It is necessary to understand some basic workings of what we possess be it car, smartphone, cool gadgets and now wrist watches. The same knowledge of how things work helps car owners to quickly detect when their tyre is somewhat deflected. Same thing tells a smartphone user to quickly check network settings whenever their device fails to connect to the internet.
Today, we also want to share some basic knowledge about wrist watches. Throughout this article, one will understand the common yet important components of watches, terms associated with wrist watches, purchasing decisions before buying watches and some watch maintenance guide which we already shared in our previous article.
Understanding Wrist Watches and their basics
Starting from the basic watch components which are the majority physical features to the watch mechanism called movement. We started with the first impressions from the crystal to the least impression.
Case
A watch case is usually the first thing one sees in watches. It is like a container that holds the watch movement and other internal components together. It is made from varying metals and shapes. The commonest case are from Stainless steel, varying karat Gold, Diamond-like Carbon, Platinum and of course wood.
Depending on your watch style, there are lots of case shapes which are often used by popular watch brands. They are Round, Oval, Carage, Tonneau, Square and Rectangle.
The back case of watch can be transparent or covered with a solid metal steel. To replace dead battery or fix any issue, you need to open the back case. It is not recommended to open the back case if one is not a qualified watch repairer to avoid shattering the arrangement and voiding Viogle’s warranty.
Crystal
A watch crystal is the glass that covers the front case of the watch. It does the same work as in smartphone screen. It protects the watch from water, air, dirt. There are three major types of crystals used in watch making but most crystals are made from Sapphire and Mineral glass while few cheap watches are made with acrylic glass.
Sapphire crystals (Synthetic Sapphire) are extremely strong, scratch resistant and of course expensive. It is a luxury crystal choice for most luxury brand like Omega, Rolex, Philipe Patek, Citizen etc. The crystal are not natural but derived from chemical composition which shares the same characteristics as the natural Sapphire.
Mineral Crystals are made of glass. They are commonest in most mid-range and budge watches. Most of the watches we sell use Mineral crystal. It is not expensive as in Sapphire. Although, they are as resistant to scratch but they serve right to one’s budget.
Acrylic crystals are the least expensive option. It is very cheap and easily scratch prone as seen in cheapest watches on the streets, Aboki watches and even plea markets.
Dial
It is the watch face. It is the central foundation of our watches since it is where focus our sight while checking time. Dial shows the time keeping marks (Roman figures, numbers etc) and some watch complications(date, small dials like hours, stop clock, days of week).
These time keeping marks could be Arabic, Stick or Roman numerals. Small dial is found on the main dial. It is optional in some watches especially minimalist styled watches.
Complications
Watch complications are extra features in watches which include stop clock, days of week, date, Tourbillon, Chronograph, Power reserve, Chronometer, Moon Phase. All of these complications may not be found in a single watch. It depends on which watch movement and the idea behind its craftsmanship.
Hands
The hand are the moving sticks on the dial. They could be in different shapes, sizes with each indicating either the time in hours, minutes and seconds.
Strap
It is either the metal, leather, rubber or even wooden band that holds the watch to one’s wrist joining the lugs together. Strap can be in different materials. There are metal steel bracelets, genuine or synthetic leather, rubber, wood.
Buckle closes the opening between the strap for a firm grip on the wrist.
Lugs
Lugs are part of the watch case but they perform a significant role which is creating an attaching point to the strap to the case.
Crown
It is a knob that is used to adjust the time and date either by winding it clockwise or anti-clockwise. Some crown can be pulled out while some can be in form of screw for perfect water resistance control.
Watch Movement
Watch movement is considered as the power house of watches. It powers the watch and its complications. It serves same control as in automobile engine.
There are two watch movements.
- Mechanical movement and
- Quartz Movement.
These movements are different from each other. Mechanical movement powers its mechanism without using battery while Quartz movement uses battery to keep time. We have shared detailed explanations on Watch movements.
Water Resistance
It is a special feature that protects the watch from water. Water resistance should not be over rated since it has segmentation on its capability. There are levels of water resistivity in watches and they should not be altered. Almost all watches in our store are 30 meter – this means that the waterproof is only capable of holding water below 30 meters. Any further distance will result in negative effect on the watch.