Watches in General
The passage of time is constant
and unstoppable. Indeed, times’ passing is “unconquerable” (and likely
to remain so), but measuring time is within our grasp.
Fascination with “the passage
of time” is one of mankind’s identifying qualities and accurately measuring
that passage has played roles of great importance throughout history. Something
as fundamental as knowing the position of a ship at sea was beyond our reach
until the advent of reliable time keeping. (I highly recommend
“Longitude” by Dava Sobel for enthralling reading on this very topic.)
Historically, watchmaking is seen
as evidence of the genius, patience, and natural dexterity of humans. Well
before modern production techniques evolved there were cottage industries in
Switzerland, Germany, and France where farmers spent the long winter months
producing the forerunners of today’s wristwatches. Many individuals and
companies (such as Patek Phillipe, Louis-Francois Cartier, and the Rolex
Company) contributed to the enviable current state of watch design.
Watches Can Tell You The Time
That statement seems obvious, but
people wear watches for many reasons, only one of which is to know the time. In
fact, people wear wristwatches so they can know the time conveniently.
Not too long ago (ask your Grandfather) men wore pocket watches and it
was considered feminine to have a timepiece on one’s wrist. Around the turn of
the century (the last one, not this one) Albertos Santos-Dumont, who was
conducting experiments with an “airship,” mentioned to his friend,
watchmaker Louis-Francois Cartier, how inconvenient it was to pull out
his pocket watch while at the controls of his flying machine. As a result, when
Santos-Dumont made his record-breaking 240 yard flight in 1907, he was wearing
the first Cartier “Santos” wristwatch. World War I also contributed to the
“masculinity” of the wristwatch as they saw proven practicality on the
battlefield.
Knowing the precise time (conveniently
or otherwise) is more or less important in different circumstances. A scuba
diver’s life can depend on the precise time. Avoiding a parking ticket (though
not usually life-threatening) requires knowing the time. There are many
other daily activities that revolve around time and one’s knowledge of the
same. The vast majority of people need only know the approximate time. This is a
good thing as “time” is somewhat relative. Timekeeping is more or less
coordinated with the rotation of the earth as best an earthbound observatory can
determine. The earth’s “wobble” is on a 25,000 year cycle which changes
even the positions of the constellations in the sky and things such as GMT (Greenwich
Mean Time) and the International Date Line, both of which are arbitrarily
chosen points of longitude. Something to remember in court should you choose to
fight that parking ticket.
What time is it? Try: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/what.html.
People also wear watches to make
a statement – about themselves, their status, and the image they wish to
portray. Wristwatches are also one of the few “accessories” that a man is (generally)
permitted to “display” as a symbol of his image. In many circumstances, a
quality watch is part of the “uniform-of-success” in business. It says that
you are a gentleman who takes time seriously (or not – depending on the
watch) and whose time is of value. Of course a bad watch can go just as far
in saying something negative about it’s wearer. By “bad watch” I am
referring to the low quality, obvious fakes of famous name brands (Rolex
being, perhaps, the longest suffering in this respect). People with a
refined sense of style do not
wear this sort of watch.
Rightly or wrongly, the
impressions others form about us are frequently based on the items we display
and use on a daily basis. This concern is, of course, second to the issue of how
items such as watches make us feel. There is a level of enjoyment that should
come with the ownership and regular use of a quality watch, or pen, or any of a
number of other “accessories.” People with "style" view such items as tools that
should be, above all, functional, while being pleasing in appearance and a good
value. It is from the combination of these attributes that we derive enjoyment.
Of course I could also launch into a discussion of “elegance” as it refers
to watches, or even engineering designs, but fortunately for you, very
fortunately, I won’t do so at this time.
About Watches
All watch movements depend on
dividing increments of time into small, constant periods determined by the
operating frequency of the watch’s vibrating system. The “time divider”
must receive power from a “power source.” This power must be transmitted
from the source to the divider, so there must be a system for “power
transmission.” Only sundials work on a system different than described above,
and they just don’t wear well on the wrist.
A word about jewels: In
reference to watch movements, jewels are essentially bearings. They are fitted
wherever friction occurs in a movement. They used to be rubies, but are now
manmade corundum. I suppose technically only those pieces of the movement which
are between the mainspring and the escape wheel are candidates for jewelling. An
inexpensive hand wound movement used to have 7 jewels. Now watches of that class
are made, almost exclusively, with quartz movements. Most modern mechanical
watches have 17 jewels with 21 and 25 jewel movements being more common in
automatically wound movements. A greater number of jewels may not indicate a better
movement, just a "complicated" one.
A word (or two) about
water resistance: Don’t think about a “water-proof” watch.
