How Automatic Watches Work

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.

By: Zai Zhu

How to Buy Genuine Rolex Watches

Without knowing what tell-tale signs to look for, the average Rolex consumer may easily fall victim to scammers. And while connoisseurs will certainly discern between a $5,000 Rolex and a $50 replica, the existence of large number of counterfeits inevitably affects demand at some level

The best and most accurate way to tell a Rolex from a replica is by checking its Serial#, Model#, Case back ID, and Movement Signature (the 4 primary verification methods used by professionals) by looking between its bottom lugs (part where the band connects to case), top lugs, and by opening the case back respectively.

Clear Casebacks – If you encounter one of these, don’t bother strapping them on. Often times, a replica will have a clear caseback allowing you to see the inside of the watch. Rolex does not make watches with clear casebacks!

Engraved Casebacks – Again, with the exception of a rare Ladies model (circa 1990’s) and the “Sea-Dweller” model, Rolex does not engrave any logos or slogans on their casebacks. Moreover, they are free of any engravings.

Hologram Stickers – A newly purchased Rolex watch will come with a 3-D hologram-encoded sticker on the caseback. The Rolex “crown” trademark is featured just above the case reference number and can be easily identified when viewed. Often times, a fake hologram sticker won’t even have the 3-D effect when viewed. It is simply a hard, concrete pattern that won’t change in appearance one bit. If this is evident, it is surely a counterfeit Rolex.

Date Magnification – All genuine Rolex watches excluding the “Sea-Dweller” features the cyclops that magnifies the date by 2.5x. As you can see in the picture above, the cyclops on the counterfeit is significantly smaller and a bit misaligned. These are common flaws made by counterfeits and you will see many of them today with a larger font date to fool the average consumer.

Triplock Crown Seal – This pertains to the owners or future owners of the Sea-Dweller, Submariner, and the Daytona. These three models feature the “Triplock crown”. The image above shows that the genuine Rolex utilizes the extra seal by the rubber o-ring on the winding tube whereas the counterfeit comes with no seal at all. It is also worth mentioning this to be a case by case situation when purchasing a Pre-owned Rolex wristwatch, in which many original Rolex parts or accessories can be replaced by aftermarket parts and accessories.

Micro-etched Crystal – In 2002, Rolex began micro-etching the Rolex “coronet” or “crown” right below the 6 o’clock marker. Though it is better distinguishable using a jeweler’s loupe, you can see by the illustration that the genuine “crown” is much more distinguishable and robust as opposed to the counterfeit. Moreover, the counterfeit is poorly designed and is a clear indication of a fake.

By: Daniel Rutberg

What Makes a Cartier Watch?

More than any other, Louis Cartier of this famous family and design house was responsible for the popularity of the wrist watch over the pocket watch, more commonly carried by men of the day. The first known wrist watch was developed by Patek Phillippe in 1868, it was not until 1904 that Cartier stepped into the field.

A friend of Cartier, Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont, who happened to be an aviator, asked that Cartier develop a watch for him which would be more suitable for use during his participation in early airplane flights. Pocket watches definitely wouldn’t work, partly because of the difficulty in reaching them when both hands were busy operating the controls of the airplane, and partly because of the tendency to be dropped and broken. The wristwatch that was created was the Santos. It was also the first wristwatch created for men. It didn’t actually go into production until 1911, and contained movements by Edmond Jaeger. Cartier is also responsible for the first water resistant wristwatch which was welcomed by the aviator and anyone working outdoors.

The popularity of the Cartier name and its reputation for quality helped to lift their wristwatches to the premier position in the production and marketing of the watches. By 1912, two more wristwatches in the Cartier line, the Baignoire and Tortue which are still in production today were followed in 1917 by the Tank. The Cartier Baignoire, the Cartier Panthére issued in 1983, the Pasha de Cartier in 1985, and the Tank Française in 1996. Cartier’s Privée Collection is another more recent entrant into the world of quality, performance and elegance in the wristwatch.

During this period, the feature that marks a Cartier watch as an original was added. A four digit code is stamped on the lug. The prestige of Cartier watches is unarguable. Their decorative and useful designs combined with the finest Swiss-made watch movements such as Vacheron Constantin and Movado makes these timepieces not only beautiful but precise.

The company today maintains the best known of the classical watches which have been reissued such as the Pasha, the Santos 100 and the Roadster. The best known lines of watches from Cartier include the Cartier Tank collection, the Pasha de Cartier line, Santos de Cartier, and the Ligne 21 de Cartier. The watches which bear the name Cartier are made of platinum, three colors of gold, including white, rose and yellow, Gold/steel, steel and titanium. The cases are decorated with various kinds of precious stones. The watch movements are the best from the Swiss watchmakers and quartz, mechanical, automatic winding mechanical, and manual winding mechanical.

Because of their reputation for elegance, dependability and quality, Cartier wristwatches have long been a target for replica watches made to capitalize on the value and reputation of a Cartier. For people who want the look of a Cartier but the price of an ordinary wristwatch, many of the replicas resemble the original quite closely. Some replicas even make the claim to be indistinguishable in weight from the originals.

By: david