The Seamaster is a diving watch, so why is the name also used on dress watches?
At the time the Seamaster was introduced in 1948, standard watches were extremely susceptible to water damage from even a dip in a sink or tub. The Seamaster was created as a line of standard dress-style watches which were ‘waterproof’ (as they called them then) suitable for swimming and other light water activities. Their water resistance then is about comparable to a 10 to 30 meter rating today. The now common diver’s watch style was unknown at that time. Ten years later in 1958 Rolex introduced the Submariner, really starting the popular market for the sports/diving style of watch (though other brands did have such watches even earlier). A few years later, OMEGA added the comparable sportier models that were designed for even deeper water activities like diving that need a rating of 100 to 300 meters. They maintained the Seamaster name because of their water resistant designs. This split the Seamaster line of water resistant watches into both classic dressy and more rugged sporty st
