Chronometer is a Greek word meaning “timekeeper”. Today, only precision watches with a high level of accuracy may call themselves a chronometer, a designation that is subject to strict international test conditions. The independent Swiss monitoring organisation Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) tests watches for 15 days in five different positions and at three temperature levels.

Chronograph literally means “time writer”. You can both tell the time with a chronograph and use it to measure intervals of time.

A watch is considered to be water-resistant when the seals on the glass, crown and case back are able to protect the fine high-precision movement inside from moisture and water. Water-resistant watches that are regularly exposed to water should have their seals checked at least once every two years at an authorised specialist retailer. The elasticity of the seals may start to deteriorate after two years. External elements such as hand lotion, perfume and soap may also weaken the seals.

The list below outlines the general guidelines of the water resistancy you will receive from an accordingly rated watch. 30 Metres ( 3 ATM ) Splash proof and waterproof in small amounts of water. 50 Metres ( 5 ATM ) Can be submerged in water. Suitable for swimming, but not guaranteed to be resistant to jumping into the pool. 100 Metres ( 100 ATM ) Suitable for swimming and shallow diving. 200 Metres ( 200 ATM ) Suitable for diving - not deep sea. 300 Meters ( 300 ATM ) Suitable for all high-impact water sports, scuba-diving and saturation diving.

All machines require care and maintenance, even very small ones like watches. A watch movement, a fine machine consisting of up to few hundred individual components, is lightly oiled and greased in certain parts. This small amount of oil and grease dries out or is used up by the running of the watch movement. If the movement gets dirty and dry, the accuracy and/or power reserve of the watch may suffer. These are the first signs that maintenance may be necessary. Treat your mechanical or electronic watch to professional servicing every four to six years so that it keeps displaying the hours, minutes and seconds accurately again.

Yes, even sapphire glass can be scratched. Sapphire ranks as a 9 on a hardness scale ranging from 1 to 10. Only diamonds, ranking at 10, are harder. This means that sapphire glass can be scratched by a diamond or by an equally hard material. Concrete, for example, contains corundum, which also ranks as a 9 on the hardness scale, meaning it can also cause damage to sapphire glass.

Please contact an authorised specialist retailer immediately. They can dry out your watch on site and determine whether the moisture or water has already caused damage to the movement.

If an automatic watch is worn every day and subject to an average amount of hand motion, it will not need to also be wound manually. However, if you are preparing an automatic watch to be worn again after it has been left in storage for some time, simply shaking and setting it will not suffice. We therefore recommend that you wind the crown of your automatic wristwatch several times to support power supply before wearing it again.