Makes of Watches What makes a brand different from the other? This topic is lengthy but here are some reasons 1. Source of their watch movements - manufactured by themselves vs outsourcing 2. Quality of their finished products - materials used, chronomater rating  3. Reliability and backup Service - accuracy of time keeping, after sales service 4. Affordability
	Types of Watches Quartz -Battery Operated Kinetic -Uses the movement of the wrist to charge an energy "battery" Manual Wind -Needs to be wound up manually to work Self-Winding – Uses the movement of the wrist to power the watch mechanism
	Movements Chronograph - In addition to the normal timing system, have a seperate time system consisting of sub-dials  that generally indicate second, minute and hour resolutions. It allows the timing of a duration. Moonphase - Displays the phases of the moon
	Power Reserve Either an indication on the dial or a specification as to how many hours the watch will run without needing winding, manually or automatically. Some kinetic/quartz watches also have a power reserve indicator
	Luminescent Markings Glow-in-the-dark coating that is applied to the hands and hour-markers.
	Typical Watch Case Sizes Ladies -23mm Unisex – 28mm Midsize – 31mm Gents – 34mm Gents – 38mm Large - above 40mm
	Watch Body Part Explanation END PIECE  Folded End-piece - A unit of metal, folded and cut into a designed shape to connect the bracelet with the  case.  Solid End-piece - Solid unit of metal machined and drilled to connect the bracelet with the case LUGS/HORNS – the part where the end-piece  is attached to the watch  CROWN/WINDER – Is used to adjust the time  - On wind-up watches is used to windup the watch -generally if its pulled out to the last position, is used to set the date  GLASS - Section to protect the dial  SAPPHIRE crystal  - highly scratch resistant MINERAL Glass   PLEXI (plastic or acrylic) DISPLAY BACK OR SEE-THRU BACK – Usually a sapphire glass on the base case to allow the watch mechanism to be viewed UNI-DIRECTIONAL BEZEL – Turns in one direction only. This is a safety measure as accidental adjustment means means less diving time (in the case of diver's) Can be used as a simple timer up to 1 hour.  TUBE - On watches which have a screwed down winder, this is part on which the crown is screwed  down. DIAL -the face of the watch SUB DIAL a smaller dial that is used to display anything from seconds, minutes, hours, date, Moon phase  or even another dial showing a different time zone.
	Materials

18KT – Yellow Gold
18KT WG – White Gold
18KT RG – Rose Gold

Solid Gold - case, bracelet, buckle & crown in solid gold. 
Steel & Gold - gold parts of at least 500 microns. 
Steel & Gold Cap - gold parts of at least 200 microns. 
Gold Plated - at least 5 microns.  (RGP)
Two Tone - less than 5 microns. 
SS – Stainless Steel

	Watch Bracelet/Strap Materials  Leather – Teju Lizard, Croc, Ostrich, buffalo Plastic/Rubber  Shark Skin, Kevlar  Metal 18KT, SS, Brushed SS/ Two-Tone
	Bracelets Clasp – is the equivalent of the buckle on the strap Double folded clasp – for extra safety  Diver's extension piece – normally concealed in the clasp, can be unclipped to  extend the entire bracelet length by about 1cm. This allows the watch to be worn  over a diving suit.
	Finishes Polished - surface reflecting light with mirror-like brilliance.  Fine-brushed - product brushed to a smooth and elegant finish.  Sapphire-blasted - surface bombarded with microspheres of pulverized sapphire for a low-gloss effect
	Deployants Is like a bracelet buckle which has already been adjusted to the wrist size. It facilitates easy removal and  fitting of the watch.
	Quickset Date On newer watches -the crown is generally pulled out to the first position and by simply rotating the crown, one can adjust the date.  On older watches - one has to advance the hands past the 12 'o clock position (midnight) to have the date  incremented.  Cyclops Date Window - A Trade mark on non-diving Rolex models – it magnifies the date by 2.5 times.
	Automatic helium valve The powerful pressure exercised on the helium reduces the size of its particles and enables it to seep  even more easily into the chronograph. When rising to the surface, the gas particles expand as the  pressure decreases, creating overpressure inside the piece. The helium valve is thus automatically  activated to allow the gas to escape and prevent any deterioration of the product
	Hallmarking/Signing a watch  When manufacturers emboss their trade mark logos on various parts of  the  watch eg. Logo on the Dial, coronet on the crown, emblem or picture   (as is the case on the constellation) on the back case. This is generally a sign of a good watch
	Chronometer Rating  - COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute) by which accuracy of a  watch is determined. Watches which have this rating have passed this test. Almost all good quality  watches have met this standard (although they may not have the offical rating)
	NOS - Normal but old stock. This is either a demo model or just never sold before model. Sold with garauntee
	Repeater - seen on both clocks and watches. Normally activated by a push button. When pressed, in  the case of a half repater, will chime/gong the number of hours passed since midnight