Archive for January, 2010
The Mechanical Watch vs. the Quarts Timepiece: What You Need to Know Before You Purchase
by on Jan.23, 2010, under Dress Watches, Mechanical Watch, Sport and Dive Watches
Ever since the advent of the quartz watches, people have been asking themselves which is better. To answer that question depends on what you prize in a watch, more accurate time keeping ability, or a more solid, heirloom like piece. Whichever you prefer, take a moment to learn a little about both types of watch and see for yourself which type is best for you or the person you are buying a watch for.
Why Buy a Watch, Don’t All Cell Phones Keep the Time?
Yeah they do, till the battery dies and you are stuck somewhere without any idea of time. Divers need quality watches, hikers should always keep one, no self respecting business man ever catches himself watch less, and farriers (that would be a person who shoes horses) always keep one hand as you always need to know if you are on schedule, so that you can let your appointments know if you will be on time or not or even if you are going to make it. You may have to take an injured animal’s pulse, and you can’t do that with a cell phone. Cell phones can be unbelievably fickle, and I can think of good reasons for everyone to have a watch handy, so ask yourself which side of the watch war you are on.
Quartz Watches: Pros and Cons
The pros to keeping a quartz watch are mainly the time is more accurate, with quartz watches losing as little as a second a week. They are said to be over sixty times as accurate as a mechanical watch, and require significantly less maintenance and care. They are much cheaper that the average mechanical watches, and you barely have to think about owning one at all. They can be found almost everywhere and have very few moving parts for things to go wrong with or for time to wear down.
The downside to quartz watches is that in the end, they are a cheap product and are simply not going to last the way a properly maintained mechanical watch is going to. No one hands a quartz watch down to their children in a will after they die, and even if they do know one is going to fight over dad’s old cheap watch. They are not an heirloom piece and no matter what you pay for one they never will be.
Mechanical Watches: Pros and Cons
The big plus to mechanical watches is their real quality. Not just any bozo can make a mechanical watch, and the craftsmanship is really impressive. These are heirloom pieces, real works of art, and anyone who leaves one to a favored relative or friend is leaving behind a real treasure, something that if properly maintained, can last for generations. If anything does go wrong with one, they are all moving parts, and one can usually be replaced with relative ease should it fail. They also stand cold much better than does quartz.
The cons to purchasing a mechanical watch is that they have to be wound, a lot, they are also expensive, and there are fewer of them due to quartz taking over the lower end watch market. In short, there are no cheap mechanical watches. They also have to be maintained regularly, at minimum every four years, and more if you do any sort of outdoor activity with the watch. Get ready to be on first name terms with your jeweler, because if you own a mechanical watch you will be seeing a lot of the guy.
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Owning a Swiss Military Watch: A guest review
by on Jan.23, 2010, under Military Watches, Sport and Dive Watches
Swiss military watches come in a wide range of prices and features, not to mention brands. I think that when it comes to quallity, you can’t beat Swiss, even though there are quite a few other military style watches made by other countries such as Germany. The Swiss have made fantastic products for a very long time, and even though you can buy a great many cheaper watches out there, the Swiss military watch still reigns supreme. Take a quick look at where to buy them, and how much you should pay, as well as some really special reasons for owning one in the first place.
Why a Swiss Military Watch?
Swiss watches run like, well, clock work. You can’t beat the price, and they last forever. They never lose their ability to keep time, and are immune to an insane amount of damage, taking punishment over the years you would not believe possible, for example, I had mine slammed between a truck and a twelve hundred pound horse, with me in it no less. Trashed the cell phone in my pocket, put a dent in the truck, knocked the wind out of me, but didn’t even crack the face on the watch. That is why you want a Swiss military watch; they last longer than almost anything. And mine isn’t an unusual story, you will find tons of similar stories posted all over theInternet.
Where to Find the Best Deal on the Best Watch?
You can find great Swiss watches all over the Internet, as well as many fine department stores, and I have even seen them offered at Costco for a really great price, so finding a good buy isn’t really that hard. I think the best place to find them though is online, and whereas it is true you don’t get to “feel” the product, most companies guarantee that you will like the product and so will take it back should you not like it once you get it home. EBay is a great place to start; they will have both new and used watches for you to peruse. Amazon.com is another great site to shop, and I was surprised at how many products they were offering, and also how good the prices were.
