
Welcome to the world of precision and the appreciation for amazing little wonders that no one really needs!
In this post you'll find:
- History of the wrist watch
- Explanation of the different types of watches
- List of the different brands
- Recommended YouTube channels
What we will share here:
- News about current developments in the wrist watch market
- Reviews and impressions of watches
- Enthusiasm, questions and discussions of all watch related topics

History of the wrist watch (click to see full article)
Nothing has shaped our present understanding of time as much as the invention of the wristwatch. In everyday life, people wear it out of normality. In reality, wristwatches are two centuries old and have made a lot of development since its introduction.
The need to measure time has existed for several millennia: 5,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians invented the sundial. Its circular design and time periods have helped shape the appearance of modern watches. Reading the time was dependant on sunlight and therefore only possible during the day. The first watch that was not dependant on sunlight was the water clock. It was followed by the hourglass and the the wheel clock in the 14th century. The latter already contained the first basic elements that can currently be found in mechanical watches, but was very inaccurate. It was equipped with a so called "Unrast" – a less accurate predecessor of the balance wheel.
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What kinds of watches are there?
Separated by display
Digital display:
- Watches with a digital display. Using a battery, it will show you the time on a screen. Smart watches say "Hi".
Analogue display:
- Watches that use real, physically moving parts to show the time.
Separated by movement type
Smart watch:
- Basically just a computer with a watch-style display and housing. No need for explanation, I think.
Quartz movements:
- Not especially complex mechanical parts, powered by an electronic oscillator regulated by the vibrations of a quartz crystal in order to work. Extremely accurate, very simple to service, low prices (in general).
Mechanical movements:
- Made of hundreds or even thousands of small pieces, these watches work without any electricity and are hand-wound by spinning the crown. They then usually run for around 40 hours. Depending on the quality of the movement, it can lose or gain a couple seconds per day. Needs to be serviced from time to time, usually premium price tag.
Automatic movements:
- Same as the mechanical movement, but self winding. Using a rotor to capture the kinetic energy of your movement to wind the watch.
Spring Drive movement:
- This is the odd one, by Grand Seiko. The biggest advancements in many years. While "classical" mechanical/automatic moevements have an inaccuracy of a couple seconds a day (in general), this movement has that same amount.... per month.
"Oversimplified, the spring drive combines the accuracy of quartz with the mechanical beauty of a mechanical movement to create something altogether new. Virtually the entire movement is mechanical, not fundamentally dissimilar to the mechanical Grand Seiko 9S55 movement. But a tiny, yet critically important, area of the mechanical movement has been replaced: the escapement. In its place now resides the tri-synchro regulator, the key to the entire design. The result is that the movements are beautifully made, automatic or hand wound, almost completely mechanical and yet supremely accurate. Spring drives have other unique advantages too: the seconds hand is perfectly smooth and the watch is silent."
Link
Separated by functionality / type
We can go even deeper. There are dive-watches, racing-watches, dress-watches, GMT-watches, chronographs, pilot watches, military watches etc.
So yes, there is a watch for basically anything. It doesn't mean though that a dive-watch for example is just being used for diving. In reality, this isn't even the case most of the time. It's more about the functionalities and the style of the watch. Most people don't go diving with a Rolex Submariner.

Wrist watch manufacturer and brands
There are many different brands, with their own history. Some are well known, many are not. You can find a full list here.
Top 20 watch brands by revenue:


Recommended YouTube channels:
There are many channels, here just a few that I personally recommend.
Watchfinder & Co
Amazingly shot, very calm and pleasant voice, interesting content.
WatchBox Reviews
Great for a quick overview over a ton of watches. You get the specs, how it looks on the wrist, all the most important infos in around 5 min.
Teddy Baldassarre
Very well shot, with a lot of information.


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