Journal

With the summer fast approaching, Father’s Day is coming up. It’s time to start thinking about what we’re going to get our dads for the one day that they get all the attention—and our dads deserve the best.

It can be hard to know what to get your dad, and many dads don’t make it easy (“don’t get me anything!” isn’t a very helpful hint—and even if he means it, everybody appreciates being given gifts). Luckily, even if you don’t know what your dad wants, you know who your dad is and what he likes, which can help narrow down some possibilities.

If you’re having trouble figuring out the perfect gift, never fear. We’ve put together this handy guide to help you decide on a gift that your dad will be able to cherish for years to come.

Watches 

A well-crafted watch can make an excellent gift for Father’s Day. Even if your dad had retired to a life of leisure, he still needs to be able to tell them time—and he might as well be reminded of his kids every time he checks his watch. And because a good watch can last anywhere from several years to several decades, he’ll have that pleasant reminder for a long time.

No matter what your dad likes to do with his time, there’s a watch that’s perfectly engineered to complement his lifestyle. There are highly water-resistant watches for divers and sailors, incredibly technical timepieces for pilots and sports car fanatics, and even eco-friendly options for our environmentalist dads.

Before settling on a purchase, first, consider what it is that makes your dad tick—and then it’ll be easy to find a watch that he’ll absolutely love.

Dive Watches 

If your dad is an avid scuba diver or snorkeler, consider looking into dive watches. Also known as diving watches or diver’s watches, dive watches are engineered to withstand high amounts of water pressure—many designed to go to depths of 300 meters or more.

Even if your dad isn’t a deep diver, a water-resistant watch can be a great gift for guys who forget to take their watches off before jumping in the pool or the shower. If your dad is as forgetful as some of our team’s, he may appreciate the thought that goes into protecting his timepiece.

Pilot Watches 

Your dad doesn’t need to be a pilot in order to appreciate the stylish functionality of a pilot watch. While these watches were originally designed to accompany aviators as they navigate through the clouds, the many incredible features of pilot watches can come in handy in many different situations—and make a fashionable accessory regardless of the need for technically complex bezels and tachymeters. Pair with a vertical striped dress shirt for a classic look.

And if he is by any chance a pilot (whether commercially or recreationally), a pilot watch is an essential tool that can help him make quick time-speed calculations, allowing your dad to safely navigate through the skies and back home.

Solar Watches 

As the world becomes more aware of individuals’ impacts on the environment, our dads are becoming more aware of how their own actions affect the planet that their kids and grandkids will inherit.

Your dad can rest easy with a solar watch, knowing that the long-lasting, solar-powered, rechargeable battery won’t contribute to pollution like disposable batteries do. And if you get your environmentalist dad a watch made from recycled materials (like Jack Mason’s Solar Watch—made with recycled stainless steel and ocean plastics), he’ll be impressed with your concern for the earth.

Racing Watches 

We’ve never met a dad that doesn’t appreciate making good time. Whether it’s a quick stop at the grocery store or a cross-country road trip, many dads want to efficiently manage the time spent in stores, rest stops, and tourist traps.

Racing watches were designed to help racecar drivers measure their speed in real time—using tachymeters and chronometers to help the watch’s wearer make quick speed and distance calculations.

Whether your dad drives a fully-loaded sports car or a reliable minivan (“It’s good on gas, too!” he says), everybody can appreciate the functionality of a good racing watch.

Heritage Watches

Designed to perfectly accessorize even the most formal attire and pay homage to the vast history of watchmaking—heritage watches are beautifully streamlined timekeeping devices. Even if your dad has retired from life at the office, he still has occasions to dress up—and he should have a watch to go with his best suit.

At Jack Mason, we crafted our Canton Day-Date Automatic to be the perfect heritage watch. Inspired by the most timeless and iconic watch silhouettes in history, the Canton Day-Date Automatic is understated yet incredibly stylish. Featuring an exhibition caseback that shows off the inner workings of the watch’s movement, this timepiece allows its wearer to marvel at its intricate machinery—perfect for the dads who love to see how things work.

Cases 

If you’ve bought your dad a watch for Father’s Day, or if he’s an avid collector, one thing that will come in rather handy is a travel case. There may come a point when he’ll want to travel with his watch without having to wear it—maybe he’s heading to the beach for the day and doesn’t want to risk damaging his watch. Or perhaps he may want to bring an extra watch along with him (so he can wear a casual watch for day-to-day activities and have a dressier option for a romantic evening out); this gift makes those situations hassle-free. 

With a handy travel case, he can rest easy—knowing that his watch is protected even when it’s out of his sight.

Accessories 

Aside from protective travel cases, there are plenty of additional accessories that can accompany your dad’s new watch (or his existing watch collection). Whether he’s a man of many watches or prefers the silhouette of his favorite watch, there are ways to help him switch things up a bit—or to make it easy to cycle between many favorites.

Straps 

One simple way to take a watch and change up its look to swap out its strap for one of a different color or material. Simply by changing the strap, you can make a casual watch more dressy—or a dress watch more casual.

Not only can swapping out the strap change the appearance and formality of a given watch, but it can also make it more appropriate/durable for certain settings. If your dad has a water-resistance watch with a strap that isn’t made to withstand deep water, you may want to look into a waterproof silicone strap.

At Jack Mason, all of our watches are made with quick-release pins, making it easy to change their straps in mere moments. And we offer a wide range of styles, from classic Italian Leather to casual Nylon. Our interchangeable strap program allows your dad to tailor his Jack Mason watch to his individual style.

Automatic Watch Winders 

If your dad has a number of automatic watches, it’s very likely that he constantly needs to wind them and set their time. Even though automatic watches are engineered to wind themselves (sort of), they need to be worn in order to do so—it’s the motion of the wearer’s arms that allows an automatic watch’s internal rotor to spin around inside the watch and wind the mainspring (the component that powers the watch).

With an automatic watch winder, your dad can set his automatic watch in a specially designed case that rotates his watch while he’s not wearing it. Automatic watch winders can come in many different sizes, with the smallest designed to hold and wind one watch at a time—and the larger models built to hold and wind several watches at once.

Jack Mason Gift Cards 

Sometimes it can be so hard to pick a gift for our dads that it makes more sense to guide them to the right place and let them pick something out for themselves.

At Jack Mason, we offer gift cards ranging from $25 to $300—so if you’re stumped as to what type of watch your dad would truly love, you can always get him a gift card and set him free to peruse our collection. Whether he’s in need of a new watch or some accessories for his favorite Jack Mason timepiece, a gift card can help him get whatever he needs.

In Conclusion 

We know that it can be hard to pick the perfect gift for your dad, but it shouldn’t feel impossible. After all, there’s something for everybody—and that’s especially true when it comes to the world of watches.

No matter how your dad likes to spend his time, he deserves to look and feel his best while doing it. Whether he’s an avid outdoorsman, automobile enthusiast, or just a great dad, a beautiful watch makes a perfect gift.

Sources:

16 Trips You Should Take With Your Dad - Father-Son and Father-Daughter Vacation Ideas | Country Living

Rechargeable Batteries: A Better Choice? | One Green Planet

A History of Watches and Timepieces | Racked

When first invented, there was only one type of watch: the pocket watch. As the decades ticked on, many new designs became available—by the end of World War I, the wristwatch had overtaken the pocket watch in popularity.

These days, there are countless wristwatches for sale, each with its own features and limitations. With so many options on the market, we wanted to walk you through the various types of watches that are available—not only is it important to be an informed customer, but we think it’s fascinating to learn about how these timepieces work. Read on for a description of everything you’ll find when looking for a new watch.

Types of Watch Movements

There are three different types of mechanisms, known as movements, that watchmakers use to craft their watches: mechanical, automatic, and quartz.

Mechanical 

This is the classic. The first watches were mechanical, containing intricate inner workings that revolve around the use of the mainspring—the component that powers the watch.

The tightly-wound mainspring gradually releases tension over a set period of time, in turn activating all of the wheels and other components inside the watch. Over a long enough time, it will eventually lose tension; to keep your mechanical watch ticking, you have to keep that mainspring wound.

Automatic 

Also known as a self-winding watch or a perpetual motion watch, automatic watches contain all of the same intricacies of mechanical watches—with an added feature.

While the old-school mechanical watch needs to be wound by hand to keep working, an automatic watch has a self-winding mechanism that uses the kinetic energy of the watch’s wearer (i.e., when they swing their arms as they walk) to keep the mainspring wound.

Quartz 

This is a more recent method for powering watches. Instead of all the intricate inner workings of mechanical and automatic movements, quartz movements use an internal battery. Because of their simplicity, many quartz watches are more affordable than their complex counterparts.

Watch Displays 

Seeing as the main purpose of a watch is to tell the time, how the time is displayed is very important. Here are the different designs that you’ll see (or feel):

Analog 

This is the most traditional and common display type for watches—and timepieces in general. Pretty much every classroom in America has an analog clock on the wall…and pretty much every student in America has found themselves staring at the second hand at some point in their tenure. If the clock has hands that turn and point to numbers on a dial, that’s an analog display.

Digital 

Digital displays use an LCD screen to show the time. You’ll find digital displays on ovens, microwaves, coffee machines, and pretty much any appliance that includes a timekeeping feature.

Digital watches are popular for their ability to instantly tell time without having to interpret the positioning of the hands on a watch’s face—people who have difficulty reading analog displays will probably prefer digital options.

Hybrid 

As one might assume from the name, this is a combination of analog and digital. Many different watch types feature hybrid displays, ranging from simpler designs—with a traditional analog face and an additional digital display—to those with more complicated features (for instance, watches that include fitness trackers or the ability to connect with a smartphone).

Tactile 

This specialized type of watch can tell time without needing to look at a display. Tactile watches were created in the early 1800s so that people could discreetly know the time without having to take their watch out of their pocket (back in the days before wristwatches).

These days, tactile watches are helpful for the blind. Braille watches are also available for that purpose.

Touchscreen 

The Information Age has brought us some pretty incredible equipment, including smartwatches. While tiny little wrist computer-communicators used to be a thing of science fiction, reserved for the likes of James Bond and Buzz Lightyear, these days, smartwatches are available from a variety of retailers.

Since smartwatches offer multitudes of features and applications, there’s not enough room on the watch face to display everything at once—necessitating a touchscreen display. This feature makes it possible to switch screens and scroll through messages and articles. (Extra points if you’re reading this article on a watch right now.)

Watch Styles 

While the inner workings of a watch and how it displays time are perhaps the most important aspects of a watch’s design, many people are just as concerned with the style of watch—and for a good reason.

There are a wide variety of watch styles, from the extremely casual to the ultra-luxurious. You don’t want to show up to a gala with a $20 drugstore watch on your wrist (unless you’re trying to make a specific statement), and you might invoke the disdain of fellow gymgoers if you show up to your workout sporting a limited-edition, vintage designer timepiece. So you need to know about the different styles of watch, and in what scenarios they’re most appropriate.

Casual Watches

Casual watches can be worn for almost any occasion. Casual watches are by your side for  day-to-day activities, whether you’re running errands or finishing up work at the office. You can wear a casual watch to the gym, the store, on vacation, etc.

If your casual watch appears classy enough to wear to a wedding or an opening night, more power to you, but many casual watches look too informal for many important events.

Dress Watches

Dress watches are perfect for formal and semi-formal events—they can bring a look together or stand out as an interest piece, but ultimately they fulfill the purpose of being a component of a formal outfit.

Fashion Watches

There’s little agreement on what constitutes a fashion watch, but generally, the term applies to watches made by a brand that’s well known for their reputation in the fashion world—not for their expertise in making watches.

“Fashion watch” can be a derogatory term in that sense since it refers to a watch that may not be of the highest quality, but is aesthetically attractive and often expensive due to its manufacturer’s brand recognition.

Luxury Watches 

Not to be confused with fashion watches, companies with long histories of watchmaking manufacture luxury watches. Many luxury watches contain precious materials, and their manufacturers use high-end movements and other carefully crafted components in their designs.

Luxury watches can cost thousands (or millions) of dollars. Those that can afford them are attracted to their undeniable craftsmanship.

For most people, the most important differentiation is that between casual and dress watches. Having at least a couple of options for each isn’t a bad idea. That way, you can pair any watch with any outfit—and any occasion.

Specialty Watches 

There are also plenty of options when it comes to specialized types of watches. Some of the best watches have features that allow their wearers to make essential calculations, be water-resistant, or make it possible to submerge to dizzying depths.

Diving Watches 

As the name suggests, diving watches are made for diving. Water resistance is the most important feature here, and the best diving watches are capable of going underwater at any depth.

Many watches have some degree of water resistance, but not all water-resistant watches have the same durability level. Make sure to double-check the features and limitations of your watch before taking it for a swim.

Pilot and Racing Watches 

Pilot watches were originally designed for pilots; racing watches were designed with racecar drivers in mind. These watches can have chronometers (stopwatch capabilities) and tachymeters (customizable measurement components) that may be relied upon even in life or death situations. 

Solar Watches 

While there are some shortcomings to mechanical and automatic watches when it comes to maintaining accuracy (mechanical watches need to be wound and automatic watches need to be worn in order to wind themselves), solar watches combine the longevity of mechanical and automatic movements with the pinpoint accuracy of quartz movements.

Solar watches constantly charge their batteries, drawing on both natural and artificial light to do so, and are some of the most accurate watches on the market.

In Conclusion 

Ultimately, the type of watch you pick is unique as you are. You might want a simple design that’s classic enough to wear every day but classy enough to wear with a suit; you might want a flashy design with plenty of additional features.

Whatever it is that you’re looking for, Jack Mason has the watch for you. Be it casual or dressy, automatic or quartz, classic or cutting-edge, we have it all. Check out our collection and see what we have to offer—we’re sure you’ll find the perfect watch for you.

Sources:

CNN | Most Expensive Watches

The Atlantic | History of the Wristwatch

Collider | James Bond Movies

It’s not the size that counts—it’s what you do with it: an adage as true for sports cars as it is for watches.

Whether worn on the wrist of everyone’s favorite British spy or the first man on the moon, a unique watch can make quite the statement and set trends for decades to come. Some of the world’s most fashionable watches achieved their popularity by their proximity to fame; people wanting to wear a tuxedo and order a martini—shaken, not stirred—need to have the appropriate wristwatch to go with the ensemble.

On the other hand, while some timepieces have obtained their elite status through high-profile product placement, others need no introduction. These watches, meticulously crafted by well-known luxury watchmakers, draw their exclusive appeal from the brand names inscribed on their dials—names like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Richard Mille…the list goes on.

While some watches gain prominence because of their association with fame, and others maintain a high profile due to their manufacturers’ reputation, one thing is undeniable: a unique watch is a priceless addition to any watch enthusiast’s collection.

Here are some of our favorite unique watches that have captured the attention of collectors throughout history.

The Name’s Submariner—Rolex Submariner. 

Rolex should be applauded not only for crafting a high-quality luxury watch but also for their skill at marketing and product placement.

The luxury watchmaker released their first water-resistant watch, the Oyster, in 1926—and they knew to get it onto the wrist of Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to swim the English Channel. The swim lasted for over 10 hours, and when Gleitze made it to dry land, the Oyster was still in perfect working order.

Likewise, when Rolex released the Submariner, another dive watch, their design found itself on the big screen, famously accessorizing Sean Connery’s James Bond.

While some watch collectors had bought up dive watches before the 007 movies, the Submariner’s popularity skyrocketed after Dr. No, the first Bond movie that featured the classic timepiece. It also appeared with Connery in From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, and Thunderball—and the watch is now so closely associated with the fictional secret agent that it’s referred to as the James Bond Submariner.

Because of the watch’s place in Hollywood history (and people’s desire to be compared to James Bond), Submariners fetch a very high price. In 2018, a Submariner 6538 with a rare dial design sold for $1,068,500, making it the most expensive Rolex Submariner ever sold at auction. Today, you can find secondhand Submariners online, starting at around $20,000.

If you want a dive watch to pair with your shaken martini but can’t afford the premium price tag of a Rolex Submariner, check out Jack Mason’s stunning Seatrek Automatic—a classic-looking dive watch with modern capabilities. Its movement is a Seiko (SII) Caliber NH35A, which houses 24 jewels and has a power reserve of 41 hours. This beautiful timepiece features dual-colored Swiss Super-Luminova® markings for high legibility—so you can easily read the time, even if you’re in high-speed, underwater pursuit of a brilliant supervillain.

A Watch For Astronauts 

Highly specialized watches have found themselves on the wrists of adventuring professionals, such as pilots and racecar drivers. Still, very few timepieces have had the privilege of joining their wearers in outer space.

Enter the Moonwatch. Officially the Omega Speedmaster Professional, this watch got its nickname for being the first watch on the moon. NASA had provided Speedmasters (also called Speedies) to the crew of the Apollo 11 mission before takeoff.

In addition to the Omega, Rolex, Longines, and Hamilton all submitted their hopeful designs. NASA engineer James H. Ragan performed a series of rigorous tests on all of the watches to assess their ability to handle deep-space elements. The Speedmaster outperformed them all. 

Featuring a signature black dial, a small seconds sub-dial, a 30-minute recorder, and a 12-hour recorder, this deceptively simple-looking timepiece came with many valuable tools so that astronauts could stay safe while far, far away from home.

The 50th anniversary of the lunar landing was just a few years ago, and a first-generation Speedy from 1958 sold for almost $410,000—an astronomical price (sorry, we had to) that indicates that many of today’s watch collectors care more about functionality and history than simple luxury.

The World’s Most Expensive Watch

Held in Geneva, Switzerland every other year, Only Watch is a high-profile luxury watch charity auction that features unique watches made by the world’s finest watchmakers. Each piece sold at Only Watch is one-of-a-kind, making this event a watch collector’s mecca—as long as those collectors are able to pay the exorbitant prices fetched by these unique timepieces.

Luc Pettavino founded the event in 2005. That year, Pettavino’s son had developed Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a horrible disease that eventually took his life. Since its inception, Only Watch has raised millions of dollars to benefit research on the disease, with 100% of the proceeds from the event going to this cause.

While these watches are well out of the price range of most collectors, their uniqueness can’t be denied—and we have to mention their top seller: the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime.

This unique timepiece sold at Only Watch 2019 for $31 million—the highest price paid for any watch ever sold at auction. 

This watch was crafted specifically for Only Watch and is the only Grandmaster Chime that will ever be made in stainless steel. With four spring barrels driving 20 complications—including a minute repeater, instantaneous perpetual calendar with a four-digit year display, second time zone, day/night indicator, day/date, month, leap-year cycle, and many more—this is an exquisitely designed wristwatch, and the most complicated watch that Patek Philippe has ever produced. And just to remind admirers that this watch is one-of-a-kind, there’s an inscription on the dial that reads: “THE ONLY ONE.”

This is an especially sought-after timepiece because this kind of Patek Philippe watch has never been made available for purchase by the broader public. In the past, Grandmaster Chime watches have been considered “application timepieces,” which means that collectors need to submit an application to Patek Philippe in order to prove themselves worthy of owning one.

A Prototype of Olympic Proportions

Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille has a knack for crafting timepieces that combine sportiness with luxury; their uniquely-shaped watches are sought-after for their exceptional performance and distinctive style.

Yohan Blake, a Jamaican sprinter, was the original wearer of Richard Mille’s RM038. This famous watch would later appear at the Only Watch auction.  

