Wrist Watches Explained E-Book

Michael Fraser

• Herausgeber: Vyiha Publishing
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

This book wants to be an introductory book to those who have always been wondered how their precious watches work but never dared to ask. In this technical but yet easy to understand work, wrist watches are covered in an orderly way to have eventually an idea of not only the complex watches mechanisms but also the most important watch models and companies. It is not a substitute for the more advanced and detailed books about watches but this book will serve the curious minds well.

Leseprobe

Contents

The world of watches

How a watch work

Watch complications

Legendary watches

Selected watch companies

Appendix

References

The world of watches

A bit of history

WATCHES have been part of man's history for longer than most think. As early as 1530, portable spring-powered clocks were already a luxury that no aristocrat could avoid to wear. With measures between a desk clock and a pocket watch, these portable timepieces could be easily fastened to a vest or other articles of clothing, as well as be worn on a lanyard around the neck. At that time, with rudimentary mechanical movements, the average clock had to be wound twice daily. Adorned with engravings and ornaments, gentlemen would utilize such designs as a sign of wealth. However, as more and more people became aware of the practicality of the timepiece, clocks began to be used primarily by night watchmen to keep track of their shifts.

How the watch got its name

The use by night watchmen is where most historians believe the word “watch” comes from. Others believe the term derived instead by sailors who used timepieces to keep track of their so-called shipboard watches, the modern shifts or tours of duty.

As time passed, watches began to appear on the streets, probably sometime in the early seventeenth century. Prior to the 1920’s, almost all watches were mechanical pocket watches and, with the railway industry growing faster and faster, they were often referred to as railroad or conductor watches since they were commonly used on railroads.

When World War I broke out, American soldiers determined that the idea of having to reach into a pocket to check the time when buried deep in the trenches was just unfeasible. The trench watch, now the commonly known ‘wrist watch’, was born into existence. Originally developed by the Waltham Watch Company, it gave soldiers the unique ability to check the time while still peering the sights of their rifles in the middle of the battle.

Since that moment, watches have changed dramatically in their design and complications as new techniques were invented and watchmakers jumped to outdo the competition. Considered by now an art form by many, watchmaking offers various types and styles of watch today, ranging in price from a mere few dollars up to millions to get one of the grand complications handmade in Switzerland by icons such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Breguet.

Types of Watches

THERE are no doubts that the wristwatch is the most common style of watch worn today. However, in recent times, the pocket watch has made somehow a comeback and it is now often revered by horologists and collectors around the world. With specialty watches becoming now a standard, some manufacturers have focused their efforts to developing watches that can be worn in any type of environment, from under sea to up in the air until the space.

Despite the technology improvements, when it comes to watches, there are nowadays three main types of movement: mechanical, automatic, and quartz (which is sometimes referred to as ‘electronic’). With more technology companies entering the world of smart watches, soon a fourth type will be certainly added to the three just mentioned.

Mechanical Movements

Most commonly used in luxury or collector timepieces, a mechanical movement is by definition much less accurate than a quartz movement. Often losing a number of seconds throughout the day, they have therefore to be manually wound on average at least once daily. In addition to losing time, they are also very sensitive to the environment. Factors such as position, temperature, elevation, as well as magnetism can all cause failure in the watch. Despite being usually costly to produce, they require a great attention for dedicated maintenance and adjustments.

Regardless of the issues that a mechanical movement can cause, these watches are nevertheless truly a work of craftsmanship and are highly regarded by most watch enthusiasts as a consequence.

Mechanical movements operate by using a selection of mechanisms to control the winding and unwinding parts of the watch (something we’ll go into greater detail with the chapter dedicated on how a watch works). In a few words, what these mechanisms do is to control the unwinding of the spring after it is wound. Instead of simply unwinding itself, a part called 'escapement' regulates the action which causes the spring to periodically release. In addition to the escapement, the mechanical movements also use a balance wheel that moves back and forth, recalled to its original position by a spring. The balance wheel is moved by the escapement which uses the gears of the watch to deliver impulses to the balance wheel, causing in turn what we often refer to as the tick or the heartbeat of the watch. It is this ticking rhythm that causes the group of gears, or gear train, to advance and to eventually move the hands forward, showing us the correct time. The combination of the weighted balance wheel and the spring is what ensures consistency and accuracy in timekeeping.

