Swiss Watch Boutique

Expensive Swiss Watches: The High Cost of Maintenance

Many buyers think that buying an expensive watch is like buying a bottle of of precious wine. Purchase the item and enjoy, right? That might be the case with vino but it couldn't be further from the truth with pricey timepieces, especially if they house mechanical movements. These need to regularly serviced every four or five years and this can be an involved and expensive process lasting months and costing as much as the original purchase, as the New York Times recently reported:

This involves a watchmaker disassembling the movement, placing the parts in a chemical solution to dissolve oil, dirt and dust and applying new lubricants before carefully reassembling. It is a highly technical job that requires an experienced watchmaker...

In the past 10 years, the number of highly complicated watches has grown exponentially, creating a potential servicing time bomb for the manufacturers.

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Rolex and 904L Steel

Most Swiss watch companies use 316L steel for their cases, which is five times more durable than standard steel. But Rolex is the only one to use 904L steel, which is corrosion resistant, virtually scratch proof, and far more expensive than 316L. 904L contains chromium, which when mixed with oxygen, forms a thin, virtually impregnable barrier on the surface of the case. This alloy combination is so hard that Rolex had to develop a special 250-ton press capable of stamping a watch case from a block of 904L.

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What Does 'Swiss Made' Really Mean?

As we've previously reported, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) has been pressuring the Swiss government to strengthen legal criteria for use of the term, “Swiss made,” on watches. The FH would like to raise the threshold from 50 percent to at least 80 percent for mechanical watches and to 60 percent for quartz ones. While the government mulls this over, the FH has posted some detailed information as to what currently constitutes "Swiss Made" and what to look for before you make your next purchase.

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The Fine Art of Making Swiss Watches

The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), based in Geneva, has posted a series of 10 mini-documentaries on the fine art of making watches. Subjects covered include making a fine watch movement, watch complications, and designing watches. If you are interested in learning more about the art of making Swiss timepieces, FHH is a great place to start.

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Are Watches that Glow in the Dark Radioactive?

Many watches use tritium to illuminate watch hands and markers, making them visible in the dark. Tritium is a radioactive isotope, so there have been some concerns as to it's safety. Indeed, watchmakers working with the material are required to do so with special workbenches that are equipped with a vacuum hood to remove small radioactive particles and harmful vapors. Once they are placed inside the watch, however, they pose no further threat to either the assembler or the wearer. Studies have backed this industry claim up.

Despite studies that show that radiation exposure from a watch with tritium is negligible, fear from potential buyers has led some watchmakers to introduce new materials, such as LumiNova and LumiBrite. While meeting minimum standards for visibility these materials do not last as long as tritium and also require longer charging periods.

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eBay Pulse: The Most Popular Watch 'Searches'

According to eBay Pulse, the most popular search terms (by number of searches) in the watch category are:

1. watch
2. watches
3. rolex
4. omega
5. mens watches
6. breitling
7. automatic
8. seiko
9. hamilton
10. tag heuer

 Any of these terms surprising? See how this compares to a list from 18 months ago.

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What Is a Shock Resistant Watch?

You've seen it advertised before: this [insert name of watch here] is shock resistant. But what does that really mean?

According to the U.S. government, a watch is considered shock resistant if it can withstand an impact equal to that of being dropped onto a wood floor from a height of 3 feet.

In case you were wondering, we don't recommend that you test this definition.

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Sizing a New Swiss Watch

Most ladies' watch bracelets will fit a 7 to 7.5 inch diameter wrist; most men's watch bands will fit an 8 to 8.5 inch diameter wrist. Some dive watches are even more generous, as they are designed for use while wearing a wetsuit.

To make sure you fit within these standards, use a soft tape measure to measure the circumference of your wrist. The tape should be pulled tightly around your wrist. After you have determined your wrist circumference, add 1/4 to 1/2 inch for extra comfort, depending on how lose you like to wear the watch.

Why Are Watch Hands Always at 10 and 2 in Advertisements?

Have you ever noticed that advertisements for watches always seem to show the hands at 10:10--that is one hand at the 10 position and the other at the 2 position? An old myth says that this is in honor of the time of day when President Lincoln was assassinated (but he was actually shot at 10:15 pm). The real reasons are simpler and readily understandable. Consider the following:

• this is the perfect position to frame a company's logo
• it creates the appearance that the watch smiling (emotional marketing)
• aesthetically it's the best place for the hands
• it keeps the hands clear of signatures, subsidiary dials, and date windows
• it's been the industry marketing standard since watches went mainstream in the 1920s

Swiss Watchmakers and Inventors Hall of Fame

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH has put together an interesting interactive called the Watchmakers and Inventors Hall of Fame. Some of the names are familiar, such as Adriene Philippe (pictured left), founder of the Patek Philippe; some not so much (German mathematician Friedrich-Wilhelm Bessel). Here's how they set the feature up:

Physicists, astronomers, architects, geometricians, mathematicians, time-keepers, watchmakers: these are just some of the interested people who, through the years, have displayed a passion for the measurement of time. Their research has led to major discoveries and inventions that are still relevant today. Whether physical or geometrical theories, natural laws or mechanical applications, their fundamental contributions have all made it possible to measure time with greater precision, to create timepieces to ever higher specifications while allowing aesthetic qualities to become more refined, and even to design increasingly efficient and modern production methods.

> Check out the Watchmakers and Inventors Hall of Fame