Blake won the gold medal for the 100m at the 2011 World Championships, making him the youngest 100m world champion in history, and would place second at the London Olympics for both the 100m and 200m races. As Blake became the second-fastest man ever in both races, he sported an iconic Richard Mille prototype that was sporty, fashionable, and eye-popping.

At Only Watch 2013, Richard Mille offered the prototype that Blake had worn across the finish line. Bright and flashy, the sports luxury watch featured the yellow, green, and white of the Jamaican flag. Artfully displayed in a magnesium case, the prototype movement is completely visible, showing the timepiece’s inner workings in all their Olympian glory.

So Many Unique Watches, So Little Time 

While having millions of dollars in spending money certainly has its benefits, you don’t need to be a millionaire to own a high-quality wristwatch. There are countless models on the market that are made with painstaking care—but that don’t come with an unimaginable price tag.

At Jack Mason, we create watches that are able to be worn every day while lasting a lifetime—and they come with a lifetime warranty to prove it. We offer this warranty because we are confident that our watches come second to none. The Jack Mason watches are made from top-quality materials, including Japanese and Swiss movements, sapphire crystals, and Italian leather straps.

And because we believe that premium watches should be affordable to everybody, we make sure to offer Jack Mason watches at a reasonable price. Nobody should have to pay $31 million for a watch that they love—so our collection is full of exquisitely crafted watches that don’t break the bank.

Like James Bond’s Submariner, all Jack Mason watches are water-resistant, allowing them to be taken underwater. And while we haven’t submitted any offerings to NASA just yet, we hope that a Jack Mason Pilot Watch will someday fly among the stars. For now, we’re very happy with our unique collection—and we think you will be too.

Sources:

How Sean Connery Turned a Regular Rolex Into “The Bond” | GQ

Omega’s Moonwatch Enters the Stratosphere | The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Meet The World’s Most Expensive Watch: $31 Million Patek Philippe Sets World Record At Only Watch Auction | Forbes

The Most Unique Watches In The World: Only Watch | Forbes

Watches are incredible devices. They’re the perfect blend of fashion and function—providing a stylish accessory to any outfit while also allowing their wearers to tell the time with a subtle glance at their wrists.

That’s why it can be frustrating to pick up one of your favorite timepieces only to see that its hands have stopped turning. In order to accurately tell the time, you now need to reset the watch to the correct time and wind it so that it maintains enough power to keep running.

While this isn’t necessarily the most labor-intensive of tasks, it can take time out of your day. Luckily, there are devices on the market that allow you to set your watch down and not worry about having to rewind it when you pick it back up. These devices are called automatic watch winders, and they can be a valuable addition to any watch enthusiast’s collection.

How do automatic watch winders work, and do you really need one? While we won’t tell you what you do and don’t need to (that’s up to you), we’re here to tell you how these devices work—but first, let’s talk about the devices that they maintain: watches.

Mechanical Watches 

The first watches were purely mechanical. With a complex series of simple (and tiny) machines, watch movements were composed of many moving parts that worked together to keep time. These early watches weren’t incredibly accurate, but they were more convenient than searching for a clock tower or asking a stranger to check the clocks in their home. These were the days before wristwatches, when the pocket watch was the only portable timepiece available.

Over the course of centuries, timepieces were engineered to be more accurate, but they were still completely mechanical—and these miniature mechanical marvels were made possible by the invention of one component: the mainspring.

The Mainspring

The mainspring is a tightly-wound, ultra-thin strip of metal that provides all of the power for a mechanical watch (you can think of it as the watch’s engine). The mainspring operates inside with the help of the mainspring barrel—a tiny canister that keeps the mainspring tightly wound and prevents it from releasing tension all at once.

The mainspring is connected to the crown of the watch. The crown is the knob that you use to wind your watch (or to move the watch’s hands). With a mechanical watch, when you twist the crown, it, in turn, increases the tension of the mainspring.

While the mainspring barrel keeps the mainspring from unwinding all at once, it does allow tiny amounts of tension to be released gradually. As tension is released, the mainspring provides power to the various wheels inside the watch. Some of these wheels are attached to the watch’s hands—as they turn, so do the hands.

A collection of parts know as the escapement controls the gradual release of the mainspring’s power. The escapement is composed of the pallet fork and the escape wheel.

The Pallet Fork and Escape Wheel 

The pallet fork and escape wheel work in tandem to allow power to flow from the mainspring in tiny, measured increments. As power is released, the pallet fork ticks back and forth, locking into an escape wheel tooth with each swing. As the pallet fork slips free, the escape wheel moves forward ever so slightly. As the escape wheel turns, so do the other wheels of the watch.

As long as there is mainspring power in the watch, this process keeps repeating.

Have you heard that it’s impossible to improve upon the wheel? Well, it’s pretty hard to improve on the watch, too! It’s endlessly fascinating that such simple machines from long ago are still the basis upon which we craft the modern watch. 