Truly phenomenal mechanical watches often feature a tourbillon (see picture below). This complication has been developed by Abraham Louis Breguet, by no doubt one of the world’s foremost watch manufacturers. He hand crafted the beautiful and intricate yet simplistic tool in 1795 with the idea of countering the law of gravity. By encasing the balance wheel and escapement in a rotating cage, the tourbillon ensures the mechanism is never operated in the same position which can eventually cause the watch to loose time due to the gravitational pull. In this way, regardless of where the wrist is hold, the cage will rotate to ensure the escapement and wheel are in always a prime position to work effectively and efficiently.

While the mechanical movements are constantly being improved, they are nevertheless an intricate process that is indeed a true culmination of art and science. A well-made mechanical timepiece will last a number of generations, being handed down by a father to his son on a momentous occasion or in his final will.

Automatic Movements

Similar to those of mechanical watches, automatic movements run almost in an identical way but with one very important exception. Unlike mechanical movements, they do not require manual winding to operate.

By employing an off-center weighted rotor that spins as one moves the wrist, a ratcheted mechanism that winds the watch automatically is operated. To prevent the watch from over-winding (which would cause the mainspring to eventually break), an automatic watch has a clutch that, upon being fully wound, drops in front of the mechanism to prevent it from engaging the mainspring.

Nowadays, in addition to the classic automatic watch, there are also automatic quartz watches which utilize kinetic energy and in some cases, solar energy to operate.

Quartz Movements

Unlike mechanical and automatic watches, quartz watches (often called electronic) generally have very few moving parts. Developed initially by Seiko in 1959, the first prototypes were codenamed 59A and developed then secretly by the CEH research laboratory in Neuchâtel, Switzerland before being eventually used as timekeeping devices in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

From ‘64 through ’67, the quartz movement was then perfected and a miniature oscillator, module, and circuit board were created with the idea to be housed in the smallest of wristwatches. In 1969, Seiko introduced the 35 SQ Astron, the first quartz watch for the retail market ever. It hit shelves on Christmas Day and initiated a wave of quartz movements which soon became the most popular watches mainly based on the price point as well as the level of accuracy achieved.

Unfortunately for Seiko, because the Swiss were key in creating the movement, they were unable to patent the technology, and thereby allowed any watch manufacturer to create a quartz movement, something that is now used in most watches found around nowadays.

Using a replaceable battery as its source of power, the quartz movement is primarily used in less expensive timepieces, often found at various discount stores for as low as just a few dollars. Oddly enough, even the cheapest children’s watches that use quartz movements are still on average ten times more accurate than a mechanical.

Anatomy of a Watch

EVEN in the most simplistic mechanical watches, at least 130 parts can be found. With the evolution of watchmaking, the number of parts increased exponentially as well, especially when one takes into account the various functions and features available in today’s complications. While it is our intent to cover all of these parts and mechanisms in great detail in later chapters of this book, in this introduction to watches, we will focus instead on the three primary parts: the case, the watch glass and the strap.

The Casing

The casing can be thought as the skeleton of the watch. There are various ways to shape the case in order to give it the final design, the most common ones being circular and rectangular, with other polygonal shapes normally found in nowadays' watches as well.

In the majority of watches, the case is made out of either plastic or metal. While various types of metal can be used, the most commonly used for a basic wrist watch is steel. In a more refined and expensive watch, one can often find casings made out of solid gold, titanium, rhodium, platinum, or silver.

One thing to keep in mind when purchasing a watch is to always try to avoid plated casings such as a gold plating. While these watches may look “pretty” at first, they will easily scratch and eventually look cheap. The general rule is that, if one can't afford a solid gold watch, it would be better to think of many other quality timepieces that contain stainless steel cases, which looks just as shiny as their more expensive counterparts.

