From the Victorian pocket watch, to Casio’s calculator/wrist watch, the face of a timepiece has progressed, congruent with the signs of the times.

These days, the availability and preferred type of watch types rely on what “runs behind the clockwork”, and not just simply with what a particular watch can do.

There are watches run by batteries. There are also watches which are self winding. There are some that are run by solar power. And there are some run by springs (winding).

Let’s take a look at just what commonly powers a watch these days.

Self-winding Watches

Among the many watch power sources known, self-winding watches have been around for a long time. Invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1770, the start of variations of watch power sources came to be, in the form of the “self-winding” watch.

Self-winding watches basically work on a “rewind” principle. A mainspring (also called the power spring) is the power source of a winding watch’s mechanical movement.

The mainspring is “re-wound”, as to keep the watch accurate and on time. Watch Power Sources of this type are seen as classics, in the realm of watches.

John Harwood, in 1923, improved the “established” wind-up watches into becoming self-winding watches. In the roster of watch power sources, a self-winding watch simply means that the watch can be worn, without any constant winding. An eccentric weight (known as the winding rotor) runs the basic flow of the watch’s power source.

Since the watch is worn (a wrist watch), back-and-fourth motion is expected. The movement of the wearer triggers the winding rotor to action. The rotor is coupled to a ratchet, which automatically winds-up the watch, keeping it “alive” as long as it’s worn.

Battery Watches

The most common of watch power sources would be batteries. As electronic devices require electricity as its power source, electronic watches need a battery to function.

First released in 1957 by the Hamilton Watch Company, battery watches were aimed to replace wind-up watches.

Watch batteries are specifically designed for watches. They are really small, and provide small amounts of power, and last for long periods (most last a year). Silver-oxide, lithium and alkaline batteries are commonly available.

Solar (light-powered) Watches

Photovoltaic cells are basically what run watch power sources of this type. Positioned on a watch’s face/dial, detected light is converted into electricity, and is used to charge a power source capacitor or rechargeable battery. Just as long as the watch is exposed to light, the need for replacing batteries is negated.

Citizen’s Eco-Drive is notorious for its intense “charging” capabilities. A few minutes of exposure would equal to weeks of energy for it to function optimally.

Solar powered watches are environment friendly, and require minimal maintenance. In the roster of watch power sources, they hold a special place for being safe, and efficient.

Watch power sources vary from one to another. The bottom line is, they exist because the need for watches exist. As varied watch power sources are, the need for them is no different, as people’s needs vary from one to another.

This may be in the form of a new technology or a new design. Tissot, which was founded in Switzerland in 1853, is one of these companies.

The company was founded by Charles Felicien Tissot and Charles Emile Tissot in Le Locle Switzerland. Le Locle has been regarded as the cradle of the Swiss watch making industry.

Tissot has over 150 years of experience in watch manufacturing, making the company totally credible and dependable when it comes to its watches. The company is known for its unusual innovations.

Specifically it is recognized for the development of the first watch made out of plastic. It was also the first to manufacture an anti-magnetic watch. Tissot even made watches out of mother of pearl, wood and stone!

Tissot watches are known for their tactile touch technology or “T-Touch.” This means that Tissot watches have touch sensitive sapphire faces.

Tissot watches also incorporate other unique features in their watches, such as compasses, barometers, altimeters and thermometers, all sharing the T-Touch technology.

The popularity of Tissot watches arise from the fact that they are used by a lot of famous personalities. For example, the Tissot watches that Angelina Jolie used in her movies “Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” are from Tissot.

Tissot watches are worn by American MotoGP rider Nicky Hayde, Merican Indycar driver Danica Patrick, English football player Michael Owen and Chinese actress Barbie Xu.

Tissot is also featured in other important events. For instance, the company is the official timer of many world sports championships such as the Grand Prix motorcycle racing, cycling, fencing and ice hockey.

The company is also the official timekeeper of NASCAR. And in 2006, Tissot was the official timekeeper of the 15th Asian Games in Doha.

But Tissot’s history is not without its down moments.  In May 12, 2006, during the Grand Prix in Doha, the company made an error in time keeping.

