I received this watch as a gift more than 15 years ago and it has performed flawless only requiring about 3 or 4 battery changes and one band replacement.  I don't know about its water-proof ability but have tested the stress durability of this watch.  I'm really hard on things and have worn this daily and after 15+ years only has a couple of scratches on the front. None of the minute numbers have worn off as other mentioned.  In contrast, I received (also as a gift)an equally priced sissy metro-sexual Italian watch (can't even remember the brand) and wore it ONCE before gouging the bezel glass.  I threw it in a draw somewhere and haven't seen it since.  I'm thinking about buying another Luminox soon and hope the quality hasn't decreased as some of these reviews indicate.  I don't get it cause something that ticks away for 15+ years keeping perfect time and can be clearly seen day/night is an outstanding value.