Other features to consider when buying a watch are ornaments in the case, such as precious stones and gems. Because of such additional parts can be easily counterfeited, one should always pay attention and choose models with a certain level of caution.

The Crystal or Watch Glass

The watch glass is the see-through part of the watch that covers the dial, enabling people to tell the time and to see all the other functions. Typically, the window is made of mineral glass, such as sapphire crystal. However, some watches have it in plastic. In most cases, one should always opt for sapphire crystal as it has the highest resilience to scratches.

The Band or Strap

Even if considered as secondary by most, this is an equally important part of the watch and should always be chosen very carefully. Straps can be made with a variety of materials including leather, metals, fabrics, and rubber. When choosing a strap, some consideration should be placed on where and how one will be wearing the watch. For example, if one intends to wear it when diving or when on the beach, rubber may make sense. But if it is supposed to be paired with a dinner jacket, then rubber should be avoided at all costs.

Choosing a Wristwatch

CHOOSING a watch is a complex and, sometimes, challenging task that should never be taken lightly. Nowadays, with the extensive collection of watches we all can refer to, picking the best model it has become easier over time. However, at the beginning of the buying process, most wanna-be owners are looking for a watch that can be used in a different environments. That is why we devote some space here to classify watches by the environment that can best be worn.

Dress Watches

For the businessman or well-appointed gentleman, a dress watch is without any doubts a must have. Typically paired with formal or business attire, this type of watch is used at work, worn at the opera, as well as on special occasions.

While this type of watch doesn’t have to be worn exclusively with a suit or tuxedo, it should be purchased with that attire in mind. However, it is still perfectly appropriate to wear a dress watch with a polo shirt and shorts. Typically, if one only owns one watch, it is highly recommended that this should be a dress watch, ideally with a circular face, similar, for example, to the quintessential Patek Philippe Calatrava.

The case of a dress watch should always be metal and never plastic. At the very least, one should purchase a watch of stainless steel, but always consider a precious metal when the budget allows. Also, the face should be simplistic as previously mentioned without any adorned ornaments such as diamonds or jewels.

A rule of thumbs for dress watches is that they should be treated with care, never worn on the beach, to a frat party, or at the local fair.

Casual and Sport Watches

The most predominant among casual and sports watches are the dive and flight watches that were made for the self-explanatory purposes as their names say. Often worn in casual environments such as sailing, partying or relaxing at the cabin, one thing is common among them. While James Bond may wear a dive watch with his suit, one should not. This is a "fashion faux pas" to the extreme and one that any watch aficionado would simply find abhorrent.

When choosing a dive or flight watch, be sure to determine the expected use of it. If it is for diving, then one should pick a watch that can handle the depth that are planned to be reached. If, instead, the watch is for flying, one should pick the model that is suitable for the chosen flying environment. A flight watch can, in fact, be used for anything, from a hot air balloon ride to a spacewalking outside the International Space Station. However, if one simply wants a watch that can handle extreme environments such as driving a Bugatti or knocking the bar at the local bar, then it would be better to pick a simpler design with a rubber or metal strap coming with it. Also here, a rule of thumb for dive and flight watches is that they can be worn in many environments, but never with a formal attire.

Finally, if one is looking for the preppy look, one should try to go with a fabric strap that can further accentuate one's lifestyle. However, when it comes to the plastic calculator and, in general, digital watches, please leave those for your ten year old kid. No gentleman should wear one of those watches unless it’s an “on duty” tactical watch for those in the law enforcement or the military sectors.

Fashionable Watches

Fashion watches are not intended as those made by brands such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, or Guess. They are instead anything of actual quality that is a cross between a dress watch and a casual or sport watch.

The reason it is important to clarify this point is that the majority of watch aficionados consider a fashion watch to be a cheap timepiece made by a third party and branded by the self-proclaimed “designers”, who sell their product through the use of marketing aimed at the mass population, with the intention to give an overinflated sense of ego or self-worth. These latter are typically those watches once can be found in the $300 – $3,000 range.