The company concluded that American sprinter Justin Gatlin had set a world record based on the time. But according to international world record rules, Mr. Gatlin has only tied with the earlier record.

Since 1985, Tissot has been a member of the Swatch Group of Companies, the biggest watch producer and distributor in the world. Tissot watches have been distributed and sold in over 150 countries all over the world.

There are companies that make also make affordable yet beautiful watches.

One of these companies is Swatch. The company was introduced in 1983.

Swatch was intended to take back the market share that Swiss manufacturers lost against the aggressive Japanese companies.

To counter the Japanese threat, Swatch redesigned their quartz watches to be more efficient with less number of parts.

The manufacturer also embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign. Due to these two factors, Switzerland became leaders in the world wristwatch market again.

Introduction of Swatch watches

In March 1883, the company introduced its first 12 Swatch watches. With a superb marketing campaign and a very affordable price for a Swiss made watch, the Swatch watches became very popular almost immediately.

Swatch watches were 80% cheaper to produce than standard watches because of automation in assembly. The automation also reduced the number of parts from the usual 91 to 31 components.

In the United States, Swatch watches became popular during the mid-80s. Swatch stores sprouted in big malls, such as The Galleria and other uptown places.

It was also during this time that Swatch had another marketing gimmick. The company partnered models, artists and other famous people. By doing so, they introduced “artist watches” which became immensely popular with the youth.

Many people thought that Swatch stands for Swiss Watch. But Nicolas Hayek, the chairman of the Swatch group, explained that the company name really means “Second Watch.”

And the company remained true to its name. Swatch watches are designed to be trendy, colorful, casual and fun. Swatch watches are also innovative and unique.

For example, some product lines have watch faces and wristbands which can be removed and changed. They also have face guards, a braided rubber band like structure that stretches over the watch face.

Presently, Swatch acquired Swiss luxury brands, such as Brequet, Blancpain, Flik Flak and Hamilton. This acquisition allowed them to diversify the company’s product lines.

Swatch watches now include full metal body watches, diving watches, thin and flat bodied watches and even a watch that can connect to the Internet so files can be downloaded to it.

Swatch watches have become a fashion trend. Swatch watches now have special models such as the “Flik Flak” for kids, semi-automatic watches and diamond decorated Swatches. What’s more, Swatch also manufactures new models of watches that are geared towards a season, making them season-themed.

So remember, when you buy a Swatch watch, you are not just buying any watch. You are making a fashion statement.

All thanks to Swiss watchmakers like Tissot.

Tissot wrist watches

For over 150 years, Tissot leads the Swiss watch making industry in innovation and workmanship, building up the daunting confidence in Swiss watches that’s so established today.

The Tissot wrist watches uses only the best clockwork movements available in the ETA SA Horlogère Suisse Manufacture; only the premier quality resources like the 316L for steel, 18K for gold, titanium, and scratchproof highly durable sapphire crystal glasses, which is at least 2200 in Vickers scale.

The Tissot wrist watches are extremely water proof at least 30m and on some dedicated Tissot wrist watches, up to 300m.

And because of the Tissot wrist watches’ longevity, customer service like spare parts, and repair service are offered for 10 years span, practically forever on your ownership of the Tissot. That is their excellence guarantee.

In the field of sports, Tissot offers performance in precision. Take for instance the Tissot T-Touch NASCAR. In racing, such as the NASCAR, being able to measure even the tiniest hundredths of a second is indispensably important.

With the Tissot T-Touch NASCAR’s touch sensitive chronograph, Tissot wrist watches offer the most accurate timing, while also featuring other essential functions like compass, thermometer, barometer, altimeter, chronograph and alarm.

As a trend setter, Tissot wrist watches has the flower power, a uniquely designed enamel bezel watch that gradually unfolds. It is a perfect timepiece to lift the spirits of its wearers, and available in 6 different pastel colors.

The Tissot Cocktail Classic yet adds another chapter to Tissot’s magnificent line of Tissot Cocktail Collection. This time, the Tissot Cocktail Classic comes with an elegant thin H link bracelet that further enhances its slim appeal. The original bangle bracelet is also available.

Old ways are still indispensable; that’s why the Heritage 1952 Tissot wrist watches are still available. Elegant and stylish while yet ascetic, the Heritage 1952 is a perfect example of an eternal design.

