Watches are pretty ace. But we’ll be the first to admit that all the craftsmanship and the heritage that goes into them counts for very little if you are baffled by all the jargon that comes with them. To help you out, below is a quick reference guide to some essential aspects of watches that you should (or at least pretend to) know…
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1. The Case
The body that both hgolds and protects the watch movement. It’s often made from one piece of metal and includes the lugs.
2. The Dial
Also known as the face, it displays the time with markings and subdials.
3. The Crystal
The covering that protects the dial. It’s typically made of glass, plastic or synthetic sapphire (ie. crystallised aluminium oxide).
4. The Bezel
The outer ring that holds the crystal in place. Some functioning bezels (toothed for easy grip) rotate in one direction to allow the wearer to mark elapsed time.
5. The Pushers
The buttons used to start and stop the basic chronograph functions. The top pusher is generally used to start and stop the stopwatch function; the bottom pusher resets it to zero.
6. The Crown
Also known as the stem, it’s often found at the 3 o’clock position and used to adjust the settings. In manual watches, the crown is used to wind the mainspring.
7. The Batons
The rectangular bars affixed to a watch dial in place of numerals to mark the hours.
8. The Subdials
Usually found on the dials of chronographs, these small circles are used to indicate time elapsed in varying measurements. You’ve never seen anything quite like Richard Mille Regatta Flyback.
