Watches can be a simple way to tell the time or a complex system of tools useful for any adventure. Your watch says a lot about you and often several are needed to be used in different situations (deep sea diving requires something different than a wedding).

Movements
The movement of the watch is simply what keeps it ticking. There are several ways that watches are powered; battery, solar/ eco-drive (sun powered), mechanical energy (spring powered), and kinetic (motion powered). Each of these movements sometimes needs recharging, but if worn regularly (or placed in the sun on a watch rotator) will last for a very long time.

Water Resistance
Most watches today are “water resistant” (safe for hand washing) but each watch has its own capacity to protect its internal workings against moisture. Some of the basic features that protect your watch’s inner workings are the gasket lining (seal between the case and back), screw-back crowns (part you turn to set the time), and heavy gauge materials (that don’t concave under pressure). A watch’s ability to resist moisture will always be marked on its back. The most common levels of water resistance are: 30 meters (about 100 feet this is safe only for hand washing and normal daily use), 50 meters (about 165 feet or suitable for shallow swimming), 100 meters (about 330 feet or safe for snorkeling or deeper swimming), 200 meters (about 660 feet or safe for recreational scuba diving), and a few companies do make professional diving watches which are marked 1,000 meters (over half a mile or safe for professional dives). No watch is permanently water proof and if not properly cared for, even the best diver’s watch can sustain water damage

Useful Features
Other useful features that a watch may come with are shock resistance, perpetual calendars (which keep track of the days in each month), mineral or sapphire crystals (a much tougher ‘glass’ to cover the face of the watch), nurses/sweep/ “second” hand, alarms, compasses, and chronographs (stopwatch). Visibly, some watches also have hands and points on the dial that glow or light up to help your read the time at night.

Look
Finally watches come in every look from one whose entire inner working is exposed (skeleton/ gallery watches) to sporty red straps, or solid gold. Find the look that is right for you and fits where you will be wearing it to.

Watch Parts Glossary
Watches have many terms associated with them. To learn more about each of these terms click on the list below:

A- Analog, Analog Digital, Automatic Movement
B- Bezel, Bracelet
C- Case, Complication, Crown or Winding Stem
D- Day or Date Watch, Deployment Buckle, Dial, Digital Watch, Dual Timer
E- Escapement
F- Face, Fly Back Function
G- Glass or Crystal, Guilloche
H- Hand
I- Index
J- Jewel, Jumping Hour
L- Lighted Dial, Lugs
M- Mainspring, Mechanical Movement, Mechanical Repeater, Moonphase Indicator
P- Perpetual Calendar, Power Reserve Indicator, Pulsimeter
U- Unidirectional Rotating Bezel
W- World Time or GTM Dial