‘Watches’
Fashion Accessory Supreme
Once watches were only expected to tell the time accurately. Horologists spent centuries perfecting reliable, accurate, durable watches that could be carried around.
The Modern Watch
Once upon a time the major goal for watchmakers was to make an accurate, reliable timepiece.
Pocket Watches vs Wristwatches
Fashions change. For a hundred years or more, pocket watches were the only alternative. They were everywhere, worn by railroad conductors, stock brokers and fathers.
The Horologer’s Craft
The practice of measuring time goes back thousands of years. The most obvious example is noting the change of the seasons and the repetition of day followed by night, over and over.
Contemporary Watches
Very few people really need a watch today – yet they continue to sell like iPods. Cell phones, computers, TV set boxes and just about anyplace in public will have something to tell you the current time.
Analog Watches
For centuries there were no ‘analog’ timepieces, only clocks and (later) watches. The word was born when digital (usually electronic) watches came into being.
Digital Watches
The dividing line may not be laser sharp, but there are traditionalists who prefer an analog watch and moderns who go for digital.
Battery-Less Watches
The overwhelming majority of contemporary watches are electronic. For many years now they’ve required batteries to power their functions.
Water Resistant Watches
Many manufacturers stamp the back, and tout in advertisements, that a particular watch is ‘water resistant’, followed by a number. But what does that mean?
Diving Watches
Anyone who enjoys scuba diving will soon enough want to look into getting a diving watch.
Vintage Watches
Watchmaking today has reached the pinnacle of efficiency. Even complex watches can be had for little money, and they tell time down to the microsecond.
Watches as Collectibles
Watches have become an utility, sometimes a fashion statement. No longer truly essential – thanks to the ubiquity of cell phones, computers, public clocks – they are desired for more than just telling the current time.
Bulova, An American Legend
Since its founding in 1875 by 23-year-old Bohemian immigrant Joseph Bulova, the company has produced some of the world’s finest watches.
Cartier, The Jewel of Watchmakers
The name Cartier has been associated with the very finest in watches for over a hundred years, and with fine objects for fifty years before that.
Hamilton, An American Original
Founded in 1892, Hamilton began its dedication to care and quality by taking nearly two years to produce its first watch. It was a hit.
Timex, American Success Story
Beginning in the 1850s as the Waterbury Clock Company, Timex has grown into the world’s largest supplier of watches on the planet.
The Pulsar, World’s First Digital Watch
In these days of atomic-clock regulated radio watches, the ability to maintain accuracy to within three seconds per month may not seem very impressive.
Rolex, Poseidon of Watchmakers
The Rolex watch company has for a hundred years been at the pinnacle of timepiece manufacturing.
Replica and Counterfeit Watches
A good Rolex can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars or more.
How To Make A (Precise) Watch
Ok, let’s admit it. No one can show you how to make a watch in a single article.