Watches Are the Ultimate Holiday Gift for Him

Last week, we brought you holiday gift ideas for women (can’t go wrong with a diamond accented watch for her). Now, we present some fantastic watches for him that are sure to make him swoon.

For the active man who enjoys keeping busy in sporty activities, we suggest you take a look at the vast offering from Tudor. With a tagline that reads “Born to Dare” and brand ambassadors such as David Beckham and Beauden Barrett, this brand is sure to please. While the Pelagos watches are a win/win, we are especially excited about the brand’s Tudor Heritage Black Bay timepieces — icons in style. Also it is sold with a bracelet or a fabric strap for versatility.

If the guy in your life is more about style and sophistication and loves a great watch for work and weekend, you just can’t go wrong with a Rolex. While we love the Air-King, the Sky Dweller and the Cosmography Daytona, you may want to take a look at the Submariner line that can be both classic and a bit sporty, depending on your choice. No man ever walked away from a Rolex.

Want more ideas? Stop by our store anytime (but soon) and let our staff help you find just the right gift.

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Dazzle Them With Diamond Watches for the Holidays

There is definitely truth in the statement, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” That’s why watchmakers offer so many variations on diamond timepieces. The gemstones appear in many forms, from the subtly understated to the fully embellished. Diamond watches can be found at any price range — thanks to the variety of diamonds used in timepieces — and are offered today in gold and platinum lines, as well as those crafted in steel, titanium and high-tech materials.

For those who like a discreet shimmer, take a look at watches that simply have diamond markers on the dial. These stones are usually set into the dial replacing just the key numbers (12,3,6,9) or all numbers.

Want something more than a shine on the dial? Many watch brands offer timepieces with diamond bezels, as well, that surround the dial and gleam brightly. These pieces easily go from day to night, without looking overly “decked out” for work. Generally, diamonds set into bezels are round brilliant-cut stone positioned closely together so that no metal shows through. Some higher-end brands also offer bezels with baguette-cut diamonds, but these are always more expensive.

In fact, there are a host of different types of settings used in watchmaking, and some brands have even created their own settings. The most-used settings, though, are invisible (no metal showing), pavé (a fully pavéd look), channel (perfect rows of square or rectangular gems) and snow setting (where the stones seem to be set randomly, but are actually complex in their arrangements).

Looking to dress to the nines, many luxury timepieces offer dazzling diamond watches that feature complete pavé diamond dials, diamond bezels, even diamond cases and bracelets. Sometimes they mix in a few colored gemstones for added appeal. There is something for everyone, it is just a matter of “glitz” and budget. There are even diamond-adorned watches for men. Stop in any time to see our selection of diamond-adorned watches.

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Don’t Forget Him, Shop Watches for Men this Holiday!

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December Birthstones

Are you a December baby? December birthdays can sometimes lose some of their attention due to the craziness of the holiday season, but we haven’t forgotten you! December babies have three beautiful birthstones to choose from; Tanzanite, Zircon and Turquoise. Let’s look a little deeper at what’s behind these stones:

Tanzanite:

This bluish-purple stone is one of the newest to be discovered and is only available in one part of the world, Tanzania, making it rare and extremely coveted. The color of tanzanite can range from a pale blue to an intense blue with violet undertones that can rival sapphire.

A softer stone, it is recommended that you wear tanzanite as a necklace or earrings, but with proper care, a tanzanite will look beautiful no matter how you wear it.

14k Gold Tanzanite and Diamond Stud Earrings. $2,995

Zircon:

A beautiful yet underrated stone, zircon is affordable and comes in a variety colors- spanning red, orange, yellow, green, blue and brown, making it a good choice for many pieces in a collection.

Zircon is the oldest mineral on earth, dating back more than 4.4 billion years. During the Middle Ages, people believed zircon could induce sound sleep, ward off evil and bring prosperity. Blue zircon, in particular was popular during Victorian times and frequently adorned English estate jewelry from the 1880s.

Blue zircon is still the most common among buyers, but if you want to start a collection of beautiful and colorful gemstones, zircon is a great choice.

14k 5mm Blue Zircon Stud Earrings. $395

Turquoise:

Admired since ancient times, turquoise is known for its distinct color, which ranges from powdery blue to a greenish robin’s egg blue.

The earliest evidence of turquoise comes from ancient Egyptian tombs which contain elaborate turquoise jewelry dating back to 3000 BCE. They used turquoise in everything from rings and necklaces, to ornamental pieces and art. It’s no wonder that the Egyptians called the stone mefkat, which meant “joy” and “delight”.

Ancient Persians also decorated extensively with turquoise believing it offered protection. Native Americans used it in sacred ceremonies to communicate with the spirit of the sky and attached it to their bows to improve a hunter’s accuracy.

Now, it is a beautiful stone used in many modern, sleek jewelry designs. When purchasing turquoise jewelry, keep in mind that it is a softer stone and is sensitive to sunlight and solvents like makeup and perfumes.

Astley Clarke Turquoise Moon Biography Bracelet. $195

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Understanding What Power Reserve Means

When we show a mechanical watch to connoisseurs, they often ask, “How much power reserve does it have?”  What we in America call Power Reserve, the Swiss refer to as “Reserve de Marche,” and we want to explain what it means and how a watch is endowed with power.

Essentially, when a mechanical watch is fully wound, it is chocked with enough power to keep it running for a pre-determined length of time. By winding the watch, gears, teeth, springs and barrels all play a connected role to keep the watch running. In automatic mechanical watches, a “rotor” or oscillating weight moves with the movement of the arm or wrist and “winds” the watch. In a manual-wind watch, the wearer must manually turn the crown to fully power the timepiece.

Both of these methods essentially wind a long main spring that is coiled and placed inside a cylinder or barrel in the movement. This is where the energy is stored. The spring releases the energy, or the tension, in a consistent manner from when the watch is fully wound until it gets closer to the end of the spring’s tension. In other words, the spring is nearly unwound. This is when the watch would need to be re-wound to fully power it up.

The amount of power reserve inside of a watch is determined by the making of the movement. If it is single barrel watch, it has only one spring; if it is a double barrel watch, it has two strings and the power will last longer. Most mechanical watches typically have at least 48 to 72 hours of power reserve so that if you take your watch off at the end of the night on Friday and leave it off for the weekend, it should still be working on Sunday or Monday, when you don it for work again.

So if someone asks about the power reserve of a watch, it is essentially how long the watch will run without needing to be re-wound or shaken (in the case of an automatic). Many watch brands offer a neat little indicator dial that depicts when the power reserve is getting low. Sometimes this is done with an Up/Down indication, or with a plus or minus sign. Sometimes it is indicated via a hand that runs on an arc from blue or black at the top to red (empty) at the bottom. Some watch brands have even developed their own way of indicating when it is time to re-wind.

 

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