The One Problem With Mechanical Watches

Mechanical watches are undeniably incredible, but they come with limitations. Because they’re purely mechanical, these watches need to be wound frequently to maintain accuracy. If you don’t wind your mechanical watch, the mainspring will gradually run out of power, and the watch will slow and eventually stop. Of course, once you rewind your watch, power will return to the mainspring, and the watch will start working again.

But what if you don’t want to have to wind your watch constantly? This was the question that led watchmakers to invent other types of watch movement: quartz and automatic.

• Quartz – the most modern type of watch movement, quartz movements rely on a battery rather than a mainspring to power the watch. Because of this, these watches are often much simpler than mechanical watches—they don’t need as many moving parts because so many of the watch components’ tasks only rely on a single battery. With a quartz watch, you don’t need to wind the watch at all—the battery keeps it running.
  
  
• Automatic – very similar to mechanical watches in almost every way, automatic watches have many of the same components as mechanical watches. However, the big difference is in the watch’s ability to wind itself as its wearer moves.

How Do Automatic Watches Work? 

Similar to a mechanical watch, automatic watches rely on a mainspring to power the watch’s other components. The tightly wound mainspring gradually releases power through the escapement, and the watch’s wheels move in turn.

But instead of relying on the wearer of the watch to wind the mainspring using the crown, automatic watches have a specially designed rotor system that’s attached to the mainspring. As you walk, you swing your arms; as you swing your arms, the rotor inside the automatic watch spins around—winding the mainspring and providing power to the watch’s movement.

Why Do You Need An Automatic Watch Winder? 

At this point, you may find yourself asking, “if automatic watches wind themselves…why would I need an automatic watch winder?”

That’s a good question, and the answer comes down to how often you wear your automatic watch. If you wear it all the time, every single day, you may not need a winder. But suppose you occasionally take off your automatic watch and set it down, whether to switch to a different watch in your collection or to go watch-free for a couple of days (we don’t know how anybody can do that but to each their own)? In that case, you might find yourself with a problem.

Because automatic watches rely on your movement to wind themselves, they’re not quite self-winding—they still need you to wind the mainspring, even if they’re depending on your movement instead of your taking the time to twist the watch’s crown. A person’s natural movement in their day-to-day life can create enough spin in an automatic watch’s rotor to keep a watch running for around 35 to 45 hours.

So, if you leave your automatic watch on the shelf for a few days, you’ll have to wind it again to get enough power in the mainspring to make the watch work again.

Whether you have a mechanical watch or an automatic watch, it needs to be wound from time to time—and if you have multiple watches in your collection, it can be very tedious to have to constantly wind your timepieces by hand.

That’s where the watch winder comes in.

How Does A Watch Winder Work? 

Watch winders work by slowly rotating your automatic watch on a sideways turntable within a specialized case or device, eliminating the need to wind the watch by hand. As the winder rotates, the rotor inside the watch spins, slowly winding the mainspring.

Watch winders come in many different sizes. Some of the simpler models hold and wind one watch at a time. These single-watch winders can be a good option for beginner collectors who want to delve into the world of automatic watch winders.

For watch collectors with multiple automatic watches that they want to keep wound at all times, there are automatic watch winders that can hold several watches at once and keep each one spinning on an individual turntable. These cost substantially more than the simple single-watch winders, but they’re very handy for the experienced collector who doesn’t want to wind the mainspring and set the time whenever they put on a different watch.

While these watch winders aren’t necessary, they can make for highly useful tools in a watch enthusiast’s arsenal.

Winding Down 

Whether you’re a beginner watch collector or a longtime enthusiast, there are definite benefits to owning an automatic watch winder. It’s not necessary, but watch winders aren’t about necessity—they’re about improving quality of life. If you find yourself frustrated in the tedium of constantly winding your watches and resetting the time, an automatic watch winder might be the perfect solution to your problem.

Of course, if you enjoy the ritual of winding a watch by hand, that’s understandable—while watches are stylish accessories, they’re also tactile ones. It can be satisfying to take a moment to reacquaint yourself with your treasured timepiece, knowing that every twist of its crown is providing its mainspring with the power to get you through another day.

Sources:

6 Simple Machines: Making Work Easier | Live Science

History of Pocket Watches - Invention of Pocket Watch | History of Watch

What Is a Watch Mainspring and How Does It Work? | Bloomberg

In the beginning, there were no watches. Humans relied on the sun to tell the time, originally just by looking up and interpreting the orb’s position in the sky to understand how much light they had left in the day. The sundial was a more scientific way of relating the sun’s motion to the passage of time, and that was the primary way of telling the time until the invention of the clock in the 14th century.

Also known as a diving watch or a diver’s watch, a dive watch is water-resistant. Many dive watches can withstand intense pressure and can be taken into deep waters, but none are truly “waterproof,” as the term implies that there are no circumstances under which they can leak. In the watch industry, we refer to a watch’s ability to hold up against water pressure as water-resistance.

In our fast-paced world, time moves quickly—and so many of us run to keep up with the latest fashion trends when it comes to clothing and accessories. Watches are no exception; all the best modern watchmakers compete to offer their clientele the latest in technological advancements and contemporary styles.

The wristwatch is one of those classic accessories that has been highly sought since its inception for both its stylishness and its usefulness. Being able to tell the time by glancing at one’s wrist is a technological marvel that many people take for granted these days—it’s easy to forget that such an action was barely possible a hundred years ago.

Your Watch Should Fit Just Right, Not Too Loose Or Too Tight.

Your watch’s band is one of its most important components, and its fit can make a major difference in the enjoyability of your watch-wearing experience. Watch bands can be made from a variety of materials, including metal, leather, rubber, and fabrics like nylon. Each of these materials has pros and cons for watch wearers, and it is up to you to decide which one fits best with your style, the demands of your daily life and career, and the colors and materials you typically wear.

Many watch bands are highly adjustable in nature, loosening and tightening in a manner similar to a belt. The most adjustable types of watch bands are typically straps made of nylon or bands made of rubber or leather. Metal watch bands, on the other hand, sometimes require the adding or removing of links to get the ideal fit.

Getting a perfect fit out of your watch band is an absolute must. Your watch goes with you everywhere, and if it is uncomfortable, it can become burdensome and frustrating. A man’s watch should never feel like a chore to wear. Instead, your watch should be enjoyable to put on and wear throughout the day. Wearing a watch that fits perfectly feels like a pleasant and meaningful ritual, and it is worth the time and effort it takes to make an adjustment if your watch is too loose or too tight. 

When A Metal Watch Band Is Too Tight 

Metal watch bands can be ill-fitting in two ways – they are either too loose or too tight. When you choose a watch with a metal band, one of the potential obstacles to expect is an overly tight fit. Dealing with a tight metal watch band is often more of a challenge than tightening one that is too loose. This process is a greater challenge because it involves adding additional links to your metal watch band, whereas tightening involves removing links.

Most metal watch bands are made from a series of connected stainless steel links. These links form a chain, with each link connecting to the next via a tiny pin that slides through a hole to pair two links. If your metal watch band is too tight, you will either need to add additional links that you already own or purchase a few from the manufacturer of your watch band.

When it comes to tightening metal watch bands, it is always better to have extra links to use than too few. Too few watch links means your watch will be looser, but not loose enough to fit. Even if you need to order a few extra links, it’s worth it.

When A Metal Watch Band Is Too Loose 

Tightening a metal watch band involves removing some of the interconnected links to get a more snug fit. This process is typically easier than the alternative, loosening a too-tight strap. When your watch band is too loose, it may slide around haphazardly on your wrist, sometimes even falling off if it is extremely loose. You definitely don’t want to lose your watch due to a loose band.

Removing links from your watch band is relatively simple. You only need a few tools, all of which are small and gentle enough to interact with the tiny, fragile parts of your watch band. We’ll get into the details of adding and removing links from your metal watch band in the next few sections, so make sure to stick around to get a clearer sense of what this process looks like.

The Tools Of The Trade

To make adjustments to your metal watch band, you need just a few things: a clean, well-lit surface with ample flat space, a lightweight hammer, a pushpin, and a pair of needle-nosed pliers. Most of these should already be present in your home, with the most uncommon of them all most likely being a small hammer. Jewelry hammers are ideal for making watch band adjustments and are much more lightweight and precise than a full-sized hammer.

A pushpin is used to gently press out the pin that connects two links in your watch band. A pushpin removes one of these linking pins enough that it can be fully removed using pliers. However, it’s best to stick to tools instead of trying to use your hands for this part of the process. Let the pushpin and pliers do the work instead of attempting to pry out a pin with your fingers, running the risk of damaging or losing it.

Finally, you need a pair of needle-nosed pliers to finish extracting pins from links once they are loosened by your pushpin. These pliers have long, slim pincers that are perfect for handling the tiny pins in your watch band. 

Set up your workspace so that it is fully illuminated and comfortable to sit or stand at. Set aside 30 minutes to an hour to make adjustments to your watch. Take your time with the process – it may feel like a bit of a chore, but performing maintenance on your watch can become a ritual that you enjoy and find rewarding.

Removing Links From Your Watch Band 

To get started with removing a link from your watch band, remove the band from your watch. If you have a quick-release metal watch band, it can be detached from your watch using the release levers on the left and right sides of your watch. These tiny levers retract the coupling pins from your watch with a light press, allowing you to easily remove your band from both sides of your watch.

Once you have removed your watch band from your watch, lay it flat on the surface of your workspace. Then, take your pushpin and gently press it into one of the connecting holes between two links in your band. With some light pressure, the pin should partially retract from the watch band, making it easy to remove it fully with pliers.

Take your watch band in your hand, cradling it carefully so that it does not fall. When you remove the pin, your band will separate into two halves, so it is best to get a secure grip on it before you pull the pin out with pliers.

With a pin removed, one of the links in your watch band will be removed. To reconnect the two separated halves of your watch band, you can place a loose pin in the connecting point between two links and give it a gentle tap with your jewelry hammer. Once you have removed a link and rejoined the two halves of your watch band, reattach the band to your watch and try it on. If it is still too loose, try removing another link. Getting the fit just right may take some trial and error.

