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Stainless steel is the most common, and maybe the best all-around metal for watchmaking in regards to quality, price, and value.
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Stainless steel, ceramic, titanium, gold, and platinum are the most prevalent case materials. The material is another important factor when buying a timepiece. Too thick can be uncomfortable, so once again, try it before you buy. The thickness of a watch is important as well. If you buy a watch that is too big, and that has an oversized crown, it could dig into your wrists and be very uncomfortable to wear. Not only does the diameter of the watch affect the overall look, but it also affects comfort. Vintage watches ( watch at least 25 years old) tend to have much smaller diameters than many of the timepieces being made nowadays. If the lug-to-lug length is greater than the width of your wrist, it will hang over. This is the measurement across your wrist. And perhaps equally or even more important is the lug-to-lug. The diameter of a watch case is very important because everyone’s wrists are different, therefore it is highly recommended that you try on any watch before you buy it. Rectangle, square, oval, octagonal, and tonneau-shaped watches represent the primary alternative watch case shapes. The majority of watches are round, so you definitely cannot go wrong with that. You should consider factors such as material, shape, and size. When selecting a watch, the case is very important. But everyone has to start somewhere, and many people who enjoy mechanical timepieces also own quartz timepieces as well.
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And there is definitely a certain something about owning and wearing a mechanical timepiece. The first wristwatches were, of course, mechanical. Purists might argue that mechanical wristwatches are the only true watches. Maintenance is more expensive on a mechanical timepiece than quartz, but it is not too bad considering the time between maintenance is very long. Good automatic mechanical timepieces allow you to also manually wind the timepiece (although some cheaper models do not, so be aware of this). Unlike quartz, the power that is reserved is typically only enough for a few days, so if left unattended, the watch will need to reset and wound (this is why there are automatic watch winders). Power comes from a mainspring which is either wound by hand (the old-fashioned way) or automatically wound (self-winding) by a rotor that oscillates as your wrist moves, which in turn winds the mainspring. Mechanical watches are generally more expensive than quartz, and although they are not as accurate, most modern timepieces are very accurate (the best watches, some of which are officially certified chronometers, are accurate to 5+/- seconds per day, or better). In some cases the battery is rechargeable, in which case sunlight “solar-powered” (like a Citizen Eco-Drive) recharges it or wrist movement “rotor-powered” (hybrid like a Seiko Kinetic) recharges it (not to be confused with a rotor that winds the mainspring on a mechanical timepiece). They run on battery power, a long-life lithium battery lasts approximately 3-years. Quartz watches are generally inexpensive, easy to maintain, and highly accurate (typical accuracy is 15+/- seconds per month). One of the first things to consider when buying a quality timepiece is if you want a “quartz” or a “mechanical” watch. As the name suggests, this is a “Beginner’s Guide to Buying a Watch.” We designed this guide to help those readers that are new to watches, and need assistance in determining the basics of a watch so as to make an informed decision when buying one.