All about the watch

History

In 1504, the first portable, timepiece was invented in Nuremberg, Germany by Peter Henlein. The first reported person to actually wear a watch on the wrist was the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) but this was in fact a pocket watch that he attached to his wrist with a piece of string.

The actual wrist watch was invented by the Swiss watch maker, Patek Phillippe in the late 1800s but at first only women wore them. It was Louis Cartier who created the first men’s wristwatch for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, an aircraft engineer who found a pocketwatch inconvenient to look at when in a flight cabin

Watches have come a long way since then  - waterproof, shatterproof, eco-friendly  and even musical MP3 watches or spy watches featuring videos and cameras. Who knows what they’ll be able to do in the future!

Bezel - The upper portion of the watch that surrounds the face and holds the crystal. On many watches the bezel rotates, either uni or bi directionally. Rotating bezels can be used to measure elapsed time. Some bezels may be embellished with crystals or diamonds.

Bracelet - The bracelet or 'watch band' of a wristwatch is a linked bracelet used to hold the watch to the wrist. Made in a variety of materials from Stainless Steel to Solid Gold the bracelet can be sized to fit the wearer. Additional links can be ordered via our site to replace lost or broken links or to increase the size of the watch should you require.

Clasp - The clasp or catch is used to secure the watch bracelet to the wearers wrist. Many types of clasp exist, some have spring loaded push buttons others simply clip down. Clasps are often easy to replace, however it is important that an original clasp is fitted ensuring a secure fixing to the original bracelet.

Crown - The crown, sometimes referred to as the 'winder' or 'button' is used to set the time and date on your watch. If damaged the crown can become hard to use and may cause damage to other parts of the watch. Many crowns, particularly on watches over 100m water resistant, have rubber gaskets that protect the inner workings of the watch from water ingress. Original crowns can be supplied and fitted by ourselves. Damage to the crown is often accompanied by damage to the 'stem' (Please see 'stem' below)

Dial - The 'face' of the watch. The dial shows the time and often day, date and stopwatch functions

Glass - The glass or 'crystal' is the transparent front of the watch that protects the hands form dust, dirt and damage. Materials that are used include mineral crystal, sinthetic sapphire and resin. Replacement glass to replace those that are damaged or scratched can be supplied and fitted by Creative Watch Co.

Link - One of the sections which make up a watch bracelet. Links are often held together by 'split pins', screws or spring bars and can be used to lengthen existing watch bracelets or replace damaged links. We can supply original replacement links for most of our brands.

Lug(s) - The protruding parts of a watch case that hold the strap or bracelet. We may ask you for the distance between the lugs to ascertain the width of the strap or bracelet required.

Movement - Also referred to as the 'workings', 'insides' or 'clockwork' of a watch. The watch movement regulates the time and powers the watch hands. Movements are powered by many sources, most commonly a battery or power cell or in the case of automatic watches the movement of the wearers wrist. We are able to replace batteries in most watch brands. Servicing is also available should your automatic or mechanical watch not be functioning correctly.

Pusher - The button or buttons which activate the chronograph or other functions of a watch. Chronograph watches typically have two buttons, one above and one below the crown.

Safety Catch - A hinged metal section on a watch catch that prevents accidental opening. The safety catch is most often an integral part of the catch and so can only be replaced as a whole unit.

Spring Bar - The sprung steel (also known as a 'spring pin') pin that holds the watch strap or bracelet to the watch case. The spring bar fits between the two lugs on the watch case and securely fits case and strap together. We recommend replacing both spring bars at the same time as the bar on the other side is often worn and may fail too.

Stem - The metal bar that connects the watch crown to the gears inside a watch enabling the user to set the time and date. Damage to the watch crown is often accompanied by damage to the stem which may also need replacing if the crown is damaged or missing.

Strap - Also known as a 'watch band'. Made of a variety of materials including Leather, Rubber or Fabric but not including metals. We are able to supply original watch straps for most models of the brands we carry. In some cases alternative colours or styles may be available or you may be able to change an existing strap to a metal bracelet.

Wing - At the point where a metal bracelet meets the watch case there is often a shaped piece of metal that helps to attach the watch case to the bracelet. If this is lost or badly damaged we can supply replacements.

Login

New to Creative Watch?

Register
Close