them into mirrors, so to read the time it's necessary to look at the dial straight on. Since keeping one eye on the time is vital for safe diving, it's a common and constant irritation.

By immersing the entire movement and dial in 37.5 ml of oil, the Ressence Type 5 design eliminates the refraction and reflection, so the dial can be read from any angle. In addition, the oil provides a magnifying effect and gives the illusion that the crystal isn't there. It's a solution that's been used for some digital watches, but Ressence says that this is a first for a mechanical watch.

Another advantage is that since oil isn't compressible, the Type 5 eliminates the need for a heavy case and crystal. The oil also lubricates all the components and suspends the parts, so they're effectively working in zero gravity. This means less power is needed to drive the movement and it's more accurate.

The party piece of the Type 5 is that the dials aren't static, but revolve about the main disc, which Ressence claims produces a more intuitive readout. In addition, the indicators are filled with blue and green Superluminova for day and night use.

Source: gizmag.comAdded: 21 December 2015