Luxury Watches: A Buyers Guide

HOW TO BUY LUXURY WATCHES

THE SECRET IS IN THE MOVEMENT

by The Assistant Curator at galleryatlantic.com (Click here to read the full article)

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First, lets take a look at the components for luxury watches. Whether mass produced or hand-built, a true luxury watch should have (1) high quality movement, (2) anti-glare coated synthetic sapphire watch crystals (this is the glass that covers the face of the watch), and a (3) casing made from a high quality metal. This is all in addition to the attention which needs to be paid to the design and artistry of the overall watch, including the face, band and casing shape.

The Movement:

The highest end luxury watches have highly customized movements. Swiss movements have earned worldwide acclamation and respect, and most fine watches will incorporate a swiss movement. However, there are standard movements and specialty movements, and the finest luxury timepieces will have movements which are customized and “finished” in house.

A high-end watch will either have a very high-grade quartz movement or a chronometer-grade mechanical movement. Different men have different preferences, so this is more a matter of taste.

The Watch Crystal - the face cover:

The glass which covers the face and hands of a watch is called a watch crystal. These can be made of various materials for different quality watches. The highest quality watch use synthetic sapphire, which is one of the hardest substances on earth. These crystals are preferable because they don't scratch unless they come into contact with diamonds or other materials with a Mohs rating between 9 and 10 (Diamonds rate ten on the Mohs hardness scale, sapphires nine).

Some watch makers will coat one or both sides of the watch crystal with an anti-reflection or glare-resistant substance which makes it easier to read the watch face and also lessens that annoying circle of light which can reflect around the room as you move your hand around. The downside is that when a watch has a lighter color face, the watch crystal sometimes will take on a bluish tint when it has been coated with an anti-reflective substance.

The Casing:

Luxury watches will only be made of the highest quality materials. Surgical grade stainless steel or gold are the norms in the high-end luxury watch marketplace.

The Artistry:

Components such as the face, the band and the casing shape come together to form the total aesthetic of the piece. The fact is that the only reason most men wear watches these days is for the aesthetic/status which they show.

We all have cell-phones, PDAs and iPod's telling us the time throughout the day. However, a quality watch is like any other piece of jewelry, it completes your look, expresses your personality, and speaks to those who notice and can appreciate high taste and quality.

Uniqueness:

I already spoke some about the difference between the mass produced watches and those which are limited. However, I want to point out that "limited" means different things in different situations. Some watch manufactures will make a few thousand watches, and call it "limited" and "special edition."