Adding Links To Your Watch Band

The process of adding links to a watch band that is too tight is a bit more complicated than the process of removing them. When you have too few links in your watch band, it is sometimes tough to tell how many you need to add for a better fit. In addition, adding links to a tight band may require you to order some extra links from the manufacturer of your band. However, resizing a watch band that is too tight can still be done with some patience and precision. 

To add links to your watch band, you can create a separate chain of connected links to make a major adjustment, or just add one link to your band to make a smaller adjustment. Whether your adjustment is big or small, the process of adding links is relatively similar to the process of removing them – you’ll need the same tools and the same steady, precise hand. 

Adding links to your watch band means creating two separate halves of your band by removing a pin with a pushpin and pliers, the same way you would if you were shortening your band. Once you have separated your band into two halves, add any additional links to the chain by coupling them with each other using your pushpin, pliers, and hammer. Once you have added the desired amount of links to your band, try it on for size. If it is too loose, you will need to remove a few of your added links. Likewise, if it is still too tight, try adding one or two more links to your band. 

Ultimately, the process of resizing a metal watch band can take plenty of determination and patience, but it is worth it in the end. With the right tools and a good space to work in, you can get the job done well and end up with a watch that is much more comfortable.

Sources:

https://hespokestyle.com/nato-strap-history/

https://www.thehourglass.com/collectors-guides/how-should-a-watch-fit/

https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a33637601/quick-release-watch-straps-are-better/

Your watch can tell the world a lot about you. 

A wristwatch can make a powerful and lasting impression when worn well. Complementing your outfit with the right watch can make a major difference in how you look, adding to your sense of put-togetherness and boosting your confidence. For all these reasons and more, wearing a watch is one of the simplest and most practical ways for a man to make a fashion statement. 

 

When your goal is to let the world around you know that you mean business, a big-faced watch can be a powerful asset. Big-faced watches have a tendency to stand out – a watch with a large face often becomes the centerpiece of your outfit, whether you mean for it to or not. These watches tend to make an outfit exude confidence, giving your look the missing link it needs to be complete. 

However, there are some key rules to follow when pairing watches with various outfits for different occasions. This post is all about choosing the right style of watch to compliment every setting. We’ll get into the details on what you want to know most – how to wear a big-faced watch and when to opt for something more subtle. In addition, we’ll cover some of the characteristics that you’ll want to look for in any wristwatch you buy, regardless of its style.

Choosing a high-quality watch is essential when you want to look your best. Well-chosen accessories like an excellent watch can make a major difference in the impression you leave on everyone you meet. It’s well worth it to take the extra time to explore and learn the rules of fashionable watch-wearing. Fortunately, we’re here to help you along the way.

Why Your Watch Face Size Matters

A watch’s face is the part of the watch that displays the time. A watch’s face may also include additional features known as complications. Complications give a watch additional functionality and convenience for the wearer. Some of the most common watch complications are date displays, dual-time displays, world timers, and chronometers. Some less common complications include moon-phase displays and planetariums, which are rarely found on modern watches, and tachymeters, which measure the speed of the wearer’s movement.

The bigger your watch’s face is, the easier it will be for you to read the display. In addition, interacting with any of the complications featured on your watch’s face is often easier when wearing a larger-faced watch. Watches with smaller faces often have simpler designs that do not include many complications.

In addition, smaller watches may not have room to display larger complications like chronographs or dual-time displays. These complications are much more common in specialized types of watches, such as timepieces designed for aviation, seafaring, and diving. 

What Are The Most Common Types Of Big-faced Watches?

There are several types of watches that are typically made with bigger faces. Some of the most common types of big-faced watches are pilot’s watches, racing watches, and nautical watches.

Pilot’s watches were initially created to be worn specifically by professional airmen. The complications featured on the face of a pilot’s watch serve specific purposes for pilots. Pilot’s watches typically include dual-time displays and chronometers.

For pilots, these complications are extremely useful while in the air. The dual-time display revolutionized the pilot's watch design by making it possible for aviators to travel through multiple time zones and keep their watches accurate. The chronometers featured on pilot’s watches allow for the tracking and measurement of certain amounts of time elapsed. 

Racing watches are similar in design to pilot’s watches and feature similar complications. These watches are also typically designed with bigger faces. The display on the face of a racing watch was designed to provide drivers with useful functions. The complications on a racing watch include a chronometer with a built-in tachymeter, which is used to track speed based on the time elapsed. Tachymeters have been a staple of auto racing for decades, and the racing watch design is steeped in the rich roots of decades of racing.

For Hundreds Of Years, Watches Kept Time Without Battery Power. 

For centuries, watches were made of entirely mechanical components. Long before the invention of electricity and battery power, watchmakers crafted watches that kept time with no batteries, microchips, or any other electronics. These watches were powered by mechanical movement, the oldest form of watch power ever invented.