“…But I don’t know enough about watches”

A close friend of mine, during a discussion about my first article, mentioned he would love to learn more about watches, but also said the steep learning curve is a little difficult to get past. This idea is not without merit; once you start getting into the technical aspects of horology, there is enough information to keep you reading for months. Picking one’s first timepiece, for example, could be a difficult process considering all the research that the responsible buyer should do.

What, then, should the “crash-course” on what constitutes a fine watch include? A snob could go on for hours about how one should memorize the different finishes like guilloché and côtes de Genéve, but the truth of the matter is that there are just a few important things to learn and the rest can be picked up along the way.

The movement

The watch movement is, quite simply, the guts of the watch. This includes all the gears, springs, and wheels that make the magic happen. It should go without saying that picking a good movement is key to picking a good watch. Generally speaking there are two different kinds of movements, quartz and mechanical (aficionados should check out the Seiko Spring Drive - there are other varieties as well). Quartz movements - the battery powered ones - are dependent on a little thing in physics called the piezoelectric effect. In a nutshell, when a quartz crystal has a voltage applied to it (like from a battery) the crystal oscillates, and these oscillations are measured by an integrated circuit. Because the frequency of oscillation for quartz is definite, the circuit can use the measurement of oscillations to see how much time is passed. Some magic happens in the circuit, some motors are turned, and the watch hands move.

A quartz movement by Rolex

Typically, quartz movements are not too sought after in the luxury watch industry. This is due to the fact that not much expertise or handiwork is required to make a quartz watch. In comparison, a mechanical movement requires much assembly and is considered by many to be a more elegant solution to timekeeping. Mechanical movements are powered by a spring that is wound (either by hand or by a rotor in the movement) and unwinds into the “balance,” a balanced wheel with a spring within it. This balance beats with a distinct rate, and this beat rate is what keeps the time. The beats are put through a gear train and this turns the hands.

Mechanical movements offer a great marriage between engineering and utility. Though not quite as accurate as quartz movements (accurate watch movements are roughly within -5/+5 seconds per day, average quartz watches are a few seconds per month), the work that goes into designing, developing, and making a mechanical movement appeals to many. The comparison to cars is often made; fine mechanical movements appeal to watch collectors much in the same way that fine cars appeal to car collectors. Any watch will get the job done but the care that is taken and the expertise required for a mechanical timepiece is quite desirable.

A finely decorated mechanical movement by Breguet

The country

Switzerland is still (and likely always will be) king of luxury timepieces, but plenty of different countries offer excellent entry-level pieces.

In recent years China has done an excellent job of overcoming the stigma against it by offering some above-average quality for good prices, which you can primarily see in companies like Sea-Gull. Take, for example, this big date & moonphase automatic watch for $350 with a Sea-Gull movement. That’s killer value. Orient also offers a great value in their watches, all of which contain in-house movements. As an aside, it is important to remember that in-house movements are typically more desirable, as they demonstrate the watch manufacture is capable of making an entire movement themselves (typically of higher quality than the mass-produced and mass-distributed off-the-shelf movements).

Japan is likely a close second to the kings Switzerland and Germany. One Japanese company, the Seiko Watch Company, is quite popular among novices and connoisseurs alike. Plenty of collectors’ “first real watches” are Seiko 5’s, a line of watches that boasts 5 key attributes and impressive ruggedness. The Seiko 5 line is a great place to start because it offers great quality in-house movements in a somewhat broad price range.

You can also find great value in Swiss and German companies though the prices will be distinctly higher. Hamilton’s Khaki line is an impressively popular entry-level collection of watches that doesn’t offer anything less than great quality. Boutique brands that make use of ETA or other Swiss movements, such as Steinhart and several others, offer a nice value but can be a little hit-or-miss in terms of quality, reliability, and customer service.

The finish

In reading articles or blogs you’ll encounter a lot of talk on a watch’s finish. Reliability and accuracy aside, finish is often what distinguishes a good timepiece from a great timepiece. The Breguet movement pictured above obviously has an extremely high level of finish on the movement, but for comparison’s sake, take a look at this DG2813, one of the cheapest watch movements to come out of China:

Not as pretty, right? Not that it really matters a huge amount in terms of quality of the timepiece, as plenty of decent watches have little decoration. That said, as you move further from DG2813 to Breguet-level quality, you should expect to see a finer finish along the way.

The watch case, which houses the movement and all other parts, is often judged on its finish as well. A “nice” finish would have sharp corners between different textures and components of the case, as well as other minute details. Often, entry-level watches will have little to no special case finishing, as this is one of the more time consuming and expensive parts of watch manufacturing.

The big brands and the safe bets

There will always be the staple Swiss companies that will never produce a poor watch: Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe, Breguet, Blancpain, and many others. If German watches are your thing, A. Lange & Sohne and Glashütte won’t steer you wrong. The only downside to these watches, as you might imagine, is the pricetag: you’d be hard-pressed to find a new mechanical from any of the above companies for less than several thousand.

So where does a beginner start? Going by country…

Chinese

• Sea-Gull: Chinese in-house movements for good prices, but the styling can be gaudy.
• Orient: Chinese in-house movements for great prices. The styling varies from dressy to sporty but the designs are typically nice.

It would be wise to stay away from the Parnis “brand,” which is actually just a name many different factories in China use for their watches. Due to the fact that there is no sole producer, quality is hit-or-miss.

Japanese

• Seiko: Japanese in-house movements for great prices, especially in the Seiko 5 line. Plenty of different designs to check out.
• Citizen: Citizen produces the impressively rugged Eco-Drive movement, which is solar powered and boasts very long lifetimes. The designs are usually pretty off-putting in my opinion, but appeal to plenty of others. Their main product would be a quartz watch.

Swiss or Swiss movement

• Steinhart: Good quality and great movements for reasonable pricing. The designs are often “borrowed” from well known designs such as the Rolex Submariner, but other designs are original and attractive.
• BALL Watch: Awesome original designs incorporating tritium tubes and plenty of other nice perks. These watches are rugged as all hell, and are great for the price.
• Damasko: Probably the single best value you can ever get in a watch, though they aren’t impressively inexpensive. Starting at the low thousands for the base models, these pieces are indestructible.
• Sinn: Similar to Damasko, Sinn boasts excellent quality and attractive original designs for great value.
• Tissot: Owned by the Swatch group, Tissot offers beautiful dress watches such as the Visodate and nice sports watches such as the PRC200.
• Hamilton: Similar to Tissot, Hamilton is owned by the Swatch group and offers a nice variety at reasonable prices.

In conclusion

Buying a watch is easy, but buying a quality item that will last for ages is a little tougher. Stick to the brands above unless you’ve done plenty of homework and are comfortable deviating. As you look into what to get, take care to consider the movement inside, the reputation of the company behind the watch, and the other factors mentioned above. You don’t have to buy a Rolex on your first go around, but you should know exactly what you’re buying.