A quartz movement gets energy from a battery. The regulating mechanism is a quartz crystal which vibrates at a very high frequency when an electric current is passed through it. This ensures almost absolute accuracy to within a few seconds a month.
What is an automatic movement?
An automatic movement has a mechanical movement which winds itself through the normal action of your wrist as you wear the watch. The freely spinning rotor in the movement turns both ways on its axis to wind the mainspring. The regulating mechanism of the watch is the spring-balance, which vibrates 6 to 8 times per second. An automatic movement is comprised of more than 70 parts, the smallest of which is hair thin (0.07mm). Automatics do not have the accuracy of quartz movements, but they keep time to within a few minutes a month and represent the culmination of traditional Swiss watchmaking skills and know-how.
What is a chronograph?
A chronograph is a watch that not only displays the hours, minutes and seconds of conventional time but also measures the duration of a given event, most notably in sports timing. Chronographs are not to be confused with chronometers.
What is a chronometer?
A chronometer is a high-precision watch that has passed all the tests of the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (C.O.S.C.- Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres.) The C.O.S.C. tests each movement in 5 positions and at 3 different temperatures for 15 consecutive days. The movement is subjected to temperature variations, shocks, humidity and strong magnetic fields. To earn chronometer certification, the average daily gain or loss of a wristwatch movement in the 5 positions has to be within a range of minus four to plus six seconds a day (mean daily rate: -4/+6 seconds.)
What are the jewels in the context of watch movements?
The jewels are synthetic sapphires or rubies which have been drilled and polished to serve as bearings for gears in watches. This allows for the occurrence of friction on the watch’s mechanical parts to be reduced to a bare minimum.
Generally speaking a simple mechanical watch (possessing hour, minute and seconds hands) should include at least 15 jewels in the places most subject to wear due to friction. It should be fitted with a shock-absorbing system on the balance, a good quality balance-spring and an unbreakable spring.
It says, “Water Resistant,” but can I swim with it?
Water resistance is measured in bars, a unit of pression, with 1 bar=1 atmosphere. Watches are tested at these pressures for certain periods of time. Exceptional pressure, as encountered when diving, may exceed those pressure limits, so if you are a keen diver you will need a watch that can tolerate such a pounding.
Manufacturers often measure water resistance to a number of feet (ft), meter (m) or atmosphere (atm). Watches marked “water resistant” with or without additional indication of high pressure resistance must comply with an international watch standard (NIHS 92-10). Such watches are designed for everyday life and must be water resistant during exercises such as short swims. They can be worn in different temperature and pressure conditions but are under no circumstances designed for scuba diving.
Diver’s watches must be water resistant at a minimum of 330 ft. They must also feature a time controller and comply with standards provided by NISH 92-11: luminosity, shock resistance, anti-magnetism and band solidity.
Remember that if you are going to be mountain climbing, parachuting, skydiving, hand-gliding or skiing, you will need a watch that is atm-damage-protected due to varying pressure changes both above and below sea level.
For regular water use, solid metal cases or specifically-constructed products are recommended, including screwed-in case backs and crowns. Do not hesitate to ask Aucoin Hart about water resistance functions, and remember that only professional changing of batteries will guarantee the seals and thus the water resistance of your timepiece.
Water Resistance Chart
Depth
30m/100 ft.
Able to withstand splashes of water or rain but should not be worn while swimming or diving
50m/165 ft.
Suitable for showering or swimming in shallow water
100m/330 ft.
Suitable for swimming and snorkeling
150m/500 ft.
Suitable for scuba diving
200m/660 ft.
Suitable for scuba diving
What is a unidirectional bezel?
Often the bezel (the top ring on the case) serves to record additional data and can often move in both directions to serve a variety of functions. A unidirectional bezel only turns in one direction in order to prevent any risk of false maneuvers. This is particularly important when measuring diving times, because even if the bezel is knocked and moved, due to the one-direction bezel movement it will simply indicate the diver has less air or decompression time rather than more, preventing the diver from potentially drowning.
How long is the lifetime of a watch battery?
Depending on the type of watch, its dimensions and the quantity of energy required by the different functions, a watch battery will usually last 2-5 years. For instance, a chronograph will have higher energy consumption than a watch that simply indicates the hours and the minutes only.
Certain watches feature a power reserve indicator. When the seconds hand starts jumping every 5 seconds, it is time to have the battery replaced by a qualified watchmaker. Special lithium-iodine batteries can potentially reach a lifespan of 10 years.
