Taking Care of a Watch

One of the major functions of a timepiece is to provide precision. We usually wear our watches on the wrist, where they are not completely protected from damage or abuse, and quite often we do not realize it. If we want our precision instrument serve us faithfully, it is necessary to take good care of them.

There are some precious pieces of advice to help watch owners extend the life of their time-telling friends.

You should always clean off dirt, dust or perspiration, and wipe it dry as soon as possible in case a timepiece gets wet. If you clean resin straps regularly in order to remove skin salts or chlorine left after visiting a swimming pool, it will continue to work properly and provide soft feeling. There are watch models water resistant to various degrees while others are not. To find it out you have to see back of the case or dial.

If your watch is not water resistant protect it from getting wet and remove your watch when washing your hands, working or playing around water or walking in the rain. A hot shower may cause the bending of gaskets, drying out of grease and premature ageing. If moisture penetrates into your watch’s circuit boards, it is impossible to remove it 100%, so it may become the reason for electrical shorts in future, even after a service has been fulfilled.

If your watch is water resistant, you should remember about the degrees of resistance related to pressure, evaluated in a static condition, at a certain depth under water. The pressure grows together with the speed of the object’s movement. This explains why a watch that is water resistant to 30 metres (approx 100ft) may leak while being exposed to water coming strongly from a tap, or worn while its owner is vigorously swimming, jumping into water or diving, as the intensified pressure may surpass the designed static resistance.

Any watch owner should remember that water resistance is not a constant condition. The gaskets fixed around the stem, case back or glass usually impair with time and should be regularly examined and changed if necessary. It is useful to clean and grease the battery hatch or case back gaskets whenever the battery is changed. Some outlets forget to do this when changing the watch's battery, which brings about the risk of moisture or dirt entering the module stopping or damaging the watch.

Every watch should be provided with regular service and new seals and gaskets. The service is necessary every 2-3 years for mechanical watches, or 3-4 years for quartz watches to guarantee long life and perfect time keeping.

What about Watch Accuracy?

Quartz watches provide accuracy to +/- 15 seconds a month exposed at a temperature ranging from 5-35 degrees C. You should keep in mind that quartz timepieces are affected by strong magnetic or electrical fields, such as TVs, speakers, etc.

The brands manufacturing basic mechanical / automatic watches provide their accuracy to -15/+25 seconds a day, when new. With careful regulation it is possible to get a better rate by adjusting to the personal wearer's use.