As soon as I got my Breitling Wings watch, I was fascinated by the rotatable bezel on the outside of the timepiece. The bezel on my Breitling also has special gold number engravings every quarter of an hour, and I was curious to learn more about it. So, after I did my own research, I figured out that this specific type of bezel is called a count-up bezel and has its own unique purpose.
A count-up bezel is a uni-directional rotating bezel that measures elapsed time. These bezels count on a scale from 0 to 60 going clockwise by using number markings that align with the minutes. They are most commonly found on dive watches as well as other sports watches.
Read on to see what the primary purpose is for these bezels, what types of watches have count-up bezels, some issues with count-up bezels, and my thoughts on them.
What’s The Primary Purpose For A Count-Up Bezel?
Watch bezels are one of the most underappreciated features on a watch that often gets overlooked by many watch enthusiasts and those getting into the watch hobby. But, I am here to tell you that watch bezels are amazing and have their own
The primary purpose of a count-up bezel is to measure elapsed time and to keep the frontal watch crystal in place to protect the watch’s movement. Count-up bezels only rotate counterclockwise to help keep the most accurate timekeeping of elapsed time.
If you’re someone who is just getting into watches and doesn’t know what a bezel is, I wrote a full in-depth article explaining what exactly a bezel is, different types of bezels, what bezels are made out of, and my personal thoughts about bezels in general. You can check out that post by clicking right here.
How Do You Use A Count-Up Bezel?
To use a count-up bezel, simply rotate the “0” marker counterclockwise until it aligns with the minute hand. Then, you can simply track how many minutes have passed after the event has started. However, tracking elapsed time with a count-up bezel only lasts up to an hour.
For me, I personally use the count-up bezel the most for tasks that take less than an hour like doing laundry or cooking, since I don’t usually go diving. For example, last Friday I went to do my laundry (which is my dedicated laundry day) and I wanted to track how much time passed after I started washing my clothes.
I simply rotated the count-up bezel counterclockwise and set the “0” marking number on my Breitling Wings watch to the minute hand, and I consistently checked how many minutes have passed until it has been 40 minutes after the “0” mark (which is how long my laundry usually takes).
Another time I really utilize my count-up bezel is for cooking. Whenever I’m backing something in the oven or if I’m air frying a piece of food, I also use my count-up bezel to measure elapsed time to know when my food is done. Similar to laundry, all I do is take the “0” marker and place it right where the minute hand is and I track the minutes after I set the bezel.
A count-up bezel can be used to measure elapsed time for anything that takes less than an hour and it obviously doesn’t have to be laundry or cooking. You may be asking yourself “What’s the point of using a count-up bezel when you can easily use a timer on your mobile device?”
While there is some truth and logic to this statement, what’s the fun in that? Everyone uses a mobile device to set a timer, but I find it much more enjoyable to utilize my count-up bezel because I know that I’m appreciating the bezel by using it exactly what it was made for and I’m being different from everyone else.
What Types Of Watches Have Count-Up Bezels?
Count-up bezels are most commonly found on dive watches to measure elapsed time after the start of a dive. However, count-up bezels can also be found on other sports watches and some pilot watches as well.
Count-up bezels are most commonly found on dive watches because it’s used to help keep track of time during a dive. Count-up bezels on dive watches typically have bright colors and large number engravings so it’s easily legible underwater. In fact, count-up bezels on dive watches are extremely important because they can save you from possibly drowning. To explain this, I’m going to give you a hypothetical scenario that shows their importance.
Let’s say that you’re on vacation in the Caribbean and you’re going on a 30-minute dive, and you also decide to wear your dive watch with a count-up bezel. You set the count-up bezel and start to go on your dive, but after a little bit, you forget how long it’s been.
This is where a count-up bezel can come in really handy. Using the count-up bezel, you can see exactly how much time has passed after the start of your dive, which means that you know how much time you have left in your dive and how much time is left until your tank runs out.
This is just one example of how a count-up bezel can be useful, and this is just specifically for dive watches. For sports watches, count-up bezels are helpful to track elapsed time for workouts that are under an hour, and pilot watches can be used to track elapsed time of flights that are under an hour.
What Are Some Issues With Count-Up Bezels?
While count-up bezels are awesome and provide a unique and helpful feature, there can be some issues you may run into when you use them. When it comes down to any specific part of a timepiece, there are always some issues you can run into.
One of the first issues that can arise with count-up bezels is that it can be difficult to get used to rotating at first. Since count-up bezels rotate uni-directionally (which means rotates in a single direction) clockwise, it can be weird to get used to at first since it’s so natural to rotate the bezel clockwise. I found this out first-hand when I got my Breitling watch for the first time.
