How should a newcomer buy a watch?

                    How should a newcomer buy a watch?
Every man should have a good watch! Since it is a good watch, we must be careful when purchasing it. My old cousin may already know how to buy a watch, today we will focus on introducing it to new friends!
1. Advantages and disadvantages: difficult to distinguish between quartz and mechanical
Usually, mechanical watches are more expensive than quartz watches, but this does not necessarily mean that mechanical watches perform better than quartz watches.
The main difference between quartz watches and mechanical watches is which energy source is used to drive the movement of the watch core. A mechanical watch has a helix. When people string a watch, the helix is also tightened at the same time. When the helix is released, it starts to drive the watch core to move. Quartz watches use a battery as their energy source. The battery outputs electrical energy to the electronic blocks and motors in the watch. Every second, the electronic block outputs a pulse wave to the electric motor, which drives the watch needle to run.
Therefore, in terms of timing, quartz watches are more accurate than mechanical watches. Mechanical watches may experience a decrease in timing accuracy due to inconsistent spiral motion speeds, and their accuracy may also be affected by factors such as temperature, location, and component wear. So it is normal for a typical mechanical watch to have an error of 15-30 seconds per day, with a minimum error of 4-5 seconds. But quartz watches are different, as quartz crystals can provide the most stable pulse waves, ensuring the highest accuracy. In general, the monthly error of quartz watches is between 15-25 seconds, with the minimum error of only 5 seconds per year.
The reason why mechanical watches are more expensive than quartz watches is because mechanical watches require precise manual adjustment and timing during their production process, while quartz watches are generally assembled on automatic production lines.
In addition, it is widely believed that mechanical watches have a longer operating life than quartz watches. But the fact may not be entirely true, as all the operating components inside a quartz watch and a mechanical watch are the same. Although the lifespan of electronic components has not yet been fully tested, they may also have the same lifespan. So, consumers can fully believe that a good quartz watch can provide the same long service period as a mechanical watch.
However, quartz watches and mechanical watches also have their own advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage of quartz watches is high timing accuracy, easy to wear, and easy to make into very thin and small pieces, with a strong sense of fashion. The core of a mechanical watch is more technological, but the thickness of the case is generally relatively large. If your chart is convenient and you require high timing accuracy, then you should choose a quartz watch. If it's a very small and thin quartz watch, you need to consider whether it's convenient to replace the battery, as the smaller and thinner the battery, the more expensive it becomes.
2. Material selection: The case should vary from person to person
The common materials for watch cases include K gold, gold plating, titanium, stainless steel, semi steel chrome plating, alloy cases, etc. The K gold watch case is only used for high-end watches with famous brands, and its price is generally tens of thousands of yuan or more; And watches with semi steel (only the back cover of the watch is stainless steel) and chrome plating belong to low-end watches, and the case is prone to corrosion. The gold plated case is relatively beautiful, but it is easy to wear off without a certain thickness of gold plating (including the strap). If you want to choose a gold plated watch, it is best to have a coating thickness of 10 microns or more. Titanium plated watches are relatively sturdy and wear-resistant, but the color is not very attractive. The most popular ones nowadays are dual color case straps (gold or gold plated and stainless steel), which are more beautiful and durable. Gold plated watches are more expensive than all steel watches, and watches with leather straps are much cheaper than watches with the same steel strap.
People who love sweating or exercising, outdoor workers, and those who have long-term exposure to chemical acids and alkalis (such as medical workers) should wear watches with stainless steel shells. Chemicals containing mercury can cause great damage to K gold and gold plating, causing gold to discolor. Copper plated watch handles, case, and inner side of watch straps are easily corroded by sweat, causing the coating to fall off. Steel watches have a distinction between an empty core and a solid core. The empty core strap has a lighter weight and belongs to low-end watches. The solid core strap is relatively sturdy and durable.
The pins and buckles between the watch strap sections are the most problematic parts when wearing a watch. It is important to carefully inspect them when purchasing a watch. Some watch buckles are prone to problems due to long-term opening and closing, such as "butterfly" buckles, while * * watch straps are prone to breakage. These should also be considered carefully before purchasing a watch.
3. Listen to the sound and choose a watch?
As the saying goes, "Listen to the watch and listen to the sound, and listen to the gongs and drums. Experienced watch repairers in the early years would always stick their watches to their ears, shake their heads and change their posture, listen to the sound changes of the watch as it moves, and speculate whether the watch's timing is good or not. This is all about experience and effort. A well-trained watch master can detect the oscillation frequency of the watch's pendulum and even identify whether it is a "rough watch".
The simplest way to understand the essence of listening to a watch is to listen to the sound of the watch as it moves when it changes position. Watches with malfunctions or damaged parts will have a noticeable change in sound as their position changes. Some may undergo periodic changes, with the sound increasing and decreasing. Because of this, listening to a watch can only detect whether the watch is faulty, and cannot fully represent the quality of the watch.
But for the general public, listening to watches requires experience, and it is best to be able to compare, that is, listen and practice more. Watches of different structural sizes also have different sounds when leaving. Generally speaking, men's watches have a louder voice, while women's watches have a much smaller voice. As for the position of the watch, it is important to choose the commonly used position when wearing it - that is, the flat surface, which includes "above and below the dial surface". In addition, there are three elevation positions: below the handle, to the left of the handle, and above the handle, totaling five positions.
4. Maintenance: Careful consideration
The service life of a watch is related to whether the wearer uses and maintains the watch correctly. For example, wearing a watch for bathing, dirty appearance of the watch, improper strap length, and harsh usage environment can easily cause damage to the watch and shorten its service life.
Middle and high-end watches should undergo corresponding maintenance every two to three years, including replacing waterproof components, testing travel time performance and movement power consumption, cleaning the movement, and maintaining the appearance. Such maintenance services will effectively extend the use time of the watch.
Of course, the more expensive the watch, the higher the maintenance and upkeep costs. For example, the washing oil price for ROLEX watches is generally over 2000 yuan. There are also vulnerable appearance parts such as watch straps and glass, which may not be easy to match in the future if the watch case is irregular. So, when purchasing a watch, it is also necessary to consider the after-sales service and accessory supply issues. Generally speaking, watches with mainstream movements such as ETA movements and large brand watches are not a problem.
5. Location: Buying in Switzerland may not necessarily be the cheapest
Early watches were very expensive, mainly used to show off their identity and status in addition to timing. By 1920, watches worn on wrists had become popular, and for the following decades, the Swiss watch production industry had always held a leading position in the world. Many manufacturers are committed to combining the functions of pocket watches and pocket watches, adding functions such as calendar, automatic winding, and timer, and miniaturizing them to promote the popularity of watches.
In 1970, quartz technology began to dominate the watch industry, but the antique watch series launched by Swiss companies also swept the world. By the latter half of the 1980s, Swiss companies began producing a variety of luxury mechanical watches, and this trend was further developed and strengthened. Complex windup or fully automatic mechanical watches were increasingly favored. Today, Switzerland owns the vast majority of the world's watch brands, and can be called the "watch capital".