Originally Posted by
Pretty Boy
The waterproof to 50 metres denotes how much static pressure the watch has been tested to in lab conditions before failure.
In real world terms the bigger the distance, the more water resistant it is in everyday scenarios such as heavy rain or going to the beach.
You also have to remember a lot of luxury brands such as Omega and Rolex originally produced true aviator and dive watches. Seamaster, Submariner etc. The pressure changes on these watches demanded absolute precision engineering. A lot of the selling points on these watches now is that high quality, hand made or hand finished workmanship. A high water resistance rating is proof of said quality.