As always, there are a few factors that you must observe before you finally decide to pick the favourite and buy it.
1. Movements
Comprehending how the watch works, first; is the way to go forward. The movements in a watch are important, which is known as ‘calibre’ in technical terms and it is essentially the mechanism inside the watch. The tiny yet extremely complex engine which ‘ticks’ the watch is the core of every watch. There are three types of calibre.
A) Quartz: Back in 1969, Seiko, the watchmakers of Japan brought quartz movement. It challenged the timepiece houses that used the traditional mechanical calibre to power their timepieces. The quartz calibre started the era of wristwatches that are battery-operated. The quartz watches run on the battery which sends the electrical signal through crystal quartz piece. The quartz piece vibrates exactly 32768 times each second, which creates a signal that has a specific frequency. These vibrations are counted by a circuit and then converted into a single pulse for each second, where a consistent movement of watch hands are the outcome of this particular pulse.
The quartz calibre has many benefits. It gives accurate time, which ensures an accuracy that is superior. Since they are battery-powered, they are easy to use. It has less number of moving parts which makes it low maintenance and less expensive. On the other hand, since it has less moving parts which also lowers the requirement for maintenance and repairing, it becomes much more durable than other calibre of watches.
B) Mechanical: A spring runs the mechanical calibre. This spring is also known as the mainspring, which requires to be periodically wound. The mechanical or simply manual timepieces virtually perform a similar function such as those done by the quartz calibre. However, it catches the fancy of almost all the horology enthusiasts because it has the complex moving gears connected with spiralling springs that fuel the watch hand’s movement with an accuracy that is precise and elegant.
Few of its rotor mechanisms work in perfect conjunction with earth’s gravity, compressing its mainspring when the wrist moves and create kinetic energy which then fuels the mechanism of automatic winding. These watches have an intricate mechanism that can be described only as art; to be specific. There is some manual calibre watch that transpires into completely different entities. They are no more meant for a reading time but more appropriately meant to be cherished as a collector’s item.
There are a plethora of benefits from mechanical watches, which is longevity that may even last for a lifetime and can be given to the next generation as a family heirloom. There is no need of battery replacements while manual rewinding of the mechanical wristwatch is also seen by many as a ritual of sorts. Most mechanical timepieces come in a casing that is built of clear sapphire on its back that gives a clear view of fascinating oscillations and rotations of the tiny parts.
C) Automatic: It is also known as the self-winding watch, which is a mechanical watch which harnesses the kinetic energy from the wearer’s wrist movement and natural motion. Thus, its mainspring gets automatically wound from all the natural movement the wrist of the wearer makes. Hence, manual winding is never needed. Since there are additional rotors which are the metal weights, which spins with every motion of the wrist; the watch is thick. A good and reliable automatic watch will always be heavy because of the multiple rotors that are there.
The need to change the battery or manually rewinding the wristwatch is no more needed with automatic watches. The more they are used, the watch continues to function.
2. Type of Watch
There are 5 main type or genres of wristwatches. Such a variety is essential because of the style requirement and their utility for different occasions.
A) Diving Watch: It is designed to work in the water, especially in the deep oceans where divers dive. Its main characteristics are its luminous hands and dials, unidirectional bezel and rugged construction. It sits atop the case and could be used to see how much of immersion time is left for the wearer. Majority of the diving watches get their design from 1953 Rolex Submariner, which was the first wristwatch to work at 100 m depth. Nonetheless, a diving watch is an excellent all-rounder which is also a fine, versatile choice that its wearer will never regret buying it.
B) Aviation Watch: In 1911 Cartier, the watchmaker introduced an aviation watch for Alberto Santos Dumont, who was a pioneering pilot. It has the slide rule, and a bezel can give a massive volume of information which was important for pilots in those days when electronic navigation was not introduced. Majority of aviation timepieces still have the luminous dials and numerals on the black face, which is easy to use in the night.
