One of the greatest inventions of mankind, of course, is the mechanical clock - from the day they appeared, they literally turned the notion of planning. When the advanced masters invented a way to reduce the mechanism so that it could be worn on the arm, the person literally became the master of time. Today, when mechanical wristwatches have long been no longer a luxury, but a familiar, but no less necessary, everyday life, such an accessory is especially important.
Features and benefits
Thanks to modern technologies, wristwatches do not necessarily have to be mechanical - from alternatives come at least quartz and electronic, not to mention the fact that now every person has a mobile phone that also copes very well with the function of time reference.
Nevertheless, mechanical wrist watches belong to the category of eternal classics - they are still worn, including, as a fashion accessory. However, such an accessory has very specific practical advantages, and it is they who keep it afloat in the age of modern technologies.
Here are the main reasons forcing people to opt for the good old mechanics:
- Mechanical watches are quite durable. This advantage is particularly pronounced against the background of modern electronics, the life of which is several years, and this is at best. Mechanical watches, on the contrary, in the worst case will work for several years, while the most high-quality models eventually even become antiques, significantly outliving their first owner.
- This mechanism works autonomously. If we talk about the same electronic clock, then they are overly dependent on energy. A battery is dead - and that’s it, such a clock will not work, and it’s good if the deficiency is not found when the owner suddenly was essentially late for himself to the most important meeting in his life. Mechanical watches do not require any additional energy resources, that is, they can be operated in any conditions in uninterrupted operation. True, the classic version of the mechanism requires a regular institution - it is easy, however, you can sometimes forget about it, and there are other reasons why this is temporarily impossible. However, now many manufacturers are concentrating on the fact that even such elementary actions from the owner are not required - as a result, we have an almost perpetual motion machine, which always and in any situation shows the exact time.
- Mechanical watches are timeless classics, and this is fashionable. Nowadays, two opposites are fashionable - tracking the latest innovations, and strict adherence to traditions. But even if the most expected novelty in practice may turn out to be a sheer disappointment, then the classics tested over centuries will never fail. Mechanical wristwatches are a high accuracy of timing, coupled with long-timed bows, they are perfect for almost any style of clothing, and therefore, they remove any questions about the appropriateness of their use.
Models
In the XXI century, hundreds of companies around the world are engaged in the production of mechanical watches, so there is a huge variety of models. It’s almost impossible to describe each, so let's briefly go through the main features that may be inherent (or vice versa) of a particular watch model.
To begin with, a priori, mechanical wristwatches are a priori more often male or unisex. Whereas the beautiful half of humanity often would like purely women's watches - those that perfectly fit the evening gown, create a single image with decorations, and so on. Of course, there are such models, and this is a whole industry in the manufacture of watches.
The creators resort to various tricks to make the mechanism more feminine - they reduce it in size, decorate it with various jewels and decor, carefully work on the design.
As a result, something subtle is usually obtained that no girl can safely walk past.
Among the practical additions to the main functions of the lead model with an alarm clock. In the world of electronic watches, this will not surprise anyone for a long time, but the mechanics are not so often met with such useful skills, but they enjoy stable popularity. With this accessory, you will not just always know what time it is - the accessory will remind you at the right moment that you have some responsibilities or plans.
The rapid rhythm of modern life can make a person forget about the need for a watch, so the self-winding watch can seriously help out. Interestingly, this technology was invented almost a century ago, but so far not everyone knows about its existence. Its meaning lies in the fact that the clock mechanism starts up by itself - the energy of movement is transmitted to it, in which the accessory constantly resides while you are on your hand. In fact, such a mechanism also needs to be started, but only if the owner for some reason wears it infrequently.
At the same time, everyday wear is enough to never start a spring.
Finally, another popular feature is water resistance. Of course, before swimming in the river, most people will still remove the clock, however, you can even soak and ruin the mechanism during an ordinary rain. Only completely waterproof watches can guarantee that they will not break and will not show the owner the wrong time, even if you completely drown them in water.
However, here it should be taken into account that there are different degrees of water resistance - with one you can even dive to great depths, while others can only withstand sporadic splashes, but not full immersion, even if the depth is quite small.
Material and color
A large variety of suppliers and styles determines the widest variety of available materials and colors of mechanical watches - it can be said with confidence that absolutely everyone will find the ideal model for themselves.
It’s worth going through the most popular materials and colors, since the description of everything original is a field for real scientific research.
Among the materials most often can be found plastic and metal. With plastic everything is clear - it is lightweight, strong enough and able to withstand various loads, as well as modern looks.
It is a little more difficult with metals, because this is not one material, but several at once. For example, the titanium case will give the accessory a special durability, it will be difficult to damage it even with targeted efforts, not to mention an annoying accident, whereas a gold case is a tribute to respectability and prestige.
As additional materials for decoration can be used precious and semiprecious stones, rhinestones, and so on.
There are less typical solutions, such as wooden cases, but this is not often seen.
As for colors, in the case of men's watches these are usually neutral colors - black or gray, unless the case is made of gold. There is a wider palette for ladies watch - they can be absolutely any color, so long as it fits to the general image of the hostess.
How to choose?
The choice of watches, like any other individual products, depends largely on the personal tastes and preferences of the future owner, but the main criteria are still possible to single out.For example, the very fact of choosing a mechanical watch indicates the commitment to the classics, eternal values, and sometimes, when choosing an expensive model, it also indicates the owner’s success.
As for the material, stainless steel leads in the “cheap and angry” category, and its direct competitor is plastic. Ceramic wrist watches can act as fashionable originality - such models are rapidly gaining popularity among women, but they, for example, are afraid of strikes. The same can be said about the gold watch, which can be safely called an immortal hit.
As for color and size, this is absolutely a personal matter for everyone - you can’t give specific advice here. The same can be said about the style, but here there is an important clarification: at least you in the world of women's watches among famous brands have an unspoken division, according to which each manufacturer produces accessories of a certain direction.
Here, as an example, is a brief guide for women:
- Want to be the queen of the evening? Do watches have to decorate you and make you unique? Choose Christian Dior, Gucci, Valentino.
- Do you want to show your success and always be confident in the reliability and durability of the selected accessory? For you - Hoenes and Bulova.
- Do you lead a modern, active lifestyle, love sports and all sorts of "smart" accessories? Be sure to pay attention to the range of Casio, Gasmin, Pirelli.
- Prefer time-tested antiques? Give preference to Soviet brands such as Glory, Flight, East, Nika, or Victory.
How to get?
At first glance, there is nothing difficult in this task, however, the right plant can prolong the life of the mechanism, and the wrong one - on the contrary, shorten it.
If there is no automatic winding in your chosen model, you will have to start the watch manually. It is enough to do it once a day, an additional plant is not required even if for any reason you have moved the arrows. By the way, and start the clock, and time should be strictly clockwise, and not against it. When starting the watch, watch the head resistance - if the spring is sufficiently tensioned, turning it will become noticeably more difficult, and you need to stop at this, otherwise you just break the clock mechanism.
Self-winding watches start themselves when they move their arms while walking, so that you can forget about the establishment during everyday wear. If for some reason the accessory has not been used for its intended purpose, start it up by running the crown several turns clockwise. Most often, such a mechanism is equipped with overload protection, so do not be afraid to overdo it. Pay attention: if the self-winding watch is constantly on the hand, but the owner leads a sedentary life, then the mechanism cannot start itself!
Detailed instructions and general recommendations can be viewed in the following video: