Articles » Watches and Clocks
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Why You Should Own Collectible Mantel Clocks
Since man came into being, keeping track of time has become a crucial part of society and culture. Even before man’s movements and achievements were formally documented, man has taken note of time through rudimentary methods, from the passing of the seasons to the movements of the heavenly bodies. Looking up at the skies, our primitive ancestors could tell time by looking at the position of the sun or the phase of the moon.
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Water Resistance, What Does It Mean?
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?
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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.
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Vintage Watches, Timeless Works of Art
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. Atomic watches are unparalleled in accuracy, diving watches are completely waterproof down to fifty fathoms, and nearly all will never need anything beyond battery or strap replacement for a hundred years.
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Beginning in the 1850s as the Waterbury Clock Company, Timex has grown into the world's largest supplier of watches on the planet. They introduced the first inexpensive mechanical pocket watch in the 1880s and it has been upward ever since. Growing out of Connecticut's Naugatuck Valley, the 19th century's 'Switzerland of America', it now has offices and manufacturing facilities around the globe.
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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. But in 1970, when the Hamilton Pulsar watch was first announced, it was an extraordinary step forward in horology.
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Whiz Bang Gizmos, The Modern Watch
Once upon a time the major goal for watchmakers was to make an accurate, reliable timepiece.
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Watches - 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. The Sumerians developed water clocks, sundials and a host of other inventions to measure the passage of time.
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Rolex, Poseidon of Watchmakers
The Rolex watch company has for a hundred years been at the pinnacle of timepiece manufacturing. The name is known the world over for producing some of the most expensive watches, it's true. But there's much more to a Rolex than a high price.
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A good Rolex can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars or more. While the company unquestionably makes fine watches well worth what they cost, not everyone can afford one. For those who like the style of a Rolex or Cartier, but haven't the bank account, there are replicas.
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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. Intended as a utilitarian device, it became a fashion accessory through the incorporation of scroll work, personalized gold chains and loving inscriptions.
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Ok, let's admit it. No one can show you how to make a watch in a single article. But it is possible to provide the basics of what goes into every 'wristlet', as they were known at the turn of the 20th century.
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Hamilton, An American Original
Founded in 1892, the company began its dedication to care and quality by taking nearly two years to produce its first model. It was a hit.
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Once watches were only expected to tell the time accurately. Horologists spent centuries perfecting reliable, accurate, durable watches that could be carried around. In the late 20th century they raised the science to such a point of perfection that for all practical purposes there's no room for advance along those lines.
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What To Look For In Diving Watches
Anyone who enjoys scuba diving will soon enough want to look into getting a diving watch. Though offerings are really along more of a continuum, there are two basic types to investigate.
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The dividing line may not be laser sharp, but there are traditionalists who prefer an analog watch and moderns who go for digital. Opinions on which is superior get heated, but peaceful coexistence can be gained by recognizing the benefits of both.
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The Ultimate Contemporary Watches
Very few 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. Still, there's no substitute for a personal watch. Why is that?
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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. That reputation is well earned, since the company has long been among the creators of some of the world's most stylish watches.
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Since its founding in 1875 by 23-year-old Bohemian immigrant Joseph Bulova, the company has produced some of the world's finest watches. Beginning in a small jewelry store in Manhattan, with a factory in Switzerland, it has grown to one of the giants of the industry.
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Battery - Less, Wave of the Future?
The overwhelming majority of contemporary watches are electronic. For many years now they've required batteries to power their functions. But watch batteries can be expensive and fail at the worst time. You may buy a watch for $20 and spend another $20 on batteries over its wearable lifetime. Batteries can also, in rare cases, corrode and ruin your watch.
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The dividing line may not be laser sharp, but there are traditionalists who prefer an analog watch and moderns who go for digital. Opinions on which is superior get heated, but peaceful coexistence can be gained by recognizing the benefits of both.