Watches can be water resistant by means of case design, gaskets,
screw-down crowns and so forth. Certainly Rolex was one of the major pioneers in
this area and many watch manufacturers have made good
use of the lessons learned in the early to mid 1900’s as to keeping water out
of a watch. Look for things such as threaded, screw down crowns, and threaded
case backs when looking for water resistance.
Mechanical
The hand-wound wristwatch is the
direct descendant of the key-wound pocket watch. A crown is used to wind the
mainspring; as the spring unwinds, the toothed rim of it’s casing sets the
wheels of the power transmission (train) in motion, which acts on the
hands to show the time. In order to create a time divider, the balance wheel
rotates a half-turn in one direction before being pulled up by the hairspring at
its center, turning it in the opposite direction. This oscillation breaks the
action down into equal parts. These half-turns (or oscillations) are
called vibrations and are known as the “beat” of a watch. A normal movement
beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour.
Automatic mechanical watches are
wound by the action of a rotor, which is activated by the movements of the
wearer. Almost all of the mechanical watches offered by realistically
priced companies such as Charels Hubert are of the automatic type.
Quartz Movements
Like its mechanical counterpart,
a quartz watch has a time divider, power source and power transmission. The
power source is a battery. Its current is conveyed to an integrated circuit,
which accepts the vibrations of a quartz oscillator (the time divider)
and transforms them into impulses of 32,768 beats per second (as
opposed to300 beats per minute
for mechanical movements). These impulses are either fed into a stepping
motor, which drives a train of gears to activate the hands, or processed by the
integrated circuit to command a display in the case of digital watches.
Most of the modern watches
offered by companies such as Seiko, Citizen, Victorinox (or Swiss Army), and many
others have quartz movements. Some models, such as diver
watches, can be purchased with either mechanical or quartz movements. Several
watch companies make use of both Japanese and Swiss movements. Without getting into a
long discussion of costs of labor, manufacturing automation, and many other
elements, I will just say that the differences in the movements most companies
use are
not great. If it’s important to you to have a watch with a Swiss movement,
that’s fine. If it’s not, you’re probably not reading this bit.
Which One Should I Buy?
That depends on what it is that
you want from your watch. To say nothing of the fact that The Watch Place ONLINE
is happy, no, make that thrilled, to help you select more than one watch! OK, OK,
back to information. As a rule, quartz watches are more accurate. If you want or
need an accurate watch that you will likely not need to adjust very often, get a
quartz watch. If you can live with a few seconds per day of inaccuracy, consider
a mechanical watch. If you want a mechanical watch and can’t stand the thought
of more than nominal inaccuracy, be prepared to spend a great deal of money.
Quartz watches tend to be less expensive and can handle more “complications” (coming
up in just a minute) due to the advances in integrated circuitry. However,
they require batteries (with the exception of solar and kinetic quartz
watches), and they don’t have a true “sweep” second hand. Over short
intervals of time, mechanical watches can also be more accurate.
A quartz watch “ticks” off
the seconds on a single movement of the second hand. Mechanical watches sweep (with
varying degrees of smoothness) through the passage of those seconds.
Mechanical watches don’t need batteries (though they do need occasional
cleaning and servicing). Most mechanical watches are more than accurate
enough for daily use and, perhaps most importantly, they are mechanical.
It may not hurt to remember that most pilots, divers, astronauts and such use
high grade mechanical watches for their dependability and “stand alone”
power supply (no dependency on a battery). There is just something about
having a watch that runs by means of tiny, complicated gears, wheels, cogs and
springs. It’s a joy that "Watch Guys" understand.
Complications
The functions of a watch beyond
hours, minutes, and seconds (and I know a few guys who would argue the
“seconds”) are referred to as complications. These can include the date
of the month, day of the week, chronograph functions (stop watch), year,
moonphase, tides, and so forth.
The Watch Place ONLINE
If you’ve made it this far,
good for you! You’re probably a “Watch Guy.” Many people would have
stopped reading this after the first couple of paragraphs.
Most people (even most Watch
Guys) are not watch fanatics or even collectors. I am (a collector, not a
fanatic). I have, at any given time, dozens of watches that I wear on a
daily basis including Rolexes, Maurice LaCroix (one of my favorite “new”
companies), Hamilton, and, of course, Titoni. A used Rolex, in good
condition, can easily cost upwards of $2000, over $4000 if there’s any gold on
it. A very nice, mechanical, stainless steel, water resistant, COOL looking
Charles Hubert diver watch (model 3514, one of my favorites) retails for $204.95
and The Watch Place ONLINE sell it for $126.00. For the vast majority of people
the choice is obvious.
If you’re looking for a quality
timepiece, in a classic design, at an exceptional value, you’ve found the
right place.
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