You may be asking, “Why do count-up bezels only go in one direction anyway? Why doesn’t it also rotate clockwise?” This is such a great question because I thought the same thing when I first got my Breitling watch. I asked myself “Why is it only moving counterclockwise?” and as I tried to move it clockwise, it didn’t budge at all.
The reason why count-up bezels only rotate counterclockwise is that it makes it harder to move. Making a count-up bezel harder to move is important because it helps you keep track of elapsed time as accurately as possible.
When you’re keeping track of elapsed time with a count-up bezel, it’s most important to keep the “0” marker in the exact place you set it so that you stay accurate. If the Bezel moves at all, then it can ruin your elapsed timekeeping. Watch manufacturers considered this while making count-up bezels, so they decided to create a mechanism where the bezel can only turn counterclockwise for this specific type of bezel.
Besides getting used to winding the count-up bezel in the counterclockwise direction, there are really no other downsides to having a count-up bezel. Count-up bezels can be extremely useful and helpful, and can also be stylish as well by adding some color and pop to a timepiece.
Some watch enthusiasts don’t like the look of count-up bezels because they think it looks “too tacky”, but I think it gives a timepiece its own flare and its own story.
What Are Some Of The Best Watches With A Count-Up Bezel?
While there are plenty of watches with count-up bezels, there are a few timepieces that I want to mention that I think are some of the best watches that have a count-up bezel.
Breitling Wings Automatic
The Breitling Wings Watch is one of the most underrated watches from the coveted Breitling brand in my opinion. This specific pilot watch model has a two-tone steel and gold count-up bezel with special gold markings every quarter of an hour. From my personal experience, I love the bezel on this watch because it’s stylish and helpful at the same time. As I said earlier, I love using this count-up bezel for measuring elapsed time for daily chores.
In addition, its in-house automatic ETA movement provides a clean sweep with the large second’s hand, and it’s one of my favorite timepieces to use day-to-day because of how stylish and well-crafted it is.
Since I personally own this watch and use it pretty much every day, I wrote a complete in-depth article reviewing everything about the watch and my personal opinions about it. You can check out the Breitling Wings watch Review by clicking right here.
Seiko Prospex
When it comes down to the best bang-for-your-buck, you can’t really go wrong with Seiko. This diver watch from Seiko has a 200-meter water resistance, which makes it perfect for scuba diving and swimming.
On top of that, this Seiko watch has an amazing count-up bezel: it has a bold, colorful, and highly legible bezel that is well-suited to assist you on dives. It has large number engravings that are very easy to read. When it comes down to overall value, I couldn’t recommend the Seiko brand enough.
IWC Aquatimer
IWC (International Watch Company) is one of the top luxury watch brands in the world, and the Aquatimer is one of their best luxury dive watches. Unlike plenty of other dive watches on the market, the Aquatimer provides a more clean and minimal look.
Similar to the Breitling Wings watch I mentioned earlier, the Aquatimer has an easy-to-read count-up bezel that has large number markings every quarter of an hour, which makes it a perfect watch whenever you need to track elapsed time diving. In addition, this watch has an outstanding 300-meter water resistance, which makes the watch more than suitable for diving.
Rolex Sea-Dweller
As of right now, Rolex is the most recognized watch brand and is one of the most influential overall brands in the world; their Sea-Dweller is one of Rolex’s most popular and iconic watches.
The Sea-Dweller has an amazing count-up bezel and features highly legible numbering with iconic Rolex However, the most impressive aspect about the Rolex Sea-Dweller is most definitely its water resistance. The Sea-Dweller has a whopping 1,220-meter water resistance, which more than triples high-end dive watches’ water resistance. The quality and craftsmanship of this timepiece are extremely impressive, to say the least.
Panerai Submersible
The Italian luxury watch brand Panerai competes with some of the best watch brands in the world, and the Panerai Submersible is one of their most popular models to date. The count-up bezel on this specific Panerai has a very simple and minimal design that’s easy to read, which really represents the Panerai brand in general.
Similar to Breitling, I also own my own Panerai (which is a Luminor Chronograph Daylight) and it’s my first ever luxury watch that has sparked my hobby for watches. If you want to check out my full review of my Panerai Luminor watch, you can check out the in-depth article by clicking right here.
Count-Up Bezels: My Thoughts And Opinions
In my personal opinion, I am a big fan of count-up bezels because I think they can be super useful in certain situations. Count-up bezels are amazing because they can save your life if you go diving. I really think that it’s an underrated innovation when it comes down to watches.
There are plenty of people out there who often discredit the look and function of watch bezels, and especially count-up bezels: but I’m not that kind of person. I think that count-up bezels are extremely useful for measuring elapsed time.