Features stainless steel, 30 meters water resistance, mon reflective, scratch resistant coating and glass, silver Opalin dial and roman numerals, if James Bond would wear a watch, this Tissot won’t look out of place.

Remember, all Tissot wrist watches are constructed of excellence. Such trust can be explained on their length of warranty, because the watchmakers of Tissot had assured that at most, it will be a full decade before a Tissot would require service.

For them to properly function, watch operation must rely on the proper functioning of three of its components.

These components include an energy source, such as a battery or a wound spring.

The second essential component is the device that regulates the time. This is also known as a watch movement. The last component, a display, is where a person can see the time.

Good watch operation depends mostly on these components, and gives more emphasis to movements.

Mechanical movements

Mechanical watches have mechanical movements. The design of mechanical watches has changed very little. Watch operation of mechanical movements usually involve using the energy of a wound spring.

It keeps a constant pace of time by regulating the output of that energy, which is done by the steady performance of a set of gears.

To renew the energy, the spring must be wound routinely. Normally, mechanical watches can run about 40 hours for one full winding. Some newer ones can even be wound once every 8 to 10 days.

Automatic movements

Watches that have automatic movements have slightly different type of watch operation. Automatic movements perform like mechanical movements. However, the movement of the spring happens automatically each time the arm moves. This is an amazing feature that makes it popular with busy business people.

Obviously, this is beneficial since the wearer doesn’t have to change a battery or wind the watch. Nevertheless, it is still important to tune up the watch occasionally to keep an accurate timekeeping action.

Quartz movements

Quartz movements have a different type of watch operation. The technology is quite new. Quartz crystals conduct voltage, or pulses, when subjected to stress. The voltage powers the watch with precise accuracy.

Unlike mechanical and automatic movements, which use springs to provide energy, quartz movements require a battery. The battery produces an electrical signal into the quartz crystal. In turn, the crystal produces a pulse at a constant level to ensure precise timekeeping.

In lieu of batteries, quartz watches can also use solar power or kinetic energy as a power source. Light from the sun is captured by a photovoltaic cell. The cell converts light to electrical power. Kinetic power, just like in automatic movements, captures the energy for the motion of the wearer’s arm.

It is amazing how technology and ingenuity has advanced so much so that we would know exactly what time of the day it is at glance.

Just like any fashion item, many people buy branded watches. People wearing a famous brand of watch, especially if that watch brand is known to be expensive, are generally thought of as belonging to the upper class of society.

Rolex – one of the famous watch brands:

If luxury watches is the issue, then undoubtedly, the most famous watch brand of this kind is Rolex. This watch brand is a privately owned Swiss company that manufactures wristwatches and accessories. This watch brand is known for the quality and prestige of their watches. Needless to say, their watches cost a fortune and their watches have become status symbols of the wealthy and powerful.

This watch brand also prides itself for being the first company to produce a watch case that is waterproof, a wristwatch with a date on its dial and one that indicates two time zones at the same time. They also managed to be the watchmakers, first to earn a chronometer certificate.

Seiko – one of the famous watch brands:

Seiko is another famous watch brand. This watch brand is Japanese watch company caters to the general public. The watch brand is best known for their quality and sturdy mechanical and quartz wristwatches. This watch brand is also known for their advanced technology. This watch brand is the first company to produce the quartz watch.

Seiko is a company that manufactures their watches purely in-house.  This watch brand means that all items, even the oil used for lubrication, are produced by Seiko factories. Other watch brand manufacturers have different parts for their watches made by different companies.

This watch brand also has the distinction of making the first spring drive movement. In this new technology, the power of the spring in the watch not only operates the hands of the watch. It also generates electrical power for a crystal oscillator that is used to regulate the speed of the wheels inside the clock.

Swatch – one of the famous watch brands:

Another famous watch brand is Swatch. Swatch is the largest watch company in the world. Over the past few years, they have acquired many Swiss luxury watch brands.

Although their watches are marketed to the general public, it seems that this watch brand appeals so much more to the youth. Swatch watches are popular because of their modern, trendy designs. The features of their watches are unique. For example, Swatch watches have interchangeable faces and wristbands.

