Depthmaster Book

A historic synopsis & preface of the book

In 1938, the British notified the Swiss watch industry that they were buying wristwatches and that no testing was necessary. They had a simple fact sheet. The company's requirements were simple, such as 15 jewels, waterproof, and a few other simple criteria. Croton wanted to participate. Croton decided to build a completely sealed single-case system wristwatch as a candidate for military use. The challenge that Croton faced was the Wyler company. Wyler held patents on the best waterproof case design.

Their Wyler single-cased, crystal-sealed, two-part stem case system was the best in the world then. Arguably, some say it was even better than Rolex. Their case system would dominate the world for quite a while. Croton went to work devising and designing a casing system that would compete with Wyler and most of the steel screwback designs. Croton chose a single steel case in which the movement was fit. They then sealed the movement by placing a rubber seal on the case's top ledges and a "top hat" crystal over the seal. They then incorporated the Wyler two-piece stem system. They built a steel bezel [with lugs] that fit over the crystal and the case to keep it unique. They then drilled and threaded each lug, utilizing headless screws to push the case up and into the bezel. The pressure would compress the seal between the case and the bezel. Lastly, they then added a "compensating" movement and called their technology "Compensamatic." "