Monthly Archives: January 2014

The Evolution of Wrist Watches

The origin of watches dates back to the fifteenth century when the first clock watches were developed in Germany. Over the years, several enhancements have been made to improve its performance, but the first wristwatch was not developed before 1880. Like most other advanced machinery that we use today, it was developed for the purpose of military use, and later made available commercially. A bulk order was placed by the German military for its soldiers, but it was more popular among women till the First World War.

The necessity for men’s wrist watch came when soldiers had to use their watches even when both the hands were occupied. This was supposed to replace the pocket watches, but the initial design was bulky and carried a crown just like pocket watches. However, by 1930, the design was re-engineered to suit the average wrist size.

A major breakthrough in the world of wrist watches was achieved with the development of quartz technology. It replaced the existing mechanical watches by providing greater efficiency and accuracy. Powered by the quartz technology, the first digital watch was unveiled in 1970, which sported a LED display as well.

In the last few decades, the market for fashionable wrist watches has been shared equally by both analog and digital watches. While analog watches provide the opportunity to include better designs, and utility components like chronograph, digital watches are preferred by sportspersons and other people who perform time-dependent tasks.

Watches for men and women have also taken different routes over the years. Women watches generally have a small dial area and a slim band, mostly made of leather, plastic or metal. These are meant to be worn alternatively as jewelry items, which is why some of them are even embossed with precious stones.

On the other hand, watches for men have a larger dial and thicker bands. Depending on individual sense of style, some people prefer wearing heavy metal bands, while others stick to the classic leather bands. Since the dial area is larger on men’s watches, it is easier to place components like chronographs and calendar.

Digital watches, on the other hand have a different structure altogether. The emphasis is more on the functionality rather than the aesthetics. They sport a LED screen that displays the time in the digital format. Certain utilities like stopwatch and timers are available on these watches in order to assists sportspersons and timekeepers.

Waltham Hunter Pocket Watch - Buying and Repairing Information

The Waltham hunter pocket watch is a particular style of pocket watch popular at the start of the last century. Although no longer manufactured you can still buy them online for reasonable prices. Yet, before you go out and purchase one you need to know a few things to avoid buying a fake.

Before when timepiece was not yet invented people see what time is it through the sun. Telling the time with the sun was not very accurate compared to the timepiece we have now. A sun dial or a sun clock is the oldest kind of clock it is said that they were first used at around 3,500 B.C.

The disadvantage of sun dials is you could only use it during the day because they are dependent to the light of the sun. You need the light of the sun so that it will cast a shadow down to the sun clock, if the shadow points to 3 then that mean that it is already 3 o’clock. After the sun clock the water clock follows it is more accurate compared to the sun dial and can also tell you the time even when in the night.

The clock that has big heavy machinery was invented in around 1500 century. The first portable clock was discovered by Peter Henlein who was a German locksmith, and which was called the pocket watch since you could carry it in your pocket.

Waltham was one of the known brands of watch in their time, they are known for the quality of their pocket watches. In a pocket watch there are 2 major type the open faced and the hunter case. The open face has no cover to it while the hunter case pocket watches has a spring loaded cover that is attached to the watch.

So when you push the top part the cover will open. The purpose for this cover is to protect your watch face from being scratch and damaged. Without this cover the face of your pocket watch is prone to scratches and damage.

Most of the modern hunter case has the lid hinged on the bottom of the dial which is located at the 6 o’clock of the time while majority of the vintage and antique hunter case watch has their hinges attached at the 9 o’clock position of the time.

Waltham hunter pocket watches are still out in the watch collectible market it is expensive due to being a vintage or an antique. If you have a Waltham pocket watch and you want to check inside for serial number then you can open it by yourself if you know how.

Here are some tips and advices if your Waltham pocket watch need some repair.

If you know how to open your Waltham watch and repair them then you do that. But if you are not certain on how to pry it open then you need help. You need to go to a repair shop.

Do not just go to any watch repair shop go to a repair shop that is reputable and know how to deal with your type of watch. Tell them the information they need to know and let them do the repair.

The reason why you need to bring it to a reputable and not just any repair shop is if your Waltham pocket watch is an antique it means that it is fragile and there for needs the proper care of a professional watch repair.

Aside from that if you bring it to just any repair shop there is a possibility that they will replace the original parts of your watch and take the original part for themselves.

The Different Types of Ladies Watches - Jewellery, Dress and Ladies Sport Watches

Different styles of ladies watches have become popular over the years. Dress, jewellery and ladies sports watches are as popular now as they ever were, but wrist watches have not always been so popular. Women have been wearing watches as pendants around their necks much longer than they have worn them for fashion on their wrists.

Back before wrist watches were common, pocket watches were a popular accessory. These were usually concealed inside dress seams connected to the skirt, or within the waist band. They were often worn with earrings, a brooch or a pin, rings and other types of fashion accessories.

In contemporary life, watches are updated alongside new fashion trends and styles. These can change on a frequent basis making it very difficult for women to decide whether to wear a simple watch with a timeless design or chase the trend of the day. Some women find that collecting watches can make things a little easier.

There are three general categories from which to base a collection of ladies watches. All three can usually be purchased from the same manufacturers, but it’s often be nice to mix up manufacturers as well.

Sport Watches

Ladies sport watches are the perfect choice for the active woman. There is no limit on how extreme your activity, these watches are built to accommodate your physical lifestyle. Whether running, cliff diving, Pilates or rock climbing is your cup of tea, a high-performance, tough, durable, water proof sports watch can compliment your pace of life perfectly.

These types of watches are usually made of tougher materials like rubber, leather, titanium or steel, but with a thinner sleeker strap than a mans sports watch. Womens sports watches often provide useful sporting watch features too, like compass, thermometer, stopwatch, countdown timer and even a flashlight.

Dress Watches

Dressier watches are the epitome of elegance and are suited to woman on formal occasions. A dress watch must look attractive and should match your outfit, skin color and sense of style. As long as it doesn’t feature, rubber straps, velcro, huge markings or oversized parts a ladies watch qualifies in the dress watch category.

Jewellery Watches

This last category of watches features a timepiece that is more carefully crafted and put together, and often includes stones and precious gems as centerpiece features. Ladies jewellery watches are matched by clarity and color before being set in the watch and are often made from rare metals like silver and gold.

The history of ladies watches is a fascinating one and it is interesting to look back and observe how designs have changed over the years from the small sleek watches of today, compared to the pendants and pocket watches of yesteryear.