What is the thing that we all have to wait for, but that thing never waits for us? What is that, which the entire world follows? The answer to all of these questions is time. We all are heavily dependent on time. We all have to wait for the proper time, but time never waits for us. The entire world has to stick to their time zones and strictly follow them.
To maintain this time, we all rely on different types of clocks and watches. In our houses, we have wall clocks. We use different types of alarm clocks to wake us up from our sleep in the set time. And finally, during the time of travel, we all use wrist watches. There are a number of brands producing these types of watches. Each and everybody has their specific desires and preferences when it comes to the topic of the favorite watch brands of people. For wrist watches, my personal preference is Longines watches.
Since we are so much dependent on the time and as a result of that, on watches, there are several things to be kept in mind.
Working Principle and Maintenance
How watches move and work:
There are basically two types of movement types for watches. They are
- a) Mechanical and
- b) Quartz.
From these two, the invention of the latter one made the former obsolete in almost every way. Both of them have their very own working pattern, each requiring maintenance of different scales.
The mechanical watch uses a coiled spring, called a mainspring. It used to unwind to release its energy slowly. This technology was the first mechanism that powered wrist watches hence used old technology. Owing to this old tech, or primitive I should rather say, this very method soon got obsolete and that too by its successor, the quartz movement method.
The quartz watches run by the help of a button cell (a battery) require minimal maintenance.
Basic Components of a watch
The watch mainly consists of the following basic parts. Yes, there are exceptions to them based on the price. But the basic components stay the same. The may vary in capacity or size or shape, but they all serve the same purpose of making the clock function in the best possible way and maintain user satisfaction.
Below is a list of the basic components:
- Crown – This does the job of setting and winding the watch. Its placement depends on the type of watch, namely the normal type. It is also called by the name of the vortex.
- Dial – It is the place where the time is viewed in the watch. It can also be called as the face of the watch. Usually, this is the place which has numbers printed on it either in Roman numerals or in any other form that is regularly used. Many are also intentionally left blank, unprinted, which the company claims to be a design.
- Lugs – As mentioned earlier, they come in different shapes and sizes. They always have the task of attaching the belt or the chain to the dial of the watch.
- Crystal – It is the glass on the watch body, either on the front or on the back or on both sides. The purpose of this crystal is to enable its user to view the inside of the case. The material used to build the crystal also varies from one brand to another and also in accordance with the price.
- Case – The case serves as the container to hold the machinery of the watch and is mostly made from metal. Some watches even have designer cases either printed on them or carved in them, depending mainly on the price of the product.
- Hands – Each and every one of us are quite familiar with what watch hands are and what specific purpose do they serve. As stated earlier, they also come in many different shapes and sizes.
- Strap/Belt/Chain – It is the material which helps and enables one user to attach the watch to his/her wrist and use it.
- Movement – By the process of this movement, a watch gets its power to, and can easily, regulate the time.
- Sub-Seconds Dial – Several watches have a small subsidiary dial for the second hand. Many people call it by many different names. They can be found at any place inside the dial.
Things to consider before buying a new watch
The things which need to be kept in mind are before or while buying a new watch is highly subjective. This is because the features and specifications mostly depend on the budget. However, things that are worth taking into account are stated below:
- Is the watch waterproof?
People who have to work with water most of the time must especially take into account whether the watch they are buying are waterproof or not. This is because if the watch is not waterproof, then it will get damaged as soon as it comes in contact with water.
- Is the store selling branded watches authorized?
Another thing that must be taken into consideration is that is the shop they are buying a watch from authorized or not? If the shop is not authorized, then there is a high possibility of purchasing fake products by the name of a genuine one. This also raises the question to the durability as fake products are not durable enough.
Conclusion
Through the article, I have discussed a lot of things. Starting from the spare parts and their functions to the things to keep in mind when deciding to buy a new watch. Nobody can deny the necessity of a watch throughout their entire life. Nor can they give up using it. Time has kept us regulated. It has played a vital role in making our lives systematic and disciplined. Or else our lives would have gone astray, resulting in an entirely unorganized universe. Each and every activity that we perform in our lives is entirely based on time. Hence, without any hesitation, we all should spare a small amount of our precious time and learn something about watches.
