If you are considering buying a new watch there are two major factors to take in to account. The look and the quality. The look is easy. It is in your eyes. The quality of a watch is a bit more difficult to judge.  We hope that this guide will help you.

But didn´t we forget the price? Well if you are going to buy a watch for over 1,000 US dollars or 1,000 GB pounds you will not need this guide. This is a guide for a watch in the price range of 200 GB pounds/US dollars up to 1000 GB pounds/US dollars. The range of watches in this price range are enormous and the quality can vary and sometimes be hard to judge.

A watch consists of many different parts. Serious watch manufacturers and resellers will specify the different parts of the watch. If they do not, you should ask for it. If the specifications are not “available”,it is recommended not to purchase.

We shall now go through the different parts of the watch and decide how the nine different quality markers of the watch should be valued. In this way we get a good view of the quality of the watch.

The nine quality markers of a watch are as follows:

#Movement

#Glass

#Water resistance

#Case & Case back

#Dial & Hands

#Crown & Bezel

#Strap & Clasp

#Warranty

#Certifications

 

 

 

 

MOVEMENT

The movement of a watch is a fundamental part. It is the very heart of the watch. It consists of hundreds of small parts in collaboration with each other. The quality of the movement affects the price of the watch quite substantially. In the price range we are looking at, most of the watches are battery driven quartz watches. Other types of movement are automatic and manual. Normally they are more expensive than quartz movement watches.

Quartz is a crystal that has the characteristics to be brought into oscillation by an electronic circuit. After grinding the crystal it keeps a very constant frequency. Quartz movement from recognised manufacturers are normally very reliable. One important quality marker on the quartz movement are the number of jewels. The higher number of jewels the better.  The jewel is a gemstone used in the movement for reducing friction and wear and increasing accuracy.

Traditionally Swizz movement maintains a high quality but today many other quartz movements are of high quality.

 

Glass

The glass quality on a watch is a very important indicator of the whole watch.

Acrylic glass is the cheapest kind that is used. It is not very scratch resistant. The Vickers hardness is only 500. Acrylic glass is very light and if it´s broken it does not shatter in many small pieces.

 

Mineral glass is very common in mid priced watches. Mineral glass is a heat treated glass or a glass that’s been exposed to chemicals in order to be more resistant to scratches. As a result mineral glass is more resistant then ordinary glass and has a Vickers hardness of 500-800.

Still it can get scratched. If there are many scratches on the mineral glass it is recommended to change it. The reason is of course aesthetics but another important reason is that the glass will easily split if it is exposed to shocks or pressure.

 

Sapphire glass is an expensive kind of glass. Sapphire glass is made of crystallized aluminium oxide at a very high temperature.  It is very resistant against scratches. It´s Vickers hardness is 2200-2300. It is seven times harder than stainless steel.

Sapphire glass is expensive to produce and therefore only the high quality watches have it.

 

WATER RESISTANCE

 

ATM is a unit for pressure. ATM stands for the pressure of sea level (about 101 kPa).

When a subject, for instance a watch, is lowered into water, the pressure is rises.

1 ATM Corresponds to 10 meters, 2 ATM corresponds to 20 meters and so on.

A watch marked with 3 ATM should be able to be lowered to 30 meters. This is not really true.

In the daily use of a watch this is a better guide:

1-2 ATM  Moisture and dust protected watch.

The watch should not be exposed to water

3-5 ATM:

The watch is made for daily use and can withstand rain.

10 ATM:

The watch can withstand bathing and swimming.

20 ATM:

The watch can withstand free diving.

 

CASE & CASE BACK

The case is the house or the shell in which the movement, dial and other components are mounted onto the watch.  To seal the watch a lid is screwed onto the case together with gaskets that seal the watch. The lid is called case back.

Case and Case back can be made from different materials. Plastic material and Zinc alloy are common in the lower price ranges. The most common material is stainless steel.

Stainless steel comes in different qualities on watches. Stainless steel 304 is of good quality.

Stainless Steel 316L is of very high quality. It is an acid proof Steel with very low carbon content. This high quality Stainless steel is sometimes called Surgical Steel as it is often used in medical procedures.

Many watches today are engraved on the case back. The engraving can be made from different methods. Laser is the cheapest way to engrave. Engraving direct onto the metal is more expensive. You can tell the difference by moving your finger over the engraved part. Laser engraving gives a smooth feeling while engraving in the metal gives a rough feeling.

 

 

DIAL & HANDS

Which type of dial and hands you prefer is a matter of taste. Classical dials are most common on more expensive watches. The reason for this is that a watch is an investment that you will wear for a long time. You don’t want your investment to go out of fashion. A classic watch never goes out of fashion.

A detail on dials and hands of good quality is that they are luminous. It is very practical to be able to see what time it is in complete darkness.

 

CROWN & BEZEL

The screwable button on the side of the watch (normally to the right) is called the Crown. You can set the time with the Crown. It can also look and work in different ways.

Traditional Crown. Pull it straight out to set time and date.

Screwed Crown. This Crown has screw threads which are screwed counterclockwise to open it and to be able to set the time. When you screw the Crown clockwise and at the same time pressing the Crown, you will seal the watch again. It is very important that you are careful when screwing back the Crown clockwise and under light pressure. It must sit tight to the case so that it can´t be screwed any further. If the Crown does not sit tight it may affect the water resistance and further more  It may  also affect the time displayed by moving the hands unintentionally.

A screwed Crown is most common on diving  watches and on watches of good quality with high water resistance.

On good quality watches the Crown top is often engraved.

Bezel is the ring around the dial that keeps the glass in place. It can be designed in many different ways. It is a matter of liking and taste. Normally it is made of the same material as the Case and Case back but sometimes can be of a different material.

 

STRAP & CLASP

The straps can be made of many different materials such as leather, plastic, cloth, Stainless steel to name a few. This is also a matter of liking and taste. When it comes to straps made of stainless steel the thickness of the strap is a good quality marker. The straps are normally under 3 mm in thickness. If the strap is thicker than that it is probably a watch of good quality.  Thick straps give the watch a weight that indicates quality. The quality of the steel is also very important (look at Case & Case back).

Straps can be locked in many different ways. A Butterfly clasp on a stainless steel straps is a durable, smooth and discreet clasp.

 

WARRANTY

The duration of the warranty is a very good indicator of the quality of the watch. If the warranty is over three years you can feel safe with the fact that the watch is of good quality.

Check the terms of the warranty as it can vary between different watch manufacturers.

 

CERTIFICATION

Serious watchmakers and watch retailers market watches with certifications. To sell watches within the EU-market, the watches need to have a CE and RoHS Certification. Make sure that the watch you intend to buy has a certification.