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Goodwill and Other Intangibles (Details) (USD $)
3 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Apr. 04, 2015
Mar. 29, 2014
Dec. 31, 2014
Goodwill [Line Items]      
Goodwill $ 350,021,000us-gaap_Goodwill   $ 354,838,000us-gaap_Goodwill
Goodwill foreign currency translation adjustments (5,000,000)us-gaap_GoodwillTranslationAndPurchaseAccountingAdjustments    
Intangible Assets [Line Items]      
Intangible assets, gross 541,407,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill   574,114,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
Intangible assets, accumulated amortization 328,299,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization   341,743,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets 8 years   8 years
Intangible assets, gross foreign currency translation adjustments (42,000,000)wat_IntangibleAssetsGrossForeignCurrencyTranslationAdjustments    
Intangible assets, accumulated amortization foreign currency translation adjustments (24,000,000)wat_IntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortizationForeignCurrencyTranslationAdjustments    
Amortization expense 11,000,000us-gaap_AmortizationOfDeferredCharges 12,000,000us-gaap_AmortizationOfDeferredCharges  
Future amortization expense, year 1 44,000,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseNextTwelveMonths    
Future amortization expense, year 2 44,000,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearTwo    
Future amortization expense, year 3 44,000,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearThree    
Future amortization expense, year 4 44,000,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearFour    
Future amortization expense, year 5 44,000,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearFive    
Capitalized software [Member]      
Intangible Assets [Line Items]      
Intangible assets, gross 308,213,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= us-gaap_SoftwareDevelopmentMember
  334,280,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= us-gaap_SoftwareDevelopmentMember
Intangible assets, accumulated amortization 183,036,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= us-gaap_SoftwareDevelopmentMember
  196,477,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= us-gaap_SoftwareDevelopmentMember
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets 7 years   7 years
Purchased intangibles [Member]      
Intangible Assets [Line Items]      
Intangible assets, gross 158,050,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_PurchasedIntangiblesMember
  163,855,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_PurchasedIntangiblesMember
Intangible assets, accumulated amortization 111,965,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_PurchasedIntangiblesMember
  112,279,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_PurchasedIntangiblesMember
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets 11 years   11 years
Trademarks and IPR&D[Member]      
Intangible Assets [Line Items]      
Intangible assets, gross 13,857,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_NewElementMember
  14,095,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_NewElementMember
Licenses [Member]      
Intangible Assets [Line Items]      
Intangible assets, gross 5,390,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= us-gaap_LicensingAgreementsMember
  5,371,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= us-gaap_LicensingAgreementsMember
Intangible assets, accumulated amortization 3,620,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= us-gaap_LicensingAgreementsMember
  3,634,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= us-gaap_LicensingAgreementsMember
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets 6 years   6 years
Patents and other intangibles [Member]      
Intangible Assets [Line Items]      
Intangible assets, gross 55,897,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_PatentsAndOtherIntangiblesMember
  56,513,000us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_PatentsAndOtherIntangiblesMember
Intangible assets, accumulated amortization $ 29,678,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_PatentsAndOtherIntangiblesMember
  $ 29,353,000us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
/ wat_IntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis
= wat_PatentsAndOtherIntangiblesMember
Weighted-average useful life of acquired intangible assets 8 years   8 years