Whether you have been with me since day one or have only just joined me today, be you reader, contributor, collaborator, team member (Amy our resident photographer) or one of our many wonderful sponsors – you have my sincere gratitude; this is for you!
And, before we crack on with the story – a special word of thanks to my good friend and close friend of OceanicTime, Clemens Helberg of H2O Watch, who has made this dream a reality!
Preposterous? Maybe. Obnoxious? Possibly. Awesome? Most definitely! We have once again partnered with H2O Watch of Germany to bring you a depth defying, high water-resistance wristwatch.
The H2O Watch KALMAR 2 x OEANICTIME 10 MILES watch has been engineered to outperform even the most waterproof experimental wristwatches as well as the deepest diving deep-sea submersibles, by miles!
Based on H2O Watch’s flagship diver’s model, the second generation Kalmar, the Kalmar 2 which boasts a re-engineered case architecture, designed using advanced FEM software –
as simply increasing its case-back and crystal thickness would not have been sufficient to achieve the staggering 16’093 meters of water-resistance that the 10 MILES is officially certified to.
Taking its name from the German for Giant Squid; a creature that can measure up to 13 meters long and that inhabits a dark world thousands of feet below the waves, the first generation Kalmar, released in 2011 was officially tested to 600 bar, the equivalent of 6’000 meters of water-resistance.
Its successor, the Kalmar 2 was created as a Special Edition in 2015 for OcenicTime and was able to gain 2’000m on its older sibling with an incredible depth-rating of 8’000 meters!
The OCEANICTIME 10 MILES has now, more than double that with its 16’093m depth-rating, and is a good 4’000 meters more water-resistance than any famous Swiss brand’s experimental wristwatch (you know the one I’m talking about) – it is the deepest diving mechanical wristwatch ever built and it was made for OceanicTime!
Ti G5 Grade 5 Titanium was once again chosen (as it was for the OCEANICTIME 8K that came before it), as its increased tensile strength which makes it almost twice as strong as 316L Stainless steel yet 40% lighter was necessary to build a case that would go on to almost defy the laws of physics themselves.
If you did not know it, Titanium Grade 5 has a hardness of 349 Vickers. By comparison 316L Stainless steel has a hardness of 152 while Titanium Grade 2 is 149 Vickers.
Another benefit of Titanium is that it is hypoallergenic, meaning that, it will not react with your skin to cause irritation, so is pretty damn comfy on the wrist.
SAPPHIRE The 10 MILES is fitted with a domed scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with a multi-layered anti-reflective treatment on its inner side. The sapphire crystal is only second to diamond in its hardness, scoring 9 out of 10 on the Mohs mineral hardness scale.
Grown synthetically in cylindrical sticks called boules, the production of a sapphire crystal is a slow, expensive and energy-intensive process.
Only the very highest quality crystals have been chosen for the 10 MILES as even the slightest imperfection could result in a catastrophic breach of the watch case – if you were ever to find your 10 MILES watch in such an extreme environment.
The 10 MILES is offered with a choice of 8.25mm or 10.50mm thick sapphire crystals. The choice is purely an aesthetic one as both crystals easily surpassed the watch’s 16’093m depth-rating. If you want to see pics of the watch fitted with the 10.50mm, click HERE to see mine.
FEM The 10 MILES watch owes its phenomenal level water-resistance not only to its generous use of use high-tech materials, like the aerospace-grade Titanium used for its case architecture but also to the use of ‘’finite element analysis’’ (FEA), a computerized method for predicting how a structure reacts to real world physical effects; in this instance our 10 MILES watch case’s tolerance to an incomprehensible level of pressure.
With the help of ‘’finite element method’’ (FEM) software H2O were able to model the 10 MILES watch case in a virtual environment in order to find and solve any potential (or existing) structural or performance issues, even before subjecting it to 1’600+ bar of pressure. I’m not sure if Clemens actually donned a VR headset (if he did, I want to see a selfie).
REACHING 10 MILES In addition to re-engineering the case architecture of the Kalmar 2 (already bolstered with a substantial crystal and case-back) using FEM software, removing any potential areas of weakness such as its Helium Escape Valve (often mistakenly thought to be an important feature of a deep dive watch – it isn’t, trust me!), the 10 MILES uses an advanced crown-system with 4 gaskets, sealing the crown from external pressures.
Even the crown-tube, itself has been sealed with a gasket, and then glued into the case using the strongest industrial-grade metal glue, available!
The case-back is sealed with dual VITON® gaskets, which are extremely resistant to chemicals and salt-water and are highly pressure-resistant.
10 MILES DEEP Located in the western Pacific Ocean is the Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the Mariana Trench which is just under 7 miles (6.831 miles) or 10’994m deep. The H2O Watch x OCEANICTIME 10 MILES could easily survive such an extreme environment, without issue, but to simply survive was not enough.
