Watches.

The Ultimate Men’s

Accessory.

Men are limited to the accessories that they can wear. Which is why watches are considered key accessories in the wardrobe of every man. Choosing the right watch can be difficult

though, there are so many brands on the market, with many low quality brands and only a handful of brands worth purchasing.

There are three major criterions that one should consider when purchasing a watch:

Case Material and Finish

Movement

Complications

Watch cases come in many different materials, which increase the value of the watch. Even if a watch has a bad movement and no complications, a solid gold case will still make the watch

valuable years after the purchase.

Case types that hold value:

Yellow Gold

Case Material and Finish

Rose Gold White Gold

Platinum Silver

The are many other case materials, each with their own specific properties.

Steel: Scratch-prone, durable, and wont

break.

Case Material and Finish

Aluminum: Light, cheap, scratch-prone.

Ceramic: Durable, but may snap or crack on high impact, scratch-

resistant.

Titanium: twice as strong and half as light

as stainless steel.

PVD: a coating applied to aluminum and

ceramic cases. Soft-to-touch finish,

moderately scratch resistant.

Platinum: Scratch-prone, corrosion

resistant. Soft like gold.Palladium: lighter than

white gold, equally reflective, common in

electroplating.

Carbon: Futuristic, scratch proof, black,

soft to touch.

Golds: highly reflective, prone to scratches,

corrosion resistant, not very durable and prone

to dents.

Although many of the complications listed below may seem unnecessary, more complications means a higher complexity of the movement an thus more work hours put into its production. A complicated movement is also a sign of a high level of ingenuity and workmanship. A watch

with a complicated movement says “I understand horology and can appreciate it as an artform”

Manual Winding

Movement

Self-Winding

Quartz Powered

Watch movements are classified by type.

A pendulum rotating due to gravity keeps

the watch ticking.

The watche’s spring needs to be wound by

hand by turning the crown.

The watch movement is powered by a

battery.

Pros and Cons of Manual Winding Movements

• With no pendulum, there is more space in the watch movement for more complications.

• Can be electroplated with gold finish.

• Manual winding movements have history, as wristwatches and pocket watches used to have only manual winding movements.

• Although some watches have up to 72 hours reserve time (ticking time since being wound), the watch may stop ticking unexpectedly.

• Require frequent maintenance due to not normally being suitable for intense physical activity.

PROS CONS

Pros and Cons of Self Winding Movements

• If it’s a watch you wear on a daily basis it should theoretically never stop ticking.

• Long reserve time.

• Considered one of the most useful complications ever invented.

• Suitable for physical activities.

• Require servicing every 3 to 5 years in order to maintain quality of watch.

• Large complication, takes up a lot of space in the movement.

PROS CONS

Pros and Cons of Quartz Movements

• Perfect for physical activities and extreme sports!

• Can bring the price down of a watch by a lot.

• Can power many complications at a low price.

• Takes up very little space, and can be used in thin dress watches.

• Not respected in the world of horology.

• Luxury watches don’t use Quartz movements.

• Do not age well! Capacitors do fail.

• Require yearly battery changes.

PROS CONS

Complication GuideThe more complications, the higher value the watch. Of course if the watch has a Quartz movement, it doesn’t affect the value as watches with Quartz movements are not valued.

Alarm: A chime is played at the time that

you set it to.

Annual Calendar: Displays the date,

month, and commonly weekday.

Automatic Watch: A pendulum moves due to gravity and winds

the watch.Chronograph: A watch

with a timer that counts seconds,

minutes and hours.

Timezone: Displays the time in another

timezone.

Flyback Chronograph: A chronograph can be

kept running while reset to count laps.

GMT: A watch that displays the

Greenwhich Mean Time

Perpetual Calendar: An annual calendar that

takes into account leap years and adjusts the months. Usually up to

the year 2100.

Moonphase: Displays the position of the

moon, and it’s phase.

Power Reserve Indicator: Displays how much power the watch

has left until it stops.

Minute Repeater: With a press of a button, chimes the current hours and minutes.

The Tourbillon ComplicationThe Tourbillon watch complication is an addition to the watches movement that counters the

effects of gravity on the time regulating hairspring, pallet fork, and balance wheel of the watch. This makes the watch much more accurate.

If you own a tourbillon watch

that automatically screams to every

other collector that you know your

stuff!

A tourbillon serves mostly as a demonstration of a watchmakers virtuosity. 99% of tourbillon watches are cost in excess of 20,000 euros.

“Wait a second, I’ve seen a bunch of these for sale for

less than 500euros!”No you haven’t, you’ve seen open heart watches, which are just imitations of real

tourbillons.

Imitation of a tourbillon!

Other Watch TraitsThere are a few other watch traits that increase the worth and quality of a watch.

Sapphire Glass: More durable, and

completely scratch resistant glass made

out of artificial minerals.

Transparent Case Back: Glass at the back of the

case allows you to enjoy looking at the movement in action.

ATM: The water resistivity rating that

specifies what level of water exposure the watch is suitable for.

• 3 ATM – Not suitable for showering, swimming, snorkeling.

• 5 ATM – Suitable for swimming, but not snorkeling.

• 10 ATM – Suitable for water sports, snorkeling, recreational surfing.

• 20 ATM – Suitable for skin diving, and professional water sports.

• Diver’s 100M – for scuba diving depths only.

• Diver’s 300M+ - suitable for saturation diving.

Rolex Deep Sea Seadweller

Water resistant at 3900m

Understanding Watch BrandsIt’s important to consider that some watch brand’s hold their value better than others.

Rolex watches hold their value really well, but contrary to popular belief Rolex watches are not the best in the world. They are fantastic – true luxury timepieces, but are nowhere near

the caliber of Patek Phillipe watches or Vacheron Constantin.

The price of a watch is usually a good indicator of the quality of the timepiece. Brands heritage and roots. There are many Chinese watch brands out there that have lots of

complications but may not have accurate movement or cases. Use the guide on the next page to get an idea of what watch brands to shop for next time you’re in the market for a watch.

The Watch Brand Hierarchy

Patek PhillipeAudemars Piquet

Vacheron Constantin

BreguetA. Lange & Sohne

Rolex Jaeger LeCoultreRichard Mille Hublot

Ulysse Nardin Glashutte

Panerai Cartier HeuerBlancpain Piaget Jaquez Dorz

Omega Zenith BremontChronoswiss

Girard-Perregaux Chopard IWC

Bvlgardi Breitling TagHeuer BaumeMercierHermes Montblanc Longines Stowa

Ingersoll Movado SevenFridayBall Federique ConstantRaymond Weil Ebel U-Boat Louis Ernad

Top Tier: Best watches in the

world. They almost never

lose value!

Ultra Luxury: Almost the best

pieces of horology of the world. High-

end in-house movements.

Luxury: World recognized,

highly reliable, hold value well. Quasi Luxury:

High quality, reliable, but don’t really hold value. Entry-Level

Luxury: Great time pieces,

reliable and well known. Don’t

hold value.

Great Watches: Don’t hold value, but

make more excellent

watches to have in

your collection.

Department Store Brand Watches: Good quality but hold no value and use Japanese or Chinese movements mostly.

$ 5,000 $ 250,000

$ 1,000 $ 40,000

$ 8,000 $ 400,000

$ 15,000 $ 2,000,000

The Watch Brand Hierarchy – Starting MSRP

Patek PhillipeAudemars Piquet

Vacheron Constantin

BreguetA. Lange & Sohne

Rolex Jaeger LeCoultreRichard Mille Hublot

Ulysse Nardin Glashutte

Panerai Cartier HeuerBlancpain Piaget Jaquez Dorz

Omega Zenith BremontChronoswiss

Girard-Perregaux Chopard IWC

Bvlgardi Breitling TagHeuer BaumeMercierHermes Montblanc Longines Stowa

Ingersoll Movado SevenFridayBall Federique ConstantRaymond Weil Ebel U-Boat Louis Ernad

$ 750$ 10,000

$ 400$ 8,000

$ 1,200$ 18,000

A Watch for Every OccasionSince watches come in different shapes, and for good reason. There are different types of

watches that fit different needs.

Sports Watches: Are more durable, and thicker. They are intended to be subjected to physically demanding conditions. They usually

have either a steel bracelet or a rubber strap. The TAG HeuerCarrera is considered a great sports watch.

Diver Watches: Durable, high ATM levels, and no transparent case back. They are considered tool watches, and are used by

professional divers very often. The most popular diver watch that most diver watches are modeled after is the Rolex Submariner.

Dress Watches: Thin, not very durable and intended to be worn with a button-up dress

shirt or suit. Usually these watches are made of a precious metal such as gold and have a leather

watch strap. The Patek Phillipe Calatrava is considered the ultimate dress watch.

Vintage WatchesWhile the “new” watch market can be too financially overwhelming for many watch

enthusiasts, vintage watches in many cases cost less and in some cases are as durable as new watches. Vintage Rolex Submariners, for example, are extremely well built and will run –

when fully serviced – no worse than a new Rolex, if it has been well kept.

Be careful when buying vintage watches. Swiss, German and Russian watches are the only ones worth considering as replacement parts are in ample supply. However if you plan on

spending more than $ 1000 it’s not worth buying a vintage “no-name” brand watch. Stick to the top 5 tiers of the watch hierarchy pyramid.

Parts of a WatchSo you don’t sound uneducated when visiting a watch store, consider memorizing the parts of

a watch.

Calendar/Date WindowLugs

Case

Bezel

Bracelet/Strap

Dial

Minute/Hour/Seconds Hand

Crown

Hour mark/Numerals

Storing Your WatchesThe best place to store your manual winding and quartz watches is in a watch box.

An ok watch box should run you about $50. Ebay is a great place to order cheap ones from China, however if you want a

watch box that will last you a very long time, considering dropping $400 on an all mahogany box that will fit your ever-

expanding collection.

Storing Your WatchesSelf-winding watches are best to be stored on watch winders, because it’s bad for the

movement of the watch if you wear it, let it stop, and then wear it again.

A watch winder is essentially a holder for your watch that will rotate it to simulate the effect of wearing the watch, and thus cause the pendulum inside the movement to rotate and keep

the watch wound and ready.

Watch winders can get expensive. Why? Well because if you just spent $100,000 on a Patek Phillipe, you want to keep it

in good condition and probably wouldn’t mind spending $2,000 on a multi watch winder to keep it running.

When shopping for a watch winder consider the following:1. How many watches it accommodates. 2. Sleep Function: A watch should not be wound

continuously, and should be given some time to rest and let the movement unwind.

3. Noise: 12 motors rotating 12 watches is going to be loud, unless you spend a pretty penny.

Building a Watch WinderYou have a large collection of affordable timepieces and want to keep them wound but you

don’t want to spend a lot of money on a winder. Why not build one! Here is the criterion you have to meet.

1. Determine if you want to have an individual motor for each watch, or will the watches be rotated all at the same time by one motor like a windmill.

2. Consider the RPM of the motor you want to use. You should not be spinning your watch at a high speed.

3. A proper watch winder will rotate a watch 600 times in a 24-hour period. This will give the watch a bit of time to un-wind too.

4. Create a sleep function using a DC socket timer. This way you can have your watch winder run 5 hours a day at a speed of 2 RPM – for example.

5. Try to use a quiet motor, or have the winder run during the day when its noise will not disturb you.

Consider those points and your winder will be good enough to last you until you finally decide to buy a quality one at your local watch shop.

A Final WordBe careful when you start your watch collection – don’t get hung up on fashion watches with

Quartz movements, go for quality timepieces that will last you a lifetime.

Where to buy? Dealerships, Chrono24.com, and even Pawn Shops are all viable options!

NOTE: There are many watch brands that I haven’t considered but you may hold dear. I only mentioned those watch brands that have significant history and hold their value.

Enjoy collecting!