C) Driving Watch: Similar to diving and flying, the motorsport also got it its own watch that had a stopwatch, as well as a tachymeter which would measure the speed of the vehicle. It gave more of a masculine glamour and similar level of utility experience to its user. There have been many brands that brought out this design of watch when the automobile industry boomed in the western world, and people needed to show off something. However, the utility was always kept atop the style which made these watches extremely attractive in both feature and appearance.
D) Dress Watch: This kind of watch is most likely a jewellery-like timepiece that is usually super-thin, so it can go unnoticed when the wearer is wearing it. They are meant to be concealed under the cuff of the wearer until he requires to see the time. The strap is mostly leather which helps in keeping the watch stick to the wrist, without moving at all. It usually has Roman numerals on a simple face, and it lacks in adornments that decorate the other kind of watches. Most of the dress watch has precious metal to make their body.
E) Minimalist Watch: This is mostly chosen by people, who prefer fixed-gear bikes, adorn nice facial hair and Apple Mac devices. Such minimalist watches tend to have quartz calibre, but some have a combination of manual as well as automatic calibre to them. It is mostly picked up by people who believe that the interior mechanism of a wristwatch is as vital as its exterior appearance.
3. Pricing
Now, this is a tricky part because you may ask, why a particular watch of an upscale brand is selling for 50,000, and an identical watch of an unknown brand is selling for 1000? It is all about the material, brand heritage and manufacturing time. Since quartz watches are low cost, they are cheaper if you buy a local brand, but costly if you buy a Swiss brand. The automatic calibre watch will cost more because often they are in-house made and rigorously tested. However, the body of those watches tends to have better design and made of a precious material which is crafted by expert watchmakers; which can be bought with trust. Though, fixing a budget to buy a watch will help a lot here.
4. Complications
The extra hands and dials in the watches are known as ‘Complications’. They make the ‘chronograph’ watch which has stopwatch functionality that is used predominantly in the motorsports model to ‘GMT’. It gives a fourth hand which could be set for the alternative zone of time that the wearer wants. Though, we do not need complications in the present era of technology when the phone alone can do a lot, but then; that is certainly not the point here. A complex complication; compliments!
5. Size
Similar to the no typical size for wrist set in the watchmaking, similarly there is no typical watch size. Though few timepieces have large cases, a majority of them have 34 mm to 44 mm diameter size. The diameter size of 34 mm to 40 mm is recommended for slighter wrists, while timepieces with case size up to 46 mm are considered best watches for men for who have a rugged persona with oak tree wrists. Also, know that the case thickness does affect the appearance of the watch. A 10 mm thick watch will settle better under the cuff in comparison to a 15 mm thick watch.
6. Straps
Design and material of the straps that bind your watch to the wrists are indeed vital to the characteristics of the timepiece. The metal bracelet does look good on chunky, masculine watch, whereas the leather could be the choice for all dressy and conventional watches. Though, leather straps are not recommended for people who lead an active lifestyle that involves sweat and water; metal is best suited for that. People who lead a relaxed life with most of their hours spent in the office or on a desk prefer the lightweight leather strap.
7. Accuracy
Quartz watches are extremely accurate in keeping time, but the automatic only loses or gains 30 seconds in an entire week span. However, if you are looking for a mechanical watch that is super-accurate, then go for a ‘chronometer’ watch that is recognised by COSC. They make for 6% of all the mechanical watch manufactured and cost a lot. Though accuracy in time matters a lot, unless you are a scientist and refer to your watch for the timings of the experiment; you can relax on accuracy.
8. Vintage
Though the modern watches lose their worth with time and many new models, attract the buyers. Still, many watches have an increase in their value as time passes, if they have been made by exceptionally popular watch-smiths. Sometimes, there are watch manufacturers who made good timepieces till they seized making them anymore; cost a lot more now in comparison to many advanced watches. However, the price of such vintage timepieces is decided on their functionality, restoration convenience and cost as well as availability for purchase.
Once you have checked all the above factors, you would wish to see what is available in the market. And this is where we have tried to put together a comprehensive list of wrist watches for you. The best part about these timepieces in the below list is that you can just order them online and wear them as soon as they arrive.
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