Its finally here, the worlds most resilient watch, The 20,000 Feet by CX Military Watch, tantalizing watch enthusiasts since Baselworld. You now can schedule your deep sea dive with a highly competent watch around your wrist, as this truly amazing mechanical timepiece can survive ocean depths of up to 20,000 feet.Only thing is 20,000 Feet is a long way off from the exploration of man, where pressure at this depth is 5 tons on one inch. The deepest dive was performed in 2005 by French diver Pascal Bernabé who dove into the Guiness Book of Records at 1,083 feet. (Deep dives are no longer recognized by the Guiness Book of Records as a result of Health and Safety concerns.) I am sure those weird little fishes swimming near ocean trenches may like a mechanical companion.
However, this timepiece is as tough as nails, and if diving is not your thing, "The 20,000 Feet" can endure a whole lot above sea level. This watch survived being shot at; being submerged by an airport fire engine (of all things); driven over by a truck and being exposed to 100 grams of explosives with a detonation velocity of 5,000 meters per second -enough to destroy a two ton vehicle.
This latter experiment was particularly interesting. Gamsit (the powerful explosive) was placed in a quarry. Two watches were placed on either side at 10cm from the explosive. One watch was "The 20,000 Feet" Watch, and the other a sturdy enough watch of another brand. With cameras in place; the fuse was lit and 120 seconds later, the explosion was heard. After the explosion, the men on the scene rushed forward and find unbelievably "The 20,000 feet was in full working conditions and suffered only minor scratches on its side; the other watch was completely destroyed and only a piece of the buckle and a bit of bracelet was salvaged.
The CX Military Watch has been recognized by the Guiness Book of Records for the timepiece with the deepest water resistance, but the tests for this watch has just begun.
The chronograph timepiece was subjected to three Real Life Tests:
1)Fired at by a Winchester rifle from a distance of just eight metres2) Placed on an explosive charge blasting at a speed of 5,000 metres/second3) Submerged by water spurting at 6,000 litres/minute.
The 20,000 Feet passed with flying colors, but its ultimate test is still undecided. At Basel World 2009, journalists and readers were asked to come up with their own real life tests for this indestructible timepiece. All ideas, no matter how ludicrous shall be considered. I wonder if it will last in a classroom full of three year olds or used as an ice hockey puck in a particularly rowdy ice hockey game. Anyway the ultimate test shall be performed at the end of 2009, so keep your eyes open and possibly your hands clamped tightly over your ears.