What Company is the Best?
There are quite a few good companies out there, but I like Wenger the best, makers of the original Swiss Army Knife. That is the particular watch that got slammed into my truck the day a client’s ornery horse decided to take us down, and it is still working today. They are easy to read, affordable, and hold up to an impressive amount of moisture and wear. I have never heard of one wearing out, come to think of it, and buying one means you never have to get a new watch. Ever. Hanowa also makes a range of great Swiss Military Watches that are widely praised for toughness and reliability.
Among the toughest watches in the world are CX Swiss Military Watches from Montres Charmex. Their 20000 feet watch is waterproof down to 7,500 meters and holds the current world diving record. They also equip a number of special forces as well as paramilitary forces including the SWAT Team in Cologne, Germany as well as the Close Protection Team (CPU) working with the United Nations in Kosovo. How tough are these watches? One was thrown out of an aircraft flying at a hight of 1,500 meters (about 4,500 feet) by a German Special Forces parachutist. The watch survived!
Occasions to Consider a Swiss Military Watch
My husband received one from his parents when he graduated from high school, one from my parent’s when he graduated from university, and one from way back when he was in cub scouts. They all still work perfectly! The gift is best given to a young man I think, at his wedding, that would be a good time to give a young man a watch like this (and a little funny too, if you think about it) and these also make a really thoughtful retirement gift for someone you care about. Young boys think these are the very coolest gifts, they will stare at them, completely enamored for a long time, the gift makes them feel important and big, two things boys love to emulate. We gave each of my nephews a Swiss Military Watch when they started scouts, and they just loved theirs, it is one of their few true treasures.
Guest post by Natasha D.
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The Hublot Big Bang: A Modern Classic Swiss Watch
by on Jan.15, 2010, under Dress Watches
The story of Jean-Claude Biver and how he has shaken up one sleepy Swiss watch company after another is a great one, but today I’m only going to focus a small part of it, and that will be how he revolutionized Hublot, a tiny company, with his Big Bang watch. Everyone who has met Mr Biver knows that he is a character who is far larger than life. So after leaving the Swatch Group where he had done various jobs including overhauling the Omega brand, Mr Biver seemed to have gone to ground. When he emerged it was as a part-owner and manager of Hublot.
Now Hublot was a relatively new Swiss watch producer. It was only formed in 1980. But it was one that had been incredibly creative and had innovated from the very beginning when Carlo Crocco , its founder, introduced rubber straps on expensive gold watches. The idea seemed mad to most people in the industry but it soon picked up a dedicated following. For one thing, people were attracted by the fact that the rubber didn’t cause allergic reactions to some people who struggle with traditional watch straps and materials. It is also not quite clear why, but the Spanish royal family soon took a liking to the early Hublot watches. That started a craze in Spain where the watch has been popular ever since.
In 2004 when Mr Biver took charge of Hublot he thought that its line up had become a bit stale and he wanted to make a huge impression while still keeping with Hublot’s tradition of using innovation. His answer was the Big Bang, which took unusual materials such as gold and ceramic and fused them together with a bang. All sorts of strange materials are used. While titanium watches have become quite popular in recent years,Hublot takes things 10 steps further by combining materials such as Kevlar, red gold, magnesium, titanium and carbon fibre. Mr Biver describes it as a fusion of traditional Swiss Watch making with the Twenty-first century.
These are big and bold watches that are designed to stand out on the arm, not to blend in. Hublot has also crafted a large number of special editions such as the million dollar watch which is covered in diamonds, or a bright red valentines day Big Bang (which would match nicely, I suppose with a pair of red earrings).
Hublot has continued to expand and to innovate on the Big Bang. It recently opened in big new factory and has started making and designing its own mechanical movements, a move which sets it apart from quite a large number of other Swiss Watch companies that simply build the case and buy a movement to go in it.
Some of those who watch the industry closely worry about whether Hublot is too focused on a single watch, even though it comes in many variations, but for now it is doing well. Mr Biver is a consummate marketing expert and keeps finding new ways to innovate and promote his watches. Among his recent moves were to sponsor Manchester United football club and to get involved in the Americas Cup yacht race. The man whom the Economist magazine called a “salesman of the irrational” seems likely to keep coming up with ideas and designs that should keep Hublot a trend-setting Swiss watch producer for years to come.
A bright red watch to match the season
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