What does a “complication” mean?
Watches providing additional measurement functions to the hours, minutes and seconds are referred to as complications. The best-known complication watches are calendar watches, the most common of which display only the date. There are also chronographs with a center seconds hand which can be started, stopped and brought back to zero using one or two push-buttons on the side of the watch. Other additional functions include second time zone, alarm, moon phase, repeater, perpetual calendar, etc.
Why is this watch so much more expensive than that one?
Generally, mechanical watches, by nature of their movements, are more costly than quartz watches. Beyond this, there are a number of factors that affect the cost of watches.
In very carefully made movements, all parts, whether functional or not, are finished with great care. All steel components are polished; bridges are decorated. All parts are of the highest quality and undergo stringent tests; in short, the manufacturing standards are extremely high.
Case materials vary. Case materials may consist of plastic, resins, stainless steel, base metal (usually brass), gold-plated base metals, gold-filled and precious metals. The back of the watch case or the documents accompanying the watch will typically reveal any metallic content on the watch. Plastic and resin composites are generally the least costly and are found primarily in fashion and sport watches. Stainless steel is not a precious metal and is widely used in sport watches. Prices of gold-plated watches vary depending upon the karatage of the gold (example, 14k or 18k) and the thickness of the plating, which is measured in microns. Gold-plating can range from 2-micron thickness to 30-microns or higher. Precious metals used on watch cases include various karats of gold, sterling silver and, in some very high-end watches, platinum.
Crystal types also vary but with fewer options for variation. Generally, the crystal, which is the glass-like covering designed to protect the dial of the watch, is either plastic, mineral glass or synthetic sapphire. Plastic is used mostly in lower-priced, mass-market watches. Mineral glass is more common and sturdier. Sapphire crystals, which are more expensive than mineral glass, are very sturdy and highly scratch-resistant.
Bracelets can also influence watch prices. Aside from plastic and rubber straps, leather and metal straps can dramatically affect the cost of the watch. Leather straps can range in price for specially-treated leathers or exotic animal skins. Similarly, metal bracelets can range from inexpensive base metals to precious metals to specially-developed tungsten carbide or titanium. Today’s highly competitive market keeps the quality of watches inexorably pushed upward, a trend which translates into a range of products being constantly improved in order to better meet customers’ needs and expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a quartz movement?
A quartz movement gets energy from a battery. The regulating mechanism is a quartz crystal which vibrates at a very high frequency when an electric current is passed through it. This ensures almost absolute accuracy to within a few seconds a month.
What is an automatic movement?
An automatic movement has a mechanical movement which winds itself through the normal action of your wrist as you wear the watch. The freely spinning rotor in the movement turns both ways on its axis to wind the mainspring. The regulating mechanism of the watch is the spring-balance, which vibrates 6 to 8 times per second. An automatic movement is comprised of more than 70 parts, the smallest of which is hair thin (0.07mm). Automatics do not have the accuracy of quartz movements, but they keep time to within a few minutes a month and represent the culmination of traditional Swiss watchmaking skills and know-how.
What is a chronograph?
A chronograph is a watch that not only displays the hours, minutes and seconds of conventional time but also measures the duration of a given event, most notably in sports timing. Chronographs are not to be confused with chronometers.
What is a chronometer?
A chronometer is a high-precision watch that has passed all the tests of the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (C.O.S.C.- Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres.) The C.O.S.C. tests each movement in 5 positions and at 3 different temperatures for 15 consecutive days. The movement is subjected to temperature variations, shocks, humidity and strong magnetic fields. To earn chronometer certification, the average daily gain or loss of a wristwatch movement in the 5 positions has to be within a range of minus four to plus six seconds a day (mean daily rate: -4/+6 seconds.)
What are the jewels in the context of watch movements?
The jewels are synthetic sapphires or rubies which have been drilled and polished to serve as bearings for gears in watches. This allows for the occurrence of friction on the watch’s mechanical parts to be reduced to a bare minimum.
Generally speaking a simple mechanical watch (possessing hour, minute and seconds hands) should include at least 15 jewels in the places most subject to wear due to friction. It should be fitted with a shock-absorbing system on the balance, a good quality balance-spring and an unbreakable spring.
It says, “Water Resistant,” but can I swim with it?