These are just three famous watch brands. There are more such as Citizen, Tag Heuer, Citizen and many others. All watches belonging to these brands are assuredly high in quality.

The term was born out of NASA’s folly during the procedures of Project Gemini. With the project coming to realization, it was only when NASA found out that they had not considered a wristwatch suitable to travel in space.

Normal procedures for soliciting space equipment would consume too much time: the bidding for design, the bidding for the manufacturer, the tests. NASA instead opted to scour the existing market for the most reliable wristwatch, of course without the awareness of the general public or to these manufacturers.

Following are the watches to use in the space:

Chosen were 5 brands of wristwatches, all chronographs as the feature to measure time lapses efficiently is important to scientific study, and all manual wound as it was still unspecified if the absence of gravity can render ineffective the self-winding mechanism of automatic watches.

These were from Rolex, Breitling, Bulova, Longines, TAG Heuer, all of which failed –and shockingly for TAG Heuer as it was recently acclaimed as the first timepiece in space when astronaut John Glenn used a TAG Heuer watch while piloting the Mercury Atlas 6 spacecraft.

The last watch, an Omega Speed master, was the only one to pass all the tests. These include the expected space conditions like vacuum and extreme temperature exposure, as well as additional durability tests like intense humidity, corrosion, shock, acceleration, pressure, vibration and noise.

Some of these withstood the tests; however the Omega Speed master was the only one that continued operation without serious inconsistencies other survivors had encountered.

At this point, NASA then adopted the Omega Speed master as the “Officially Certified Wristwatch for All Manned Space Missions”, giving birth to the term space watches and made Omega the precursor watch manufacturer that made space watches.

Zero gravity is not, by the way, detrimental to a watch’ processes, but the extreme conditions are. That’s the reason why space watches, like the Omega Speed master are constructed strong and reliable.

In fact, aside from the Omega Speed master, the Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute was also worn for the May 24, 1962 space procedure in the Aurora 7 mercury capsule by US astronaut Scott Carpenter. The Fortis B-42 is also another space watches used by Soviet astronauts. Chinese aeronauts use the Fiyta space watches.

Trendy watches seem to grow out of the Swiss soil –and no one can say differently, since among the best and most coveted brand names of luxury and trendy watches, including (but not limited to) Rolex, Tissot, Omega, and Blancpain, carry the convention label “Swiss Made”.

Rolex Daytona – one of the trendy watches:

It seems that trendy watches you have got if it carry the “Swiss Made” label, though for some the degree of vanity might not be enough. That is because, there are some, like those serious enthusiasts, can tell the direct value of an item. So is class, a Rolex or a Blancpain? It depends entirely, but the process of acquiring a Rolex makes it the more “luxury” item.

The underlying schema of acquiring a Rolex is really one of the most wicked you see, maybe that’s why Rolex still tops the food chain as far as trendy watches go. For example, to get a stainless steel Rolex Daytona, buyers have wait for years to get their model, a waiting list that is maintained by Rolex themselves.

What opportunistic and scrupulous merchants then do is make pre orders of several units beforehand, oftentimes years early so that they get theirs first then resells them at rip off prices. The price for this trendy watch, white gold cosmograph is around $15,000, though it could easily reach beyond $20k through reselling.

Blancpain – one of the trendy watches:

Going similar route, Blancpain is also one of those hard to acquire trendy watches, hence it also costs very expensive. One of their trendy watches, the most intricate mechanical watches ever made was the Blancpain 1735. Produced in limited edition at 30 pieces only; and only one Blancpain 1735 is made per year.

A typical Blancpain is around $10,000, though some models can go cheap at $5000 and also can go very expensive at $20,000.

These trendy watches are considered as the most exclusive trendy watches for wrist of the Swatch Group, strictly a luxury item with a remarkable slogan that say Blancpain will never will, nor have they ever manufactured quartz watches or watches that have digital displays.Trendy watches can mean, however, a watch that’s remarkably made.

With such context on the line, it doesn’t have to be expensive. Trendy watches from the western manufacturer Invicta is also one of the trendy watches, albeit aimed to the middle class demographics. These trendy watches from Invicta are a prime example of well made all around watch that anyone can depend on.

One of the premier Japanese watchmakers is Seiko Corporation. Seiko had its beginnings in 1881 after a Japanese businessman named Kintaro Hattori decided to open a watch and jewelry shop in Tokyo.

He began producing clocks after 11 years in business. He named the clocks Seikosha, thus the name Seiko. In 1924, the company released their first Seiko watches to the public.

Seiko have a lot of accomplishments under its name. In 1969, the company produced the Seiko Astron, the first quartz watch.

This Seiko watch had an opening price equivalent to that of a medium sized car. Seiko watch also had the distinction of being the company to produce the first quartz chronograph.

Seiko watches are known best for its quality and its advanced technology. Unlike other watchmakers where their watches’ parts are manufactured by different companies, all Seiko watches are produced in-house. That means the oils; luminous compounds and dials are made by Seiko itself.

Seiko watches range from mechanical to quartz. The Seiko watch prices vary greatly, from $50 to $100,000, because they have watches for every market base. Many watch collectors give a lot of value to Seiko’s mechanical watches such as the Seiko 5 series, the Bell Matic, Credor, King Seiko and Grand Seiko lines.

Seiko kinetic watches are also very popular and are responsible for the majority of their sales. These Seiko watches are very accurate. Also, these Seiko watches do not need a battery. Seiko watch is powered by the movement of the wearer.

Because of Seiko watches popularity, Seiko watches are often used as the official timekeepers of a lot of sporting events. These events include the Olympic Games and the Fifa World Cups.

However, a lot of collectors have reservations about Seiko. That’s because the company limits a number of its product in different places. For example, some product lines that have been released in Asia are not released in the United States. With the advent of the internet and with a lot of on line retailers, these product lines can be shipped overseas.

Seiko is always at work, improving and discovering new watch technology. For example, in 2005, they announced their new Spring Drive. This new technology will provide longer lasting power to the Seiko watch. In conjunction with this technology, the company also developed a new alloy called Spron 510.

The new electronic movement discards the usual balance wheel and escapement set-up. Instead the power of its spring also generated electrical power for a crystal oscillator, which in turn acts as the movement regulator.

If you are buying a Seiko watch, you can be sure that the quality will be excellent and you get your money’s worth.

All of these changed with the advent of electric quartz watches. The moving parts in these quartz watches are few or non existent at all. This makes the quartz watches easier to manufacture at a much more productive rate. Also, the electric movements’ lack of moving parts makes the quartz watches sturdy, making them capable of resisting hard impacts.

The first electric quartz watch was made in Switzerland in 1962 by the CEH Laboratory. Then 1969 saw the first electric quartz watch that entered production. This quartz watch was the Seiko 35 SQ Astron. After the introduction of the Seiko Astron, modern improvements of electronic movements in quartz watches were manufactured in huge numbers. So much so that even the cheapest wristwatch has quartz watch movements.

Electric watches work in the following way:

Electric quartz watches use a piezoelectric effect in a small quartz crystal for its operation. That is why electric watches are often labeled as quartz watches. Piezoelectric effect is the production of electricity in the quart crystal that is subjected to mechanical stress. Specifically, this effect provides the quartz watch a constant time base for a mostly electronic movement.

Electronic movements in quartz watches work like this. The crystal reverberates at a precise and high frequency. The reverberations are at pace with a timekeeping mechanism. In other words, while the movement is mainly electronic, it is designed to drive the mechanical hands on the face of the watch.

Typically, the electronic movements in quartz watches have a frequency of 32768 Hertz. The frequency is converted into a 1 pulse per second signal using a simple 15 stage divide-by-two circuit. This pulse is responsible for the watch’s timekeeping.

The electronic movements in quartz watches that use quartz crystals are very accurate. In fact, the movements are more accurate than the ones that are purely mechanical. That is why quartz watches are often regarded as more precise than the classier mechanical watches.

For example, while costly mechanical watches can be off the actual time several seconds in a day, even the most inexpensive quartz watch can be accurate within 500 milliseconds in one day. That is 10 times more accurate than any mechanical watch.

Definitely, quartz watches have more advantages than mechanical watches. It is a good idea to get one now.