Nealywheelie wrote:
It's not a 'tiny hole', but a valve, & it's there to release Helium gas that will ingress into the case at a certain pressure. The watch remains 'waterproof' but the helium invades the space inside the case where the movement is as pressure increases. He, will cause no problem to the watch movement, but will expand during 'decompression' and lilkely blow off your crystal, which will cause a catastrophic ingress of seawater into your case/movement thereby destroying your pride & joy.
So therefore, your watch has a Helium escape valve which will protect your movement by expelling Helium gas as the pressure of your ascent reduces & you return to your desk, safe, & ready for another day.
Your watch is rated at 3000m, so please don't worry about your little hole in the caseband, and enjoy the feeling of wearing one of the most pressure proof watches commercially available, in the world.
Not exactly: helium is used in a dry environment during saturation diving, and the molecules are small enough to enter the watch. During the decompression process, the molecules expand and can't escape / or can't escape at the same rate as the decompression and the pressure inside the watch activates the valve. All of this takes place in a dry environment. The He valve doesn't operate during actual diving.