Every Watch Collector Should Know This!
Watch collecting is full of unique and different terms to define different things about watches. From movements to reference numbers to power reserve, it can quickly get overwhelming with all of the things you feel like you need to know when you start collecting watches. Our goal with this video, however, is to give you the 7 terms every watch collector should know to get you started!
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:12 Movement
0:20 Mechanical Movements
1:00 Quartz Movements
1:26 Model
2:04 Reference Number
2:50 Strap
3:36 Power Reserve
4:18 Water Resistance
About this video: When you’re getting into watch collecting, you will hear tons of different terms. Sadly, this can actually turn some people off from collecting watches altogether. So, with this video, we are going to give you 7 different watch terms that every collector should know.
First off is movement. This is the guts of the watch and how the watch is powered. There are two main types - mechanical and quartz.
Mechanical movements have two sub-sects of their own. Automatic mechanical movements are the most common type of movement used by luxury watchmakers today, and they use a rotating weight to wind the watch’s mainspring and power the watch.
The other type of mechanical movement is hand-would movements. With these, you will usually need to turn the crown on the watch in order to wind the main spring.
Lastly, you will also hear the term Caliber thrown around a lot with mechanical movements. This is used to represent the movement that is inside the watch. It is very common for watchmakers to reuse movements in multiple models.
What about the other kind of watch movement though - the quartz movement? Well, quartz movements rose to prevalence in the 1970s, and they really stirred up the Swiss watch industry.
These movements are battery-powered and use an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. Quartz watches are actually more accurate than mechanical watches. However, most modern luxury watches will use mechanical movements because of the care and skill required to produce them.
Another term you will commonly hear is model. Now, this is somewhat self-explanatory, but it is worth a mention. Just like in cares, the model is a line of watches of the same type.
For example, the Submariner from Rolex is a watch model. There are different variations of this model, but all watches with that style are the Submariner model.
Other examples of models are the Speedmaster and Seamaster from OMEGA, Explorer II and Air King from Rolex, and Carrera and Aquaracer from TAG HEUR.
Now, while there can be multiple styles of watches under the same model, each style gets its own Reference, and that is actually our next term. Reference or Reference Number refers to the identifier that watch companies give to a specific watch.
An example reference number is 16570 for the Rolex Explorer II or this from OMEGA for a black on black Seamaster with a rubber strap.
Speaking of straps, our next set of terms revolves around straps and bands. This refers to the bracelet that holds the watch on your wrist.
Some popular types are metal bands, leather straps, NATO straps, and many more. All of these are worth looking at and don’t be afraid to change the bands on your watches. It’s super easy and a great way to change up your styling.
Our last two terms are things you need to keep in mind when buying watches. The first is power reserve.
This is only a concern on mechanical watches, but the power reserve is the amount of time a watch will run if the main spring is completely wound before the watch stops running.
Real-world times will vary, but this is something worth keeping in mind when purchasing your watches, and as you build a collection and start changing watches every day it becomes more and more of a concern.
Lastly, we have water resistance. This is usually listed in bars or meters, and it is how deep your watch can go before it the water pressure will cause it to leak.
It is worth noting that water resistance degrades over time, and you should never trust the water resistance on older watches.
And there are the top 7 terms every watch collector should know. What terms did we miss? Comment and let us know!