In order to ensure that the 10 MILES would fully comply with the industry norms for a certified diver’s watch (that require an additional 25% buffer beyond the stated water-resistance), it would need to exceed 11’000 meters by 25%, thus creating a new target depth of 13’750 meters.
We had already predicted that 15’000 meters was achievable when we created the X-DIVER prototype watches – so with some additional engineering the watch was on course for 16’093 meters AKA 10 MILES.
When the time finally came, 2 pieces of the 10 MILES production watches were taken for independent pressure-testing in Germany.
TESTED to DESTRUCTION The 10 MILES watch was independently pressure tested and officially certified in a specialist German research facility, the only facility of its type in Germany capable of pressure testing up to 4’000 bar, the equivalent of 40’000m.
It was tested with two different crystal set-ups, firstly with an 8.25mm crystal that finally succumbed to 2’530 bar of pressure, the equivalent of 25’300m of water-resistance.
We were not expecting the crystal to perform so well, so had prepared a second watch fitted with a thicker, 10.50mm crystal which surpassed the 8.25mm crystal only by 32 bar. It was finally destroyed at 2’562 bar, the equivalent of 25’620m of water-resistance.
As a testament to this outstanding level of pressure-resistance, all 10 MILES watches bare a discreet ‘’25300M CERTIFIED’’ engraved hallmark between their lugs.
DIAL Offered in three dazzling sunburst finishes: dark anthracite, deep black and abyss blue (an OceanicTime first), the dial of the 10 MILES has been designed for optimum legibility; both date aperture and minute track are noticeably absent.
Instead large professional-style appliqué indexes with chrome surrounds dominate the dial, an H2O signature, disrupted only by the presence of a single Arabic numeral, the ‘’10’’ whose presence is more than a simple quirk.
A specific design feature, the “10” not only relates to the 10 MILES name but once again to our 10th Anniversary. Matching the chromed indexes are a set of chromed arrow-head hands along with the H2O Watch and OCEANICTIME logos as well as the ‘’10 MILES’’ name / water-resistance text.
All hands and dial markers of the 10 MILES watch have been generously filled with Swiss Super-LumiNova® BGW9 which emits a bright blue light.
MOVEMENT What makes the 10 MILES so extraordinary is that locked within its hermetically sealed vault-like case, it houses a Swiss made, self-winding mechanical movement. This is no oil-filled, quartz-powered, pretender, folks – this has air inside it!
Powering the 10 MILES is a Swiss made ETA 2892 TOP GRADE automatic movement with; blued screws and custom perlage on its rotor. Each watch is individually regulated by H2O’s German watchmaker for increased accuracy and precision.
Its functions include: hours, minutes and sweep and hacking seconds.
THE WATCH Compact, lightweight and refined; we hope that this brawny yet stylish fellow, our 10 MILES watch will be able to accompany you on all of your adventures.
Wear it over neoprene for a deep dive, wear it up against the cuff of a woolen sweater this winter or show it off on a tanned wrist on a hot day.
The 10 MILES watch wasn’t only engineered for the deep; H2O wanted it to be worn and enjoyed as much as any of their other models.
Unlike so many unwearable high-water-resistant wristwatches with their overly bulky designs, the 10 MILES has been engineered so that it can be comfortably worn all day long.
TOO DEEP TOO DIVE Even a humble 200 meter, water-resistant watch is rated well beyond the limitations of man with his fragile body. To that effect what of 16’093 meters, some 5’200 meters deeper than the deepest point on earth? This is well beyond the diving range of even the deepest-diving, deep-sea submersibles; thus ‘’TOO DEEP TOO DIVE”.
In that regard the highly-engineered 10 MILES watch follows OceaicTime’s avant gardist design codes with a completely sterile bezel, an aesthetic choice turning a basic principle of dive watch design up on its head.
While the ergonomics of H2O Watch’s popular, 120-click precision, Turbine Bezel remains; its usefulness for measuring dive-time does not.
But that is not to say that this stunning, CNC-machined bezel is redundant – far from it. The bezel which wraps itself neatly around the 8.25mm (*10.50) sapphire crystal of the 10 MILES watch has become a key design feature shielding much of the crystals bulk.
DEEP BLACK In addition to the regular 10 MILES watch, a special DEEP BLACK edition presented in a classic OceanicTime monochromatic livery is also available. For the DEEP BLACK edition, a high-quality German DLC (diamond like carbon) surface treatment has been applied to the 10 MILES’s; bezel, crown and case-back offering additional scratch-resistance along with classic OceanicTime contrasting case components.
The 10 MILES & 10 MILES DEEP BLACK are both available now from H2O WATCH.
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