Water Resistance - Publication of standard ISO 22810
Revue FH - 16 September 2010
In preparation for several years, the revision of standard ISO 2281 Water-resistant watches - not to be confused with standard ISO 6425 Diver's watches - is now complete. With it comes the publication in August of the new standard ISO 22810.
It was in 2009 during the ISO/TC 114 congress in Shenzhen that the project made real progress, when a solution was found to the question of marking. With the correct correlation confirmed between dynamic stresses undergone by the watch during nautical activities and the tests described in the standard, ISO 22810 allows use of the «bar» unit or corresponding metres. The mark «Waterresistant » without other indication is also authorised, leaving the producer free to add an indication in bars or metres if the watch has been tested at more than 2 bar, the standard's minimum requirement. While technical requirements remain fundamentally unchanged, the philosophy for applying the standard is different.
The old standard 2281 described tests that the producer had to carry out, on individual pieces or through sampling, in order to qualify their watch as waterresistant.
The new standard ISO 22810 for its part specifies tests which must be passed by any watch designated as waterresistant. It leaves to the manufacturer the responsibility of specifying the tests and sampling plans to be implemented, and also of indicating permitted activities and warranty conditions for the product in question. The producer therefore has great freedom of action but also complete responsibility as regards the customer. An informative appendix completes the document. It outlines precautions for use and some basic notions of physics. In keeping with a rising trend in the field of standardisation, this standard adopts a technical approach but also seeks to give the consumer useful information and afford better protection.