December 17th, 2023 | Words and photography by DAHTT
An introduction to the hobby.
An introduction to the world of watch enthusiasm and collecting.
Perhaps you've stumbled upon this blog and you're wondering what it's all about. Maybe you've always liked watches but you feel like you don't know much about them. It's possible you've heard of some brands, Rolex, Timex, maybe even Seiko or Hamilton, and you'd like to know a little bit more about them. And what about all that terminology? Sapphire crystals, screw down crowns, what does it all mean?
In this article I'll try to decode some of the jargon and hopefully make the hobby feel a little more accessible. Speaking of accessible, all the watches pictured in this article were purchased for under or around £100 at the time of publication.
Watches appeal to different people for different reasons. For some people it's about the engineering, making hundreds of tiny components work together to keep and tell the time. For others it's to do with the history of certain brands and milestones in human exploration. Some people are still interested using watches as tools and for some, watches are an accessory and aesthetic design is the most important factor.
The varied reasons which attract enthusiasts to watches results in a wonderfully expansive world of hobbyists. A world where there are no right or wrong choices, no hierarchal structure, just lots of people who love what they love for their own reasons.
Let's start our exploration by understanding the main ways a watch can tell time. A watch will keep time one of two ways, and it will display time in one of two ways.
Analogue or digital:
These are the two ways a watch will display time. A traditional watch has a dial with rotating hands. This is referred to as analogue. A more modern watch will use a digital display. Digital watches first appeared in the 1970's. Although purists tend to prefer analogue watches, digital watches are extremely collectible and appreciated by lots of collectors.
Quartz or Mechanical:
There are two ways a watch can keep track of time. Traditionally watches were "mechanical". Inside a mechanical watch a tiny spring is wound to store energy. The energy is released very precisely through a set of gears, which in turn move the hands on the watch. Quartz watches work differently. Quartz is a gemstone, or a mineral crystal. When current is passed through it quartz vibrates at an extremely precise and regular rate. Quartz watches use a battery to make the quartz vibrate and a computer circuit measures the vibrations and uses the number of vibrations per second to track time.
Purists tend to prefer Mechanical watches, although quartz is far more accurate and cheaper to manufacture. A mechanical watch will never need a battery replacement, but it will require servicing and lubrication from time to time. A quartz watch generally can't be repaired if it goes wrong, whereas a mechanical watch usually can be.
Another term you might hear being mentioned is "automatic". An automatic watch is a mechanical watch, but instead of winding the spring yourself, a rotor inside the watch spins as your wrist moves throughout the day. This rotor winds the watch "automatically", meaning as long as you keep wearing it, you won't have to "hand wind" it, as with a "manual wind" watch.
So they're the main ways watches keep and tell the time, but there's a lot more terminology you'll likely encounter. Rather than cover them in depth here, I'll leave a quick reference guide at the bottom of this article. There are many different types of watches, so let's discuss some of the most popular.
Dive watches are one of the most favoured categories. Dive watches are engineered to be extremely resistant to water ingress up to hundreds of meters under water. They tend to be very robust as a result. When diving was first emerging as a form of exploration, watches were essential for divers to keep track of how much time they had left before their oxygen tanks ran out, as well as helping them to ascend to the surface at a gradual pace to avoid "the bends". They almost always feature a rotating bezel (see quick reference guide at bottom of page), which works as a way to track when a dive began. The purposefulness and robustness of dive watches mean they can withstand the rigours of everyday life very well, which has made them popular amongst watch enthusiasts beyond professional divers, who nowadays tend to use more advanced "dive computers" instead of watches.
Field watches are watches used by military personal in "the field" but are also associated with exploration. The Rolex Explorer is a famous exploration field watch, and the Smiths W10 is a famous military field watch. Field watches tend to be designed to be highly legible as well as very robust, usually forgoing unnecessary frills. As a result they are often quite unassuming but extremely dependable watches. Pilot watches are somewhat similar to field watches, but will focus even more on legibility, sometimes being much larger. They can also feature extra information on the dial which allowed pilots to make calculations about distance and speed.
Another popular kind of watch is the dress watch. Dress watches are intended to be worn with more formal attire. The perfect compliment for a suit or formal dress. They're often made out of rarer metals like gold, and focus on the quality of finishing over robustness.
Chronograph watches are precise timing devices, They feature highly accurate stop watches, popularised by motorsport. The Omega Speedster is an example of a very popular chronograph.
GMT, or dual time zone watches are able to display multiple time zones. Often they achieve this using a fourth hand. This function became popular around the birth of civil aviation, when pilots needed to keep track of different time zones whilst flying around the world. The Glycine Airman is a good example.
There are many, many types of watch, we could go on exploring them forever but here we've covered some of the most popular genres.
So we've covered how watches work and some of the different types of watch. You might be wondering how affordable are these interesting little machines? Well, there are people who collect watches which cost less than a nice meal in a restaurant and there are collectors who spend millions on a single piece. Both are just as valid, both just as interesting, as is everything in between.
Traditionally the Swiss cornered and monopolised the "luxury" market. You've probably heard of Rolex, a British founded but Swiss made brand. There's also Tudor, Breitling, Omega, Blancpain, Patek Phillippe and many more fine watch companies based in Switzerland.
Japan is a manufacturing powerhouse too, generally making more affordable, but still excellent quality watches. Seiko have consistently innovated and made important contributions such as the invention of Quartz. The Citizen brand currently make the most accurate watch in the world, and Casio make one of the toughest watches around - the G Shock.
Britain invented much of the technology still used in watchmaking and there are a number of notable British brands today including the likes of Roger Clarke, Bremont, Fears and Smiths.
Well known American brands include Timex and Hamilton, who make some wonderful affordable watches both drawing on their rich heritage.
There are many Chinese manufactured watches, and whilst there are some notable chronographs manufactured from copies of Swiss movements, mostly the Chinese manufacture low quality quartz watches for "fashion" brands such as MVMT and Daniel Wellington. These watches are often grossly overpriced for what they are and are pretty much unanimously criticised by enthusiasts and generally to be avoided.
As you head off to explore the fantastic world of watches, here's a handy quick reference guide to some terminology and phrases you might come across. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to collect or enjoy watches. Go where your curiosity leads you and don't let anybody tell you you're wrong and they're right. The best bit about this hobby is how we all enjoy different things for unique reasons. Enjoy exploring!
Quick reference guide:
Movement: The guts inside the watch which make it work.
Manual: Means the watch is wound manually by the user turning the crown. Also called "hand winding" or simply "mechanical".
Automatic: Means there is a rotor inside the watch which rotates as the wearer moves, negating the need to manually wind the watch.
Quartz: Means a battery operated watch, see main article.
Solar: Means a battery operated quartz watch, but where the battery is charged by sunlight or artificial light through a solar panel.
Crown: Protrudes from the side of the watch case, used to set the time and sometimes to wind the watch.
Screw down crown: Implies the crown screws into the side of the case to form a water and dust tight seal. A "push pull" crown implies the crown is not screw down.
Bezel: Part of the watch surrounding the dial and crystal. On some watches like dive watches the bezel will rotate to allow for extra functionality. A bezel can also be fixed and not serve any functional purpose.
Indices: The numbers, batons, dots or markers on the dial of the watch which indicate the hours and minutes.
Dial: The surface beneath the crystal with the numbers on.
Crystal: The glass or plastic transparent cover over the dial.
Sapphire crystal: Means the glass is made from sapphire which is very resistant to scratches.
Acrylic/mineral/hardlex crystal: All types of plastic covers over the dial. More prone to scratches, but less prone to being smashed than Sapphire crystals.