Watches have become almost a necessity for people in today’s society. Worn by both men and women, a watch is not only a fashion symbol but also a very important tool. Besides the time keeping functions a watch offers many other things. For example:
• Calculators – a fully integrated calculator for sum calculations.
• Video & MP3 – full colour visual screen for playing videos and music.
• Dual time Zone – the ability to display time in different countries and continents.
• Calendars – a display of the day, date and year.
• Alarm Watches – the inclusion of an alarm for time keeping purposes.
• Chronographs – the combination of stopwatch functions for measuring intervals of time.
• Power Reserve indicators – to show how much power is left before the need to re-wind.
Watches can come in many different styles; gold, silver, platinum etc as well as watches for specific tasks such as a divers or running watch. Prestige watches seem to be very popular. Stats suggest that there are over 1.1 billion watches produced worldwide every year.
It is ‘Quartz’ watches that are currently the most prominently produced watch. They require hardly any maintenance and are probably the simplest and hassle free kind of watch available in the market. Each watch is powered by a quartz crystal and a battery. This battery will typically last up to 3 years. A replacement will then be required.
A mechanical movement typically consists of 130 individual components on a frame with an escapement, balance wheel and hairspring to drive the watch. A ‘self-wind movement’ watch requires the wearer to wind the watch whereas an ‘automatic movement watch’ keeps itself in sync by using its motor. This is known as a ‘kinetic watch’.
As with many types of jewellery, a watch can carry sentimental value and is often something that is passed down through families, especially between men.
