XML 57 R46.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.10.0.1

Goodwill and Other Intangibles - Schedule of Intangible Assets (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands | 6 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended
--- | --- | ---
Jun. 30, 2018 | Dec. 31, 2017
Finite Lived and Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items] |  |
Gross Carrying Amount | $ 704,629 | $ 701,100
Accumulated Amortization | $ 486,454 | $ 472,705
Weighted-Average Amortization Period | 7 years | 7 years
Trademarks and In Process Research and Development [Member] |  |
Finite Lived and Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items] |  |
Gross Carrying Amount | $ 13,815 | $ 13,923
Software Development [Member] |  |
Finite Lived and Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items] |  |
Gross Carrying Amount | 442,294 | 438,652
Accumulated Amortization | $ 294,533 | $ 285,461
Weighted-Average Amortization Period | 5 years | 5 years
Purchased Intangibles [Member] |  |
Finite Lived and Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items] |  |
Gross Carrying Amount | $ 167,762 | $ 169,870
Accumulated Amortization | $ 140,521 | $ 138,750
Weighted-Average Amortization Period | 11 years | 11 years
Licensing Agreements [Member] |  |
Finite Lived and Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items] |  |
Gross Carrying Amount | $ 5,716 | $ 5,840
Accumulated Amortization | $ 4,767 | $ 4,628
Weighted-Average Amortization Period | 6 years | 6 years
Patents and Other Intangibles [Member] |  |
Finite Lived and Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items] |  |
Gross Carrying Amount | $ 75,042 | $ 72,815
Accumulated Amortization | $ 46,633 | $ 43,866
Weighted-Average Amortization Period | 8 years | 8 years

X
- Definition Useful life of finite-lived intangible assets, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetUsefulLife
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Accumulated amount of amortization of assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (a)(1) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66006027&loc=d3e16323-109275 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount before accumulated amortization of intangible assets, excluding goodwill. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_IntangibleAssetsGrossExcludingGoodwill
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | wat_FiniteLivedAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | wat_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=wat_TrademarksAndInProcessResearchAndDevelopmentMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=us-gaap_SoftwareDevelopmentMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=wat_PurchasedIntangiblesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=us-gaap_LicensingAgreementsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=wat_PatentsAndOtherIntangiblesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |