Watches Information

Whatever Happened to Winding?

Depending on your age, you may or may not remember seeing your father wind his watch each night before going to bed. If he did not, he would surely wake to a watch that had stopped. Those days became history with the advent of the automatic watch. What makes it automatic? It still has the same basic mechanism to keep the watch working, but how that mechanism is powered changed the way we cared for our watches.

All mechanical watches work in a similar manner. They require a movement of a series of gears to “tick” of increments of time, which in turn registers as movements of the hands on the face of the watch. A rotor in the watch sits on a staff in the middle of the watch’s movement. It rotates in a circular motion and winds the mainspring which is the source of power in mechanical watches. With an automatic watch the winding of this spiral spring is done automatically with any arm or wrist movement.

Self-winding, automatic watches work great for people who wear the watch each day, but if you do not wear the watch frequently, it needs manual winding about twice a week. Even automatic watches will stay working better if they are wound manually about once every two weeks because this helps keep the watch lubricated. It is a misconception that automatic watches never need any winding, since it all depends on the movement of the arm to keep it functioning well.

A power reserve lets the movement of your watch keep time for anywhere between 10 and 72 hours. There is something called a power reserve, and the bigger the reserve, the longer your automatic watch will keep running without further movement or manual winding.

Rolex was the first watch manufacturer to devise and patent the rotor system that is still used today. They called it the Perpetual and it was part of the popular Oyster line created in the early 1930s. Emile Borer was the Rolex technician who came up with the system, but he was not the first to develop a rotor. That distinction goes to Swiss watchmaker, Abraham-Louis Perrelet as long ago as 1770. This was quite the invention because it wouldn’t be until much later in time that wrist watches were worn and there just wasn’t enough physical movement with a pocket watch to make it a feasible way to move the rotor and wind the mainspring.

Automatic watches differ from quartz watches which are powered by batteries and not by either a manual or automatic winding system. Powered by a battery, the quartz crystal inside a quartz watch vibrates nearly 33,000 times per. Watch batteries last about two years, where automatic watches have a never ending source of power: movement or motion.

Quartz watches account for most moderately priced watch sales today, but connoisseurs of watches still like the prestige and elegance of a finely crafted mechanical watch. Automatics have started to regain some of the quartz market in recent years accounting for huge increases (95%) in sales between 1993 and 1995.

Lubrication is essential to keeping an automatic watch running well. Watches can be lubricated by manually winding the watch periodically and taking it in to a jeweler once about every 3 to 5 years. When winding an automatic watch, just wind it about 30 to 40 times or until you feel some resistance. Keeping the watch is a watch winding box is also a good way to keep the watch lubricated.

Automatic watches are also quite affordable. They actually come in every price range. Some economical brands include Invicta watch and Orient watch, and then the price can reach into the very expensive range depending on the embellishments or the prestige of a specific brand.

Zai Zhu is a watch collector and a watch dealer. Shop over 800 fine watches including Citizen watches, Invicta watches, Orient watches, Mido watches, Luminox watches and many more at http://www.discountwatchstore.com . Read reviews and watch articles.

Share This

Everyone Loves Diamonds
When they said that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, they weren’t joking. Women love diamonds for their brilliance and for what they represent, and men like diamonds for the elegance and class associated with the gems. No matter whom you’re shopping for, especially if it’s yourself, you can’t go wrong with diamonds. A diamond watch is a gift that anyone would love to own.

How to Decide Where to Buy and How Much to Spend
If you need to keep the time anyway, why not do it in style? But shopping for diamond watch is never easy. Every jewelry store is competing with all the others, and you hear so many horror stories about this jewelry store and that. You hardly know which store to go to when they all make each other out to be crooks. When every jewelry store advertises that the competition doesn’t know what they’re doing, who are you supposed to trust? And diamond watches are so expensive, many of the prices found in the jewelry stores are just too much to pay.

A little Internet shopping might be the first thing you’ll want to check out, because even if you don’t buy you can get some different prices to comparison shop with. In most locations, the Sunday edition of the newspaper is filled with ads for jewelry stores. It is always easier to buy something when it’s on sale, and the Sunday sales ads offer great bargains. The colorful displays will give the casual shopper a good idea of what’s being offered, also.

The Right Diamonds for You
Diamond lovers talk of clarity, carat, and cut, but in truth the best diamond to buy is the one that you absolutely love. If it sings to you, and you can afford it, then you should take the plunge. What’s the point of having something attractive if you don’t completely adore it? A quality diamond is the one that looks the best to you. After all, a beautiful diamond watch is an item that can be passed down through generations, and will always be treasured. The right diamond watch to pick is the one that you love, because either way you’re going to be stuck with it for a long while yet.

The setting, the stones, the watch itself all must combine in just the right way. When all these different pieces come together to form the perfect whole, you will know it right away. The watch that strikes you the most is the one you’ll want to buy. Worrying about the cut and shape of the stones, the perfection and size, is less important than the general appeal and effect of the whole piece.

If you’re buying diamonds for someone else, try to put yourself in their shoes. Think about their taste and style in other jewelry that they’re worn or purchased, and mimic this as much as possible. In any case, a diamond watch is a gift that anyone will cherish for a lifetime. A beautiful diamond watch will be cherished all the more, and buying someone a gift that they would have picked out for themselves, if they could have, is a gesture that will never be forgotten.

The Gift They’ll Always Remember
Large or small, diamonds are always fashionable. A diamond watch is a great gift to give to yourself or someone close to you, and it should last you a lifetime. After all, doesn’t everyone love diamonds? Some can afford to buy the very best, and that’s always to be encouraged. Others must live on a budget, but that doesn’t mean everyone doesn’t want to buy elegant things or give precious gifts. Doing a little shopping around will help you determine what kind of watch you can afford to purchase, and at least you’ll have done your homework before you venture inside your local jewelry store. Giving someone a beautiful piece that will last them a lifetime is a gesture that won’t soon be forgotten, and if you’re shopping for yourself then you’ll have something you can always cherish. The best purchase you can make is an educated one, so be sure to do plenty of shopping around before you commit. In any case, diamonds are going to be an expensive purchase, but they are considered to be something of an investment. You’ll want to spend your money wisely, and come away with something that best suits you.

Zai Zhu is a watch connoisseur and a watch dealer. Visit http://www.discountwatchstore.com to learn more about wristwatches. You will also find a collection of over 800 fine watches including hundreds of Citizen Watches and Invicta watches, as well as brands like Mido, Orient, Luminox, Croton, Wenger, and Vanceur. Fine authentic watches for less - that is our philosophy.

Share This

There are a lot of different companies that make watches and timepieces today but there are few that have been around as long as the Citizen Watch Company. Moreover, there are only a handful of companies that have stuck to their guns when it comes to the quality of the products that they were founded upon. Citizen Watch Company is the exception to the rule when it comes to this area of business and they have yet to fall to the almighty dollar and cut the quality. This is why they are now the largest maker of watches and timepieces in the world with a presence in every major country. The uncompromising quality and style of the Citizen Watch has made this so.

THE EARLY DAYS

The first Citizen Watch was created in 1924 using a new form of technology to make it the smallest and thinnest of the time. It is very hard to recognize this timepiece against the watches that are made today but anyone with a little knowledge can easily identify the craftsmanship of the piece and know that it is a Citizen Watch. This was the springboard for the piece and it went all uphill from there.

The actual Citizen Watch Company was formed six years later in 1930 and was an immediate success. This was due in part to the founders need to bring better and brighter things to the market as soon as possible. Unlike a lot of companies that will hold off on new technology so they do not hurt their current market, the Citizen Watch Company rolled out the many products that it developed from the beginning and made a big splash in the world. This has also made them one of the most hated among the other watch makers in the world but that is nothing to this company as they rolled along.

The Citizen Watch Company now employs more than three thousand people the world over. Based in Japan, they are the first company to make some of the finest innovations in the world and still maintain a market presence in the standard watches that they produced as well. This is something that the other companies were having a lot of trouble with and making a lot of enemies along the way was a daily occurrence for this company.

THE NEW DAY

The Citizen Watch Company was the sole responsible party for the first shock resistant watch to ever be made. This was a big deal for the many hard working people in the world who were tired of having to take their watch in for repair because of shock problems.

Citizen also made its mark on the diving world with the first professional dive watch that features an electronic depth sensor. This improvement on the old design of diving watch has ever endeared the company to the many diving enthusiasts around the world.

They were also responsible for the first Analog Quartz watch to be produced which single handedly changed the way the world told time. Today the Citizen Watch Company has taken the watch making world to a whole new level with Eco Drive System. Tapping into the resource of being environmentally friendly, the Eco Drive System uses a hidden solar cell that is embedded into the works. This cell gathers power from the sun and artificial light sources and turns it into energy to drive the watch. By far this is the most popular watch to be found today and it has more benefits to the environment. No longer do you need to go to the store to purchase a new battery and worry about the old one polluting the ground in a land fill somewhere.

All in all the Citizen Watch Company has been responsible for some of the best things to happen in watches and timepieces for the past many years. Today they are still one of the most popular watch brands in the world and make up a large share of the market with the newest products that can be found almost anywhere.

Zai Zhu is a watch collector and a watch dealer. Visit < http://www.discountwatchstore.com to shop over 1000 styles of watches including many Citizen watches, Invicta watches, Orient watches, Luminox watches, and many more, as well as to learn about watches.

Share This