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6 Things to Consider Before Buying Your First Mechanical Watch

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Published
05/05/2021

Mechanical watches are the epitome of luxury and style. There are thousands of these pieces on the market, so how can you decide which is most worth your time? Here are some of the features to consider if you’re thinking of buying one of these elegant devices.


Jewels

Watch jewels are essentially pieces of glass placed inside mechanical timepieces. The glass is cut and dyed to look like gems. Mechanical units consist of several gears, which makes friction an issue. The jewels solve this problem by preventing the gears from rubbing against each other. 

The number of jewels you’ll find in each piece would differ. 21 is the norm. However, the more jewels present, the more accurate the time told will be.

If you have picked up an expensive Swiss timepiece, it’s entirely possible that you won’t find glass between its gears. Instead, there could be rubies or sapphire.

Power Reserve

Mechanical watches work when you wind their gears. Depending on the piece you purchased, the frequency that you will need to wind them would differ. This is impacted by its power reserve.

Automatic watches are just as popular as their counterparts. Some enthusiasts class them as sub-categories of mechanical pieces. They contain gears, but you don’t have to wind them. Instead, your arm does this for you. Whenever you move, kinetic energy is produced, which automatically keeps their gears moving.

As mentioned, expensive watches have the most jewels. In the same way, pricier units have the longest power reserves. A. Lange & Sohn are responsible for designing a unit with the longest reserve. They recently released the Saxonia Lange 31 which can last a staggering 31 days without being wound.

If you look around, you’ll find units with power reserve indicators. These are sub-dials that tell you how much time you have until you have to wind the device.

Crown

Crowns are used to wind a timepiece. Watches with large crowns are the best – you’ll be able to pull and turn them with less hassle. Some are shaped like literal crowns and look unique.

Brand Worth

Watch snobs place much emphasis on heritage. Mechanical timepieces have more pedigree, which is why they tend to be pricier. You’ll usually find Swiss, French and British watch manufacturers selling them exclusively.

Vacheron Constantin is one of the most elite Swiss brands out there. The company has the longest history of any watch manufacturer in the world. Almost all its watches are mechanical as well.

As you have the option of buying timepieces from the world’s best brands, you need to do some research beforehand. Wearing a mechanical unit from a recognized brand company would turn heads. You should get a quality product too. The gears would likely be hand-made. This would increase reliability, which is what you want.

Appearance

The number of gears in the devices make their movements extremely intricate. Manufacturers put this to good use, placing cut-outs or exposed backs so that you can watch them in motion.

We talked about Vacheron Constantin above, but Van Cleef & Arpels is a also a fairly high-end name in the Swiss watch industry. The company produces timepieces that are works of art. The majority of its selection consists of mechanical watches, which have exposed backs and fronts.

Since automatic watches use gears as well, they too come with cut-outs and exposed backs.

 

Protection

You should ensure that your unit is well-protected, especially the insides. You can do this by purchasing one that has sapphire glass on its front and back. The crystal is incredibly strong – so it won’t get scratched easily either.

Speaking of protection, the chances of water getting inside would be reduced if the device was ISO certified. If you’re a swimmer, you’d even be able to dunk it underwater without worrying about damaging its interior. 

The Rolex Submariner is probably the world’s most famous mechanical timepiece. Know that it has a sapphire display and is also ISO certified.

 

Final Thoughts

To wrap things up, there are a plethora of factors to consider if you’re thinking of buying a mechanical watch. From the selection, one of the most important is the number of jewels your device would have. You want it to tell the time accurately and smoothly which can only be done if it has a decent number of jewels.

 

Resources:
Saxonia Lange 31 power reserve -  https://www.alange-soehne.com/en/timepieces/lange31
Vacheron Constantin longest continuous watch history - https://wristwatchpro.com/mens-watch-brand-list/
Sapphire glass strength - https://www.rohje.com/blogs/articles/sapphire-crystal-or-mineral-glass-in-a-watch

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