Collecting · Guides
Collecting, from the first watch on.
Plain-English guides for anyone who has looked at a watch and wondered how it works, or what it's worth getting into.
What's inside: the three kinds of movement
The movement is the engine of a watch. Almost every watch you'll meet uses one of three kinds.
| Manual (hand-wound) | A coiled mainspring stores energy. You wind it by turning the crown, usually once a day. The oldest kind, and the one many collectors love for the ritual. |
|---|---|
| Automatic (self-winding) | The same mainspring, wound by a weighted rotor that spins as your wrist moves. If you don't wear it for a day or two, it stops and needs a reset. |
| Quartz | A battery sends current through a tiny quartz crystal that vibrates at a steady frequency, usually 32,768 times a second. Far more accurate than a mechanical watch and cheaper to make. Seiko's Astron was the first quartz wristwatch sold, in 1969. |
A useful rule: mechanical watches are judged by craft and finish, quartz watches by accuracy and value. Neither is "better." They're answers to different questions.
Want to see one move? Many makers publish videos of their movements. The open caseback on an automatic is often half the fun.
Complications, explained simply
A complication is anything a watch does beyond telling hours, minutes and seconds.
| Date | Shows the day of the month. The most common complication. |
|---|---|
| GMT / dual time | An extra hand shows a second time zone on a 24-hour scale. Made famous by pilots. |
| Chronograph | A stopwatch built in, started and stopped with pushers on the side of the case. |
| Moonphase | A small disc shows the phase of the moon. |
| Annual calendar | Knows which months have 30 or 31 days. Needs a correction once a year, at the end of February. |
| Perpetual calendar | Also knows about February and leap years. Set correctly, it won't need a date correction for decades. |
| Tourbillon | The balance and escapement ride in a rotating cage, meant to even out the effect of gravity. Abraham-Louis Breguet patented it in 1801. |
| Minute repeater | Chimes the time on tiny gongs when you press a slide. Among the hardest complications to make. |
How to start a collection
- Wear one watch for a while first. You'll learn what size, weight and style you actually reach for.
- Pick a theme, even a loose one. Divers. Watches from your birth year. One great watch from each country that makes them. A theme keeps you from buying things you don't love.
- Learn before you spend. Read the maker's own pages, forums and auction catalogues. Know the references (model numbers) for what you like.
- Budget for service. Mechanical watches need servicing every several years. Check what the maker recommends, and get a quote from a watchmaker before you buy anything vintage.
- Buy the story too. Original boxes, papers and receipts add to a watch's history, and often to its value.
Buying pre-owned safely
Most counterfeits are sold as "pre-owned bargains." These habits protect you:
- Buy the seller before the watch. Use dealers with a long, checkable record and a written return policy.
- If the price seems too good, it is. A deep discount on a sought-after model is the most common sign of a fake.
- Ask for clear photos of the caseback, the clasp, the movement if possible, and the serial and reference numbers.
- Ask for papers and service history, and make sure the serial numbers match.
- Pay in a way that protects you. Credit cards and proper escrow services give you a way back. Wire transfers and gift cards don't.
- Get it inspected. Have an independent watchmaker open it and check it, ideally inside the return window. Some makers offer authentication through their own service centers.
- Know the law. Selling counterfeits is illegal in the US. See the US Customs and Border Protection page on intellectual property.
These are general tips, not legal or financial advice.