Sooner or later, everyone succumbs to the allure of time – or rather the passing of it. The best way to keep track of time is a clock or a watch. Since a clock is not very portable, we will concentrate here on watches – but we will get back to clocks in a future issue.
A watch is a wonderful thing to behold, whether it is worth Rs.25,000 or Rs.25 million (or more). Here is a small contraption that can tell you the time with its three “hands” – hour, minute, second (and sometimes the day and date) at any given time of the day. A watch is an extension of your personality, taste and respect for time. As a famous ad campaign for a major watch brand proclaimed some time back “you feel naked without a watch”. There is a first time for everything – including watches. My first watch, a Casio which I purchased around 25 years ago, is on my wrist as I type this. It is still ticking on, after battery changes and one minor repair.
Whether you are buying your first watch or your 100th, there are several simple rules to follow. But before I go any further, two things – do not depend on your phone to look at the time, without wearing a wristwatch. In other words, wear a watch – it makes you happy in more ways than one. And don’t watch the same watch for ever (“daily driver”) – you must have at least five watches to mix and match on different dates. So here we go:
Smart watch or normal watch
You have to decide between “smart” watches which can do a lot more than just telling the time and “normal” watches. Smart watches can count your steps, track your heart rate/sleep patterns and even alert emergency services if you fall or are involved in a car crash. If you do not like a particular watch face, you can instantly reconfigure another. You can even take and receive phone calls with SIM-enabled smart watches. Most smartphone makers including Apple and Samsung and non-smartphone makers such as Garmin make smart watches at various price points. Apple smart watches are actually the best selling watches on the planet.
Digital, analog or Ana-Digi
We will focus on smart watches in future issues. From here onwards, this article will focus on “normal” watches, which is really the first choice for most people buying a watch.
Now that we have settled on normal watches, the choice is not easy. Back in 1974, Casio pioneered digital watches, which abandoned the traditional watch hands in favour of a digital display.
Today, the Casio’s “G-Shock” line (first established in 1983) is famous for a myriad of digital watches, including reissues of old favourites. There are a few other manufacturers such as Armitron which also make digital watches.
Analog (or manual) watches are the most well-known variety, with hands and numerals. There is virtually no end to this category – you can start collecting watches today and buy one watch per week till you die and still not exhaust the market. The sky is the limit for prices as well.
There are watches which have both manual and digital displays. While Ana-Digi is actually a trademark of Casio, it has now become a generic term to describe watches that have both displays.
Quartz or mechanical
Most watches that you will come across in the market (below around Rs.150,000 or so) are so-called Quartz watches which uses a small battery as the primary power source. It is the force behind the dial that drives the hands and powers all complications. The battery sends an electrical current through a small quartz crystal, which electrifies it and creates vibrations. Quartz, championed in the early 70s by the likes of Casio, Seiko and Citizen, very nearly killed the Swiss watch industry which depended heavily on complicated manual or mechanical movements. In fact, around 1,000 Swiss watch makers shuttered during the crisis and almost all the Swiss heavyweights apart from Rolex very nearly died. This episode is known as the Quartz Crisis, which we will cover in a future issue.
Quartz watches are generally more affordable than their mechanical counterparts (some companies such as Longines make comparable versions of the same design), mostly more accurate (as one does not have to bother about a power reserve or manual winding) and need no special handling. There are also solar-powered versions of quartz watches, including Citizen’s famous Eco-Drive and Casio’s Tough Solar. A quartz battery should last for around three years (unless there is a lot going on in the dial) but some Casio watches have 10-year batteries. (Just don’t press the Light button often).
On the other hand, mechanical watches (also called automatic watches) have made a comeback with brands such as Tissot, Baume and Mercier and Raymond Weil offering them at prices that are only marginally higher than some high-end quartz watches. Japanese brands such as Seiko and Citizen as well as many French, English and US watchmakers also have fairly affordable mechanical/automatic watches. Note that most mechanical watches are self or auto winding with the movement of your wrist, but look for the power reserve – the period where the watch will run without being worn. Thirty two hours should be the minimum, but there are high-end luxury watches that can keep the time unassisted for eight to 10 days.
The complicated mechanisms, the attention to detail, sheer craftsmanship and intricate dial designs have enhanced the appeal of mechanical watches and increased the demand. In fact, if you place an order at your Rolex Authorised Distributor (AD) today for brand new watch, prepare to wait for 12-18 months until it arrives. And this is despite Rolex making more than one million watchers per year, not counting sister brand Tudor. Many mechanical watches are also limited editions that further widen their appeal.
Roman, Arabic or both
Depending on your taste in analogue dials (or watch faces), you can opt for Roman numerals (I, II, II, IV etc), Arabic numerals (1,2,3,4 etc) or a combination of both, called California dials (Cali Dial for short), though California has nothing to do with watches. There are watches that have no numerals at all – the Movado Museum is the most famous example.
