What is the primary characteristic of a dive watch?

A dive watch is specifically designed to withstand the water pressure experienced during submersion and to accurately measure dive time. This capability is crucial for divers to monitor their underwater time effectively, ensuring their safety and adherence to dive tables or guidelines that prevent issues such as decompression sickness.

These watches typically feature a unidirectional bezel to track elapsed time underwater, a water resistance rating often sufficient for typical dive conditions, and luminous hands or markers to ensure readability in low-light environments underwater. While dive watches may also include various features such as a compass or GPS tracking, these are not primary characteristics; they are added functionalities that some models may have but do not define the essence of what makes a watch a dive watch. Furthermore, while many dive watches boast impressive water resistance, the standard for many models is toDepth ratings that could be less than 1000 meters, making it inaccurate to state that all dive watches have this specific depth rating.