Water resistance is measured in bars, a unit of pression, with 1 bar=1 atmosphere. Watches are tested at these pressures for certain periods of time. Exceptional pressure, as encountered when diving, may exceed those pressure limits, so if you are a keen diver you will need a watch that can tolerate such a pounding.
Manufacturers often measure water resistance to a number of feet (ft), meter (m) or atmosphere (atm). Watches marked “water resistant” with or without additional indication of high pressure resistance must comply with an international watch standard (NIHS 92-10). Such watches are designed for everyday life and must be water resistant during exercises such as short swims. They can be worn in different temperature and pressure conditions but are under no circumstances designed for scuba diving.
Diver’s watches must be water resistant at a minimum of 330 ft. They must also feature a time controller and comply with standards provided by NISH 92-11: luminosity, shock resistance, anti-magnetism and band solidity.
Remember that if you are going to be mountain climbing, parachuting, skydiving, hand-gliding or skiing, you will need a watch that is atm-damage-protected due to varying pressure changes both above and below sea level.
For regular water use, solid metal cases or specifically-constructed products are recommended, including screwed-in case backs and crowns. Do not hesitate to ask Aucoin Hart about water resistance functions, and remember that only professional changing of batteries will guarantee the seals and thus the water resistance of your timepiece.
Water Resistance Chart
Depth
What is a unidirectional bezel?
Often the bezel (the top ring on the case) serves to record additional data and can often move in both directions to serve a variety of functions. A unidirectional bezel only turns in one direction in order to prevent any risk of false maneuvers. This is particularly important when measuring diving times, because even if the bezel is knocked and moved, due to the one-direction bezel movement it will simply indicate the diver has less air or decompression time rather than more, preventing the diver from potentially drowning.
How long is the lifetime of a watch battery?
Depending on the type of watch, its dimensions and the quantity of energy required by the different functions, a watch battery will usually last 2-5 years. For instance, a chronograph will have higher energy consumption than a watch that simply indicates the hours and the minutes only.
Certain watches feature a power reserve indicator. When the seconds hand starts jumping every 5 seconds, it is time to have the battery replaced by a qualified watchmaker. Special lithium-iodine batteries can potentially reach a lifespan of 10 years.
What does a “complication” mean?
Watches providing additional measurement functions to the hours, minutes and seconds are referred to as complications. The best-known complication watches are calendar watches, the most common of which display only the date. There are also chronographs with a center seconds hand which can be started, stopped and brought back to zero using one or two push-buttons on the side of the watch. Other additional functions include second time zone, alarm, moon phase, repeater, perpetual calendar, etc.
Why is this watch so much more expensive than that one?
Generally, mechanical watches, by nature of their movements, are more costly than quartz watches. Beyond this, there are a number of factors that affect the cost of watches.
In very carefully made movements, all parts, whether functional or not, are finished with great care. All steel components are polished; bridges are decorated. All parts are of the highest quality and undergo stringent tests; in short, the manufacturing standards are extremely high.
Case materials vary. Case materials may consist of plastic, resins, stainless steel, base metal (usually brass), gold-plated base metals, gold-filled and precious metals. The back of the watch case or the documents accompanying the watch will typically reveal any metallic content on the watch. Plastic and resin composites are generally the least costly and are found primarily in fashion and sport watches. Stainless steel is not a precious metal and is widely used in sport watches. Prices of gold-plated watches vary depending upon the karatage of the gold (example, 14k or 18k) and the thickness of the plating, which is measured in microns. Gold-plating can range from 2-micron thickness to 30-microns or higher. Precious metals used on watch cases include various karats of gold, sterling silver and, in some very high-end watches, platinum.
Crystal types also vary but with fewer options for variation. Generally, the crystal, which is the glass-like covering designed to protect the dial of the watch, is either plastic, mineral glass or synthetic sapphire. Plastic is used mostly in lower-priced, mass-market watches. Mineral glass is more common and sturdier. Sapphire crystals, which are more expensive than mineral glass, are very sturdy and highly scratch-resistant.
Bracelets can also influence watch prices. Aside from plastic and rubber straps, leather and metal straps can dramatically affect the cost of the watch. Leather straps can range in price for specially-treated leathers or exotic animal skins. Similarly, metal bracelets can range from inexpensive base metals to precious metals to specially-developed tungsten carbide or titanium. Today’s highly competitive market keeps the quality of watches inexorably pushed upward, a trend which translates into a range of products being constantly improved in order to better meet customers’ needs and expectations.