TECHTIME Three degrees of Christopher Ward’s C600 Tri-TechTM


Complication T


Diver Elite has three – hence the


tri in the name – seriously technical elements that combine to make it one of the most advanced diver’s watches in the world


he most technically enabled watch in the Christopher Ward collection, the C600 Tri-TechTM


Diver Elite is one


of the most advanced diver’s watches in the world, suitable for deep diving. What makes the Tri-TechTM


special is the


use of three technically impressive elements in one watch in a unique combination. The Tri-TechTM


• brings together


Gaseous Tritium Light Sources (GTLS), a Helium Release Valve and a diamond hard PVD finish in one diving watch.


1 Helium Release Valve The helium release valve, also called a helium escape valve, maintains functionality for professional deep divers for prolonged periods of time or under saturation. When commercial divers operate at great depths, they often spend prolonged hours in diving bells under pressure breathing a gas mix, for example trimix, that contains the gas helium.


Since helium molecules are the second smallest found in nature, the gas is able to work its way inside the watch, around any O-rings or other seals the watch may have. This is not a problem as long as the divers stay under pressure, but when decompression stops during resurfacing are not long enough, a pressure difference builds up between the trapped helium inside the watch and the environment. A small, one-way valve integrated in the watchcase is activated when the differential between the inner and the outside pressure reaches a critical level.


The result is that the valve releases the helium trapped inside the case. The helium release valve in the C600


•


operates with a screw-down crown at the side of the watch. When divers start to ascend, they simply unscrew the valve’s crown to the full open position, allowing any trapped helium to escape during decompression.


Tri-TechTM


2 Gaseous Tritium Light Source The C600 Tri-TechTM


contains Gaseous


Tritium Light Source tubes that emit a blue light, which is easy to see at depth. Decades of research into radio luminescence took place before the development and commercial use of GTLS in watches. GTLS are tiny glass vials hermetically sealed, coated on the inside with a phosphorescent material and filled with a minute amount of tritium gas. Electrons emitted from the gas excite the material to give off a permanent, cold light. Depending on the type of


phosphorescent material used, GTLS can be made to give off light in different colours, but blue is the best option for divers because it remains visible at up to 60m/187 feet in depth, longer and deeper than any other colour.


• 18 www.christopherward.co.uk


Individual GTLS are laser cut and sealed airtight, so no gas ever escapes. Christopher Ward uses MB-Microtec light sources – the best in the marketplace.


3 PVD – Physical Vapor Deposition The PVD is an environmentally friendly vacuum coating process that has the ability


C600 Tri-TechTM Diver Elite Christopher Ward’s Tri-Tech Diver Elite is one of the most advanced diver’s watches in the world with its three major technical innovations


C600 IPK £425.00


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