Watches have hundreds of minuscule parts, meticulously assembled by artisans who can trace their craft back to the watchmakers under Elizabeth, Peter, and Napoleon. we know not everyone can be a serious watch nerd like us and we want to make it easy for those interested in getting a good watch to make the right decision.  For those of you who want to take their timepieces a bit more seriously, here are five sure signs of a quality watch.

Sign One: Weight

weight is a sign of reliability for watches.A high quality watch is crafted from steel, platinum, gold or a combination of these materials.   When you lift the watch it should have a weight to it that signifies it has been made from hard wearing, high quality materials. 

Sign Two: The Movement (The Sweep)

The movement is the primary mechanism which tells the time. There are three movements, Quartz, mechanical & automatic. 

Manual and automatic movements are mechanical; they are both made up of only mechanical parts like gears and springs. The quartz and auto-quartz movements have an electrical circuit and require a battery to run but may also have some mechanical parts. Mechanical watches are far more expensive than battery-powered ones because they are much more labor intensive to build. Even though battery watches are inherently more accurate, almost all collectors and connoisseurs prefer manual or automatic as these movements represent the accumulation of almost 600 years of refinement, expertise, and craftsmanship.

Sign Three: Materials 

The best watches are made from high quality materials such as steel, platinum,gold and other precious materials

Quality manufacturers invest heavily into R+R regarding the materials they use which result in a combination of metals & jewels which give the best performance in terms of style, comfort, robustness as well as accuracy.

Sign Four: Polishing

Generally speaking, high end watches will have more deliberate polishing. They’ll utilize a mix of matte, satin, and high polish.

Sign Five: Accuracy

As obvious as it is, a watch should be able to keep time reasonably well. While watches running on a quartz movement are kept accurate through the oscillation of a carefully cut quartz crystal, the less accurate mechanical watch is still the standard for luxury. These watches run on the precise movements of a complex series of gears and springs. Kept running through either the movement of a self-winding pendulum or a manually-wound mainspring, these watches inevitably lose seconds a day. The most precise watches in the world undergo rigorous testing, and are called chronometers. Swiss-made watches are tested by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, and are accurate to within ten seconds daily. Certifications such as these can mean the difference between a watch that stands the rigors of time, and watches that your grandchildren will need to have serviced weekly.

Have any tips on picking a quality watch? What sort of watch do you wear? Tell us in the comments!