Selection Guide
To assist you with your purchase of a new watch from www.militarywatchshop.co.uk , we have put together a comprehensive guide to selecting your new watch to ensure it meets your application needs.
Case - Options available are Fibre Glass Re-inforced Polymer, Stainless Steel, PVD Coated Stainless Steel or Titanium
The materials used all have different benefits and your choice is dependent ultimately upon price, appearance and weight. Polymer is used as it is very light but does not offer the same strength as a Stainless Steel case. The PVD case (Physical Vapour Deposition) coats the Steel case to enhance the properties and performance of the Steel as well as giving the case a Black tactical appearance. Titanium is the most expensive case material but is almost 50% lighter than Steel.
Glass - Options available are Hardened Mineral or Sapphire Crystal
Hardened mineral glass is a very common type of glass and is heat treated to help resist scratches. Sapphire is the most expensive and durable watch glass and it is approximately 3 times stronger than hardened mineral. This glass is usually only fