

The Bourdon tube, invented around 1850, is still one of the most widely used devices for measuring the pressure of liquids. Here are a few examples of watches fit with a depth gauge (bear in mind that we only cover mechanical watches at MONOCHROME and the list of models featured is not exhaustive).

These rare models and their engineering are fascinating… and you do not need to be a diver to love them!įrom a technical perspective, several solutions have been used. For practical purposes, these depth gauge watches were designed to substitute stand-alone depth gauges (or dive computers). It could register depths of up to 160 feetĪ handful of manufacturers have developed watches incorporating a mechanical depth gauge, starting with Favre-Leuba, Nivada and Aquadive in the 1960s. The 1960s Favre Leuba Bathy 160 was one of the first wristwatches to incorporate a mechanical depth gauge.

Although many divers today choose to dive with a computer, some still use a mechanical depth gauge, even if only as backup. Traditionally, divers used a dive watch and a depth gauge to calculate decompression time at given depths. Both variables are needed to use decompression tables. A reliable dive watch and a depth gauge are essential pieces of diving gear designed to monitor depth and track the duration of an underwater adventure. As depth increases the physiological effects become greater. If a diver ascends too quickly, this can lead to decompression illness that can be painful and life-threatening. If scuba diving is a popular recreational sport, it is a dangerous activity that needs to be properly prepared and monitored.
