We know: 1-Minute Lesson on Watches

What kinds of watches are there?

Watches come in two basic types, determined by how they operate:

  • Mechanical watches were developed first, and are usually made up of 120 different parts. They are powered by manually winding them, or they are self-winding. They keep time through the use of a small, oscillating wheel that creates a ticking noise.
  • Quartz watches are powered by batteries. The battery in the watch causes a quartz resonator to vibrate more than 30,000 times a second. Quartz watches are about 12 times more accurate than mechanical watches. They come in analogue displays with moving hands, or in digital displays, with lighted numbers on a screen.

What are the basic parts of a watch?

The external parts of a watch usually include:

  1. Crystal - the cover over the watch face. Crystals can be made out of acrylic (cheapest), mineral elements, or sapphire (the most expensive).
  2. Hands - the pointing devices on the watch face. There are a number of different styles including alpha, baton, dauphine and skeleton.
  3. Dial - the watch face where the numbers or indicators are located.
  4. Bezel - the ring that holds the watch's crystal in place.
  5. Crown - The device on the edge of the watch used to set the time.
  6. Band - holds the wrist watch. A leather, plastic or fabric band is called a strap, a metal band is called a bracelet.

What are some of the features available in watches?

The features in modern watches seem endless, and growing.


Keeping It Functional For a simple watch, you can always look for features such as water resistance, scratch resistance, and face illumination. Also, look to see if there is a date and/or stop watch feature.


Making It Beautiful You can increase both the cost and the value of a watch by thinking of it as a piece of fine jewelry with a time element attached. Silver, gold, platinum and diamonds are just a few of the extras you find in fine watches.


Teching It Out Once you decide to expand your search and increase the price tag, you can find watches that do almost anything, from count down timing to measuring your speed of travel, to providing the time is various time zones. Watches with specialty functions have been designed for pilots, divers and doctors.


And Beyond New wireless watches developed by watchmakers like Citizen, Fossil and Suunto integrate current technology into the wristwatch design that enable subscribers to access channels that provide news, weather and sports.

What are the names of come of the major watch makers?

Omega, Sieko, Cartier, Casio, Citizen, Rolex, Breitling, Longines, Patek, Audemars Piguet, Tissot, Movado, Dunhill, Bertolucci, Kenneth Cole, Concord, Gucci, Nike, TAG Heuer, Bulova, Fossil, and Suunto.



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