Choosing a watch is complicated enough, without thinking of complications. These can mean the inner workings of the (automatic) watch or the various sub-dials that appear on the dial such as day, date, moon phase, World Time/GMT and chronometer functions (also called Tri Compax or Panda dial). Generally, these watches are more expensive than the plain vanilla “three-hand” ones.
Dial Shape
Most watches are round, but there are plenty of square ones too. You can get many square shaped Casio G-Shocks. While the Cartier Tank and the Jaeger LeCoultre (JLC) Reverso are the best known square watches in the world, most of the affordable brands offer their take ion the duo.
Dial Colour
There are also rare triangular and “melting” watches which have no defined shape.
You can choose from a vast array of colours, regardless of whether you want a quartz or an automatic watch. Red and yellow have burst on to the scene rather recently, but all the colours of the rainbow are available, from white to black. Also look out for meteorite dials, where the dial is actually a piece of a meteorite, so now two watches are alike. While these are more expensive than normal dial watches, brands such as Bulova (US, now owned by Citizen) have meteorite watches at around Rs.400,000. However, if you are looking for a premium offering such as Omega’s famous Dark Side of the Moon, prepare to fork out at least 10 times more.
Case size
Also look for skeleton watches, where you can actually see the functioning mechanism of automatic watches through the dial as well as from the case back. These too are very expensive, but look to brands such as Fossil and Relic which embed Citizen’s Miyota automatic movements in transparent dials, at a price point of around Rs.40,000 (before taxes and duties). Watches can range from 28 mm to all the way up to 52 mm circumference. However, there is a trend towards so-called unisex watches, with a case size of 36-37 mm. This smaller size appeals to both sexes, but beyond 40 mm, most watches are meant for men.
Materials
Most mainstream watches have a stainless steel case back, while many cheaper watches are made from durable plastic. Ceramic is also used in a big way, one recent example being the Swatch X Omega MoonSwatch, which uses “BioCeramic”, a combination of ceramic and plastic. International Watch Company (or IWC as it is more commonly known) offers a mix of ceramic and titanium called “Ceratanium”. Titanium, Platinum, Gold and Silver are all used by luxury brands to varying degrees. If you have the cash, go for watches that use Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) to coat gold and other metals to dials and bracelets. Gold PVD coatings on watches are recognised for their durability compared to traditional gold plating. PVD coatings are usually thicker and bond at a molecular level to the metal, which greatly enhances their ability to withstand wear over time. As for the watch glass, acrylic crystal, mineral crystal and sapphire crystal are the materials used in ascending order of price. Some watch faces have scratchproof properties, mostly from Rado, which calls itself the “Master of Materials”. Of course, many watchmakers also have high-end models infused with gemstones and precious minerals. Look out for watchmakers who are jewellers (or vice versa) such as Cartier and Bulgari to excel in this department.
Water resistance
Do not buy a watch that simply says “Water Resistant”. Always look for a depth rating. Most dress watches from even top brands have a paltry 30 m depth rating, which can only withstand splashes of water. (Don’t be misled by the depth rating – it is usually the resistance to pressure at a given depth, not necessarily an indication that it will survive in water itself at that depth). Fifty metres sounds OK, but if you want to swim in a pool or the ocean with the watch on, look for at least 100 m. Beyond 200 m it is diver’s territory, but there are watches that have a depth rating of 6000 m or more. Watches begin to become very expensive once you pass the 300 m mark, so unless you have loads of money, stop there. And never ever wear a watch to the shower, no matter what the water resistance is. Hot water and moisture is a deadly combination for a watch.
Illumination
While Casio is perhaps the only watch brand to offer a built-in, switchable light to read the time in the dark in some of their watches, most other manufacturers apply a luminous coating to the hands or sometimes the whole dial, so you can still read the time even in total darkness.
There are two main materials used by manufacturers – Lumi Brite and Super Lumi Nova. They do an admirable job, with some divers claiming that they did not need a flash light even in the deep thanks to the luminous coating in their dive watches. When you are in the shop to buy a watch, cover the watch with your hands or ask the sales person to take you to a dark or closed space to see the luminous effect. It is not a “must-have”, but it is a nice addition nevertheless.
Bracelet or strap
Most watchmakers offer a choice of metal bracelet and leather/resin/synthetic strap with their watches. Needless to say, bracelets are expensive, especially if plated with gold or rose gold. Sometimes the same watch could be up to Rs.500,000 cheaper with a strap. Also look whether you can change the straps yourself should the need arise. Some watches do come with an extra strap in the box with tools and instructions.
This is a pretty exhausting guide to buying a brand new watch, but if you want to buy a high-end luxury watch, look at the used or pre-worn market as well. Remember, no one will know you have a used watch on your wrist. There are also unworn watches on the used market. Good “grail” watches are timeless treasures and may sometimes command a higher price than their brand new equivalents. And let me know if I have forgotten something or if you want to add anything as you embark on your horology journey.
