Wristwatch Collecting - a beginner's guide

Wristwatch collecting can be one of the most complex of all pastimes.  

Horologists study for years to learn the workings of these miniature marvels, but our guide will give you the essential info you need in just a few minutes.

Wristwatch types

Omega Seamaster
The Omega Seamaster - one of the most recognisable diver's watches



Sport watches - These watches cater for the individual on the go, with special functions to meet their intended purpose. Pilot watches perform vital flight plan tasks, while diver's watches are waterproof to impressive depths, and calculate the oxygen you have left to breathe. 

Chronographs - Like sport watches, the chronograph is designed for functionality, incorporating a stopwatch function. Often there is more than one dial, recording seconds, minutes and hours.

Quartz watches - Quartz watches achieve the greatest accuracy, using tiny crystals that vibrate at a specific frequency. Almost all other forms of watches will lose their accuracy over time, and many cannot easily be fixed.

Mechanical watches - Mechanical watches are best loved by collectors - prized for their design, beauty and engineering. Most luxury watches, or haute horlogerie, are mechanical, and the best examples feature a number of "complications": the name given to any feature of a watch that is not telling the time.

Digital watches - A modern advancement usually frowned upon by collectors, the digital watch relies on electronic drives. The first digital watch was the Pulsar from the Hamilton Watch Company, which was made in 1970 after the company designed a prototype for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Movement

Watch movement
A modern watch movement



The "movement" of a watch, also known as its calibre, is its internal mechanism, and this fascinates some collectors. Some collect purely based on the movement contained within the watch, and a collection can comprise several different watches, all with the same mechanism inside.

There are two main types of watch movement: manual and automatic. Manual requires the user to turn the crown in order to wind the mainspring for energy, while the motions of the wearer's wrist wind an automatic while it is worn. That said, there are thousands of mind-boggling variations - get researching!

Complications

For many collectors, complications - or simply, the features of a watch - make the hobby worthwhile. Watches can have hundreds of different functions, including:

·         Moon phases - a display with the current phase of the Moon

·         Sidereal time - a time scale based on the Earth's rotation relative to the stars

·         Time zones - found on world traveller watches

·         Solar time - the time based on the Sun's position in the sky

·         Equation of time - shows the difference between standard time and solar time

·         Leap year cycle

·         Zodiac signs

·         Perpetual calendar - a calendar that spans many years, providing the day of the week for future dates

·         Star charts

The tourbillon


A complete tourbillon before it is placed inside the watch case



No collector can call himself a true enthusiast without knowing the function of a tourbillon.

In short, the effects of gravity are particularly felt by the tiny mechanical parts inside a watch, and this can affect accuracy. To counter this problem, the master watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet developed the tourbillon in 1795, creating a rotating cage in which the escapement and balance wheel are set.

However, a tourbillon is mainly included in modern watches as a display of the watchmaker's skill, and debate remains as to whether they ever improved accuracy.

The lingo

As with holey cheese and chocolate, the Swiss are world renowned for their watch making. As such, many horologists use original French terms when talking about their collections. Here's a few French phrases to ensure you can talk the talk:

Ebauche - the term given to an incomplete movement, or the individual parts of a movement that has yet to be assembled. This term frequently appears when buying spares. The timing system, mainspring and escapement are not part of an ebauche

Etablisseur - a watch factory that produces watches by assembling pre-fabricated parts

Chablon - the collective term for a watch movement, encompassing all its individual parts

Termineur - a watchmaker who assembles watches for an etablisseur, also known as an "atelier de terminage"

The most valuable wristwatch ever sold at auction

Patek Philippe watch

Patek Philippe is known for producing some of the finest, and most valuable, watches in the world. It makes sense then that the most valuable pocket watch ever sold at auction was a one-off piece created for one of the world's wealthiest watch collectors.

The unique Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 auctioned for $31 million at Christie's in 2019 - the year of its manufacture. 

Its 20 complications make it the most complicated wristwatch Patek Philippe has ever made. 

Did you know?

Until the 1980s few people collected wristwatches. It was pocket watches all the way. That's completely flipped around now!

Investing

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
The Rolex Daytona, one of the most collectible watches



Many beginner collectors are drawn to the hobby by the allure of investing. Here are a few buying tips that will improve your chances of making a profit:

Buy quality - Buy the best you can afford, as only the top pieces demonstrate investment potential. Also, with a superior quality watch, you won't be disappointed even if you lose a few dollars. Stick to the best known brands, such as Patek Philippe, Rolex and Breguet, as their reputation is unlikely to fade in the minds of fellow collectors.

Buy rarity - Rarity drives the market: a watch collector will pay more for a watch that they haven't seen before, or have been unable to find.

Buy provenance - A watch can be worth thousands, but if its ownership history is uncertain, collectors are likely to steer clear. Buy boxed watches that have full documentation, and if you can find a watch worn by a famous name, you could be on to a winner.

Buy iconic - Certain watch lines will never go out of fashion, and are likely to hold their value long into the future. Think Rolex Daytona, Cartier's Tank, Omega's Seamaster or the Tag-Heuer Monaco.  

Looking to buy a specific watch? Have a rare watch to sell? Contact us now at info@paulfrasercollectibles.com or +44 (0)117 933 9500. 

 

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