All You Need To Know About Watches.....But Were Afraid To Ask

If you have every wondered why so many people make such a fuss about "proper" watches and find some of the jargon impenetrable - then you are in the right place.

In the following section, I hope to answer in a straightforward way some of the more commonly asked questions I receive from people who are new to the world of luxury watches. In doing so I hope to de-mystify some of the more obtuse areas and at the same time encourage in others the same passion for the subject I myself feel.

I see this section growing over time so if you have a question I haven't answered please drop me a line at chris@christopherward.co.uk and I'll do my best to put that right.

Q. How do watches work? What are the basics?

CHRIS: There are three basic elements in a watch - the power source, the movement and the display.

The power source allows the watch to operate, whether the watch is powered by a battery or by the watch owner winding the crown on the side of the watch, or the watch winding itself by a clever piece of mechanical engineering. If the power source is not functioning, if the battery is dead perhaps, or the watch hasn't been wound, then the watch cannot work.

The movement is the name for the inner workings of the watch, the part that actually keeps time. Movements generally fall into two categories: mechanical and quartz.

The display is the part we look at to see what time it is, the date, and any other information that particular watch provides.

Q. What is a mechanical watch...?

CHRIS: A mechanical watch is so named because it contains inside the outer case, a mechanical movement. Such movements were used in clocks for centuries before being adapted for watches.

By winding a mechanical watch you wind a main spring in the movement which provides the energy to operate the other workings of the movement which keep time. In fact, an escapement turns rotational movement into the back and forth movement of a pendulum, (as in a grandfather clock) or a balance wheel in a watch. It is this part of the watch that regulates the time. Gears connect the escapement to the hands of the watch in the display.

There are two types of mechanical watch; automatic (sometimes called self-winding) and hand wound.

Automatic Watches

The main spring of an automatic watch is wound by the natural movement of the arm and wrist of the wearer. This movement causes a rotating weigh called a rotor to move back and forth and this movement winds the spring. The even better news with automatics is that they build up a reserve of power (normally around 36 hours worth) which keeps the watch working when the watch is taken off at night-time, for instance. If this reserve power is allowed to run down, however, the watch will need to be re-wound and re-set before being able to tell the time again. An increasing number of people especially collectors who many have many watches, use automatic watch winders to ensure the power reserve is maintained when the watch is not being worn.

Hand Wound Watches

Very simply, the only way a hand-wound watch can be wound up, perhaps unsurprisingly, is by the crown on the side of the case.

Q. And a quartz watch...?

CHRIS:  Although quartz crystals have been in regular use for many years to give an accurate frequency for radio transmitters, receivers and computers, they only arrived on the watches sense in the 70's. Quartz is silicon dioxide, like most sand, and has a quite miraculous quality which means it generates an electrical charge on its surface when compressed or bent.

In a watch, when charged by the battery, the quartz crystal begins to ring or oscillate. The output of the oscillator is then converted to pulses suitable for the digital circuits in the watch which in turn create 1-second pulses that drive a tiny electric motor which is connected to standard gears to drive the hands. A quartz watch doesn't need to be wound but works without intervention - until the battery dies, which typically is two or three years after purchase. Once the battery is replaced the watch returns to life.

Q. Is SWISS MADE important?

CHRIS: Yes. The Swiss are the acknowledged watch makers to the world. They have the greatest history, knowledge, expertise and hinterland and it is no surprise, therefore, that they manufacture the best watches in the world.

Q. Which is best, mechanical or quartz?

CHRIS: Both have plusses and minuses, and for me there is only one winner...

There is no disputing that a quartz watch is more accurate than a mechanical watch, needs less servicing and is generally more reliable than its more ancient relative. It should be said, however, that a good quality mechanical watch that has been well maintained can last for centuries so it is hardly unreliable!

However, for lovers of fine watches like myself, the craftsmanship and inherent beauty of a mechanical movement watch will always win out against a quartz watch. The ancient art of watch making is embodied in the creation of mechanical complications and most of us can afford a couple of seconds a day slippage in our everyday lives. 

Q. Are all watches water resistant?

CHRIS: No, but all quality watches have a degree of resistance. Water Resistance is a common mark stamped on the back of watches to indicate how well a watch is sealed against ingress of water. It is usually accompanied by an indication of the static test pressure that the watch was exposed to in a leakage test. For example 5 ATM (Atmospheres). The test pressure can be shown as an equivalent water depth in metres, for example 50 metres (or in the United States sometimes also in feet).

An indication of the test pressure in terms of water depth does not mean a water resistant watch was designed for repeated long term use in such water depths. For example, a water resistant watch marked at 30 metres depth (3 ATM) cannot be expected to withstand activity for longer time periods in a swimming pool, let alone continue to function at 30 metres under water. This is because the test is conducted only once using static pressure on newly manufactured watches.

Watches are classified by their degree of water resistance which, due to the absence of official classification standards, roughly translates to the following (1 metre = 3.29 feet): The table below is a useful guide to the suitability of various water resistance rating;

Q. What is a Jewel...is my watch worth more, the more I have?

CHRIS: Not really, a Jewel’s purpose is to minimise friction , the hardened steel tips of a movement’s rotating gear wheels (called pinions) are lodged in synthetic rubies (fashioned as polished stones with a hole) and lubricated with a very thin layer of special oil. These synthetic rubies are produced in exactly the same way as sapphire crystal using the same material. They simply act as bearings for moving parts.

Q. What is Sapphire Crystal...is this good?

CHRIS: Yes. Synthetic sapphire crystal is a virtually scratchproof material with a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale which means only a diamond is harder. The material is known to gemmologists as aluminium oxide or corundum, can be colourless (corundum), red (ruby), blue (sapphire) or green (emerald). It is “grown” using a method invented by Auguste Victore Louis Verneuil in 1902 whereby a process that usually takes a thousand years to complete is accelerated to just a few hours, hence the use of the term synthetic.

Unsurprisingly, sapphire crystal has become the material of use to protect the dials of all high end modern wristwatches including all Christopher Ward timepieces.

Best of luck finding the right timepiece...hopefully one of ours!