Independent watch reference
Straight answers about watches
Independent, fact-checked answers about watches: accuracy, water resistance, sizing, movements, brands, models, prices, value and repair.
- 304 pages, every figure traced to a published standard, a patent or manufacturer documentation
- Prices in US dollars, with the local variables named rather than hidden
- Dated pages, named desks and a public corrections log
Water resistance
Can I shower with my watch?
Depth is not the problem in a shower. Hot water, soap and temperature swings are what kill gaskets. What each water resistance rating really allows.
Fit and sizing
What size watch fits my wrist?
Your wrist size gives you a range of workable case sizes, not one correct diameter. How to measure, what lug-to-lug does, and how to test before you buy.
Accuracy and standards
How accurate is an automatic watch?
Typical automatic watch accuracy is roughly minus 10 to plus 20 seconds a day, with chronometers tested to minus 4 to plus 6. How to judge yours.
Care and servicing
How much does a watch service cost?
Typical price ranges for a full service, independent watchmaker versus brand service center, what the fee includes, and why parts availability drives the bill.
Buying
How can I tell if a watch is fake?
Modern counterfeits defeat most dial-side tests. What still gives them away, which checks are worthless, and when to pay for authentication.
Buying
Is a Rolex a good investment?
A watch pays no yield, costs money to keep, and sells with wide spreads. What the numbers really look like, plus how a resale gain is taxed.
Accuracy and standards
Why is my automatic watch running fast?
Sudden gains of a minute or more a day are usually magnetism. Smaller gains come from amplitude, position, temperature or a recent knock.
Care and servicing
Do I need a watch winder?
Mostly no. A winder earns its place on perpetual and annual calendars. How turns per day and direction settings work, and the wear debate.
Understand how it works
Long-form explanations of the machine, the standards and the money.
All guidesComplications
How a mechanical watch works
A mechanical watch turns a wound spring into a steady beat. Here is the whole chain, from mainspring to escapement to hands, and what each part actually does.
Water resistance
Water resistance ratings, decoded
A 30 meter rating is not a depth limit. It is a static laboratory pressure test on a new watch. Here is what each rating allows and what really kills a seal.
Buying
Buying your first mechanical watch
A first mechanical watch is a decision, not a shopping list. How to set a budget, choose a movement, judge fit and pick a buying channel, in that order.
Accuracy and standards
Watch accuracy and chronometer standards
What COSC, METAS and Grand Seiko actually certify, what their rate tolerances mean, and how to measure your own watch properly over seven days.
Work it out for yourself
Calculators that answer one question in one screen, entirely in your browser.
All toolsMovements
Beat rate converter
Convert watch beat rates: vibrations per hour to hertz, beats per second, seconds hand steps and beats per day.
Buying
Cost of ownership calculator
Work out what a watch really costs per year once servicing and realistic resale are counted, not just the sticker price.
Fit and sizing
Strap and lug width finder
Find the right watch strap: lug width, buckle size, spring bar thickness and the strap length for your wrist.
Complications
Tachymeter calculator
Use a chronograph tachymeter without the guesswork: enter elapsed seconds and distance to get speed, or units produced per hour.
What it costs
Purchase, servicing and resale in US dollars, with the assumptions shown.
All price guidesBuying
What a first mechanical watch costs
What a first mechanical watch costs in 2026, band by band from $100 to $2,000, and exactly what each band buys in movement, crystal, sealing and bracelet.
Care and servicing
Watch service costs
What a full watch service costs in US dollars by movement type, why the bill is labor rather than parts, and the honest test for when a service is not worth doing.
Buying
Watch depreciation by brand
How much value watches lose, brand group by brand group, in indicative resale ranges rather than point figures, and why the exceptions are a handful of references.
Buying
The cost of owning a mechanical watch
The full ten-year arithmetic in US dollars: purchase, servicing, insurance and straps, minus realistic resale, worked through on three watches at different prices.
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Accuracy and standards
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Buying
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Care and servicing
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Complications
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Fit and sizing
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History
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Materials
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Movements
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Water resistance
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Brands