# Will a non-water resistant watch withstand rain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-non-water-resistant-watch-withstand-rain/427134 "2007-11-20T02:33:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ro\_Carter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Ro\_Carter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ro_Carter)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-non-water-resistant-watch-withstand-rain/427134/1 "2007-11-20T02:33:59Z")
I am considering getting a new watch, and have found one that I like. However, it does not say that it is water resistant. I understand that this means I can’t wash dishes with it, or drop it in the lake and expect it to still work, but how big of an issue is rain? Would a good comparison be my cell phone? (a few drops of water are ok, provided they are wiped off promptly and not allowed to get in it) ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-non-water-resistant-watch-withstand-rain/427134/2 "2007-11-20T02:39:42Z")
Dude. Forty bucks got me a watch at Target that’s water resistant to 50 meters. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-non-water-resistant-watch-withstand-rain/427134/3 "2007-11-20T02:45:44Z")
[QUOTE=Pullet] Dude. Forty bucks got me a watch at Target that’s water resistant to 50 meters. [/QUOTE] You can get one for $14.99 at Target or Wal-Mart that is water resistant as well. I find it hard to believe that any watch \>$10 would be made so that it isn’t water resistant. I can’t speak to the OP directly but the watch should be marked more clearly. If it is more than $25 or so, you shouldn’t buy it or you should do more research before doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Ro\_Carter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Ro\_Carter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ro_Carter)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-non-water-resistant-watch-withstand-rain/427134/4 "2007-11-20T03:00:29Z")
It’s a Timex, priced at $30, with out any of the markings to suggest water resistance according to either the description of the watch or physical markings. I’ve got a cheap watch now that is water resistant, but not exactly… nice looking. I wear a watch all the time, so I was hoping to get one that wouldn’t look like crap. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-non-water-resistant-watch-withstand-rain/427134/5 "2007-11-20T03:13:27Z")
[QUOTE=Ro Carter] It’s a Timex, priced at $30… [/QUOTE] Try looking it up at [Timex](http://www.timex.com/gp/contact/002-1608802-6403248?ie=UTF8&timexBrand=core&viewID=site-map). ---
**Author:** ![Ro\_Carter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Ro\_Carter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ro_Carter)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-non-water-resistant-watch-withstand-rain/427134/6 "2007-11-20T03:27:40Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Try looking it up at [Timex](http://www.timex.com/gp/contact/002-1608802-6403248?ie=UTF8&timexBrand=core&viewID=site-map). [/QUOTE] Actually, that is where I found it. [This](http://www.timex.com/gp/product/B000J2NY3Y/sr=1-3/qid=1195529005/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&m=A1S5XB33AHYRMX&n=238509011&timexBrand=core) is the watch I was thinking of. Note that in the product description it doesn’t mention water resistance (which it does on all sport/other watches that you’d expect to be water resistant), and the face has neither the symbol or a depth marking. Now that we’ve established that the watch is, in fact, not water resistant, can anyone tell me how it might stand up to rain? ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-non-water-resistant-watch-withstand-rain/427134/7 "2007-11-20T03:53:40Z")
Okay, from your link, that watch is definitely not water resistant. The leather strap alone told me that. However, it should be able to handle the occasional sprinkling without undue damage. I would guess that the watch is meant to be dust tight, so there is some sort of seal around the stem, just not a water tight one. So okay in a little rain, not okay for casual wear in a rain forest. Two totally anecdotal stories: In the late '70s, I purchased a fancy new-fangled LCD digital watch. About a week later, while I was laying out on Sandy Beach in Hawaii drying off after a little body surfing, someone asked me if I knew the time. I immediately looked at my watch and said “Nope.” I’d completely forgotten about the damned thing and it was quite completely dead. Fast forward 20+ years. I got a Casio Databank watch with all kinds of cool features. I read the instructions very carefully, and from their description of it’s features and capabilities, you shouldn’t even think moist thoughts near the thing. But I did get that watch wet many, many times, and it lasted for several years without a problem. Of course, I never took it body surfing, either. So the moral is, get the watch, but keep it away from killer waves in Hawaii.