As we explored in a previous blog, watches are often tools used by explorers. For many activities, watches need to be able to withstand things that should break them. Events such as getting wet and being bashed. Over time, watches have been designed to survive both of these events. Some watches take resilience to the extreme. These are the unbreakable watches.

These watches might be used: in warfare by soldiers; by athletes in competitions; or by regular people, who want a watch that can withstand anything that life can throw at them. Watch lovers of all kinds want watches like this, so they come at many different price points, with many different features . This blog will explore three unbreakable watches, at different price points.

The Casio G-Shock

The Casio G-Shock was invented in the early 1980’s and it one of the cheapest and most popular unbreakable watches for sale today. In the 1980’s, if you dropped a watch, it would break. This happened to a watch maker at Casio (he dropped his father’s pocket watch), who then decided to make a watch that would not break when you dropped it.

It took the development team hundreds of attempts to solve the problem. They eventually achieved their aim by suspending the movement within cushioning materials, in the centre of a metal watch case. The designer was inspired to do this after seeing a rubber-ball bounce in a playground.

Casio now make a very large range of different G-shock watches, many of which can be used in extreme environments. They are all designed to be used outdoors, and there are even watches that have been designed with the Ministry of Defence for use by the British Armed Forces. 

G-Shocks come with a long list of standard features: 200M water resistance, shock resistance, alarm, a full calendar and a stopwatch. Some G-Shocks will also have a function to tell the time in different parts of the world simultaneously (a world timer), a thermometer and a compass. Some are solar powered, meaning that you do not ever need to replace the battery. They are tough, reliable and can survive almost anything they are put through.

The Rolex Submariner

Another watch that is near-enough unbreakable is the Rolex Submariner. The Submariner was released by Rolex in 1954, and it was designed to be tough, waterproof, and long-lasting. It is one of the most popular Rolex models today, and is one of the most popular stainless-steel sports watches of any brand. The fact that it is practically unbreakable is a key driver of its popularity.

The Submariner was one of the first dive-watches. It was released to capture the demand that was being created by other Rolex models, (such as the Explorer and Oyster) for watches that could go anywhere. The Rolex Explorer famously went to the top of Everest with Hillary and Norgay.

The Rolex Submariner has fewer features than the Casio G-Shock, (time and date only) but it is much more expensive. There are a few reasons for this, including an automatic (self-winding) movement, brand value and the materials used.

Rolex focuses on technical innovation in its watches. This is no different for the Submariner. It has been re-released many times since its first launch in 1954, with each launch making a small improvement to the case, the movement or the bracelet. All of these changes have the aim of making the watch stronger, and more difficult to damage.

In 2020 Rolex have released another update, and it is no different. Rolex made some small cosmetic adjustments but also replaced the entire movement of the watch. The new movement has more silicone parts, which will reduce the potential for damage when bashed.

Like the G-Shock, the Submariner has been used by military professionals all over the world.

For example, the British Ministry of Defence Modified the Submariner for use by its divers. These “Mil-Subs” are now some of the most collectable watches on the planet. The Submariner was also famously worn by James Bond.

Richard Mille

If you are in the market for watch that costs as much as a house, but also can be worn to compete in Grand Slam tennis tournaments, golf tournaments, or whilst setting a 100m sprint world record, then you should explore the world of Richard Mille.

Richard Mille watches are very expensive. However, for the wealthiest athletes on the planet, they are often the watch of choice. And that is for two reasons: they are very light, and almost unbreakable.

Richard Mille’s watches are inspired by Formula 1 motor racing, and the study of shock-resistance. His watches use the most technologically advanced materials from aeronautics, F1 and medical surgery to ensure that they can withstand almost anything you can throw at them.

Many of his watches have a tourbillion movement (where part of the movement rotates in a sort-of centrifuge to counter-act the effect of gravity on a movement) – these are traditionally very fragile movements. Not so with Richard Mille. The movements are suspended by braided steel cables, in the centre of the watch, a bit like a fly caught in a spider’s web. This makes the watch very shock-resistant, and some models can withstand up to 5000 G (1 G is the force of the Earth’s gravity). That is more than 100 times what the human body can withstand.

Two athletes in particular are known for wearing their own models of Richard Mille watches whilst competing. For athletes who swing their arms and hit something very fast, the watch has to be very light but also able to withstand high speeds and the shock of being stopped very quickly. Rafa Nadalwears one whilst playing in tennis tournaments (on his hitting arm), and Bubba Watson wears one whilst playing golf. Their watches experience the same forces as if they were continuously picked up and thrown against a wall, as hard as possible, for hours on end.

The technology and design required to make these watches is incredibly sophisticated. Richard Mille leads the way in this field.

It’s easy to take the resilience of a watch for granted, but these three companies produce these watches to reassure their customers that they can wear them safely, no matter what activity they are pursuing

Here at the Watch Collectors Club, we do not believe that there is one “best” unbreakable watch. They are all interesting, they all have their own merits, and they all offer something that we should consider when buying a watch: they are capable of going places and surviving things that we probably couldn’t. And that’s pretty cool.