Saturday, January 14, 2012

What Makes a Watch Fine?

There are many opposing opinions on what truly constitutes a fine wrist watch. Here we will list a few items that the masses generally agree makes a fine wrist watch.
The Face
This is the part of the watch you look at to tell the time. It goes without saying that there are many different choices and configurations of watch faces – from the fancy to the plain to the odd. Fine watches will use fine materials to construct the face of the watch and will put information such as brand logo and water resistant rating directly on the face of the watch and all markings will be detail and precise. The purpose of the watch will mostly determine the design of the face of the watch.
The Movement
The information regarding watch movements can fill an entire text book. I will be brief and simple. The movement is the brain of the watch. It is all of the working gears and moving parts inside of a wrist watch. Swiss movements are considered to be of the highest quality followed by the Japanese movement in a distant second place. Fine watches will almost exclusively use a Swiss movement and be manufactured in Switzerland. Japanese movements however, are far more popular due to the low cost. The two most common types of movements are the automatic (self winding) and quartz (battery operated movements). A quick google search will give you all the information you need (and probably a little more) on these two types of movements. Fine watches will almost always use an automatic Swiss movement and will cost thousands of dollars. The typical wrist watch you find in your local department store will utilize a Japanese quarts movement and can be had for as little as $10-$20 but a descent one will average $50 to $100.
The Case
This is the body that holds the movement (or the brain) of the watch. It can be made of many materials to include but not limited to – plastic, steel, stainless steel, titanium, gold, silver, platinum and many other precious and non precious metals. The purpose of the watch will generally determine the materials used to construct the case. Fine watches cases are generally going to be made with highly polished stainless steel or gold.
The Cristal
This is the glass that covers the face of the watch. Tempered glass, sapphire and synthetic sapphire are common in many watches. A fine watch is generally going to have a sapphire crystal because of the high scratch resistant properties of this material. Many watch manufactures currently utilize technologies such as anti-glare coating to improve the quality of their high-end watches.
The Bezel
This is the band of metal that circles the crystal. There are many features that have been incorporated in bezels. Some watches have rotating bezels for time keeping functions. Some bezels are diamond encrusted for looks. The function of the bezel will be primarily determined by the function of the watch.
The Crown
This is the knob on the side of the case used for setting the time or winding the watch (on earlier models). Some features of crowns are – low profile crowns to prevent snagging and screw down crowns for added water resistance on many pro-diver wrist watches. A fine watch will typically have logo or symbol of the brand or manufacturer stamped or machined into the crown.
The Bracelet
This is the strap that is used to secure the watch to your wrist. It can be made of plastic, rubber, leather (synthetic or genuine), steel, gold and many other precious metals. The purpose of the watch will generally determine the materials used to construct the bracelet.
The Clasp
This is the latch that is used to lock the bracelet on your wrist. On fine watches, the clasp it usually marked with the company/brand logo. There are several different types of clasps. The function of the watch will help to determine the type of clasp. On high end sports watches, the clasps will generally have a double or triple locking mechanism so that if one fails during an activity the watch will still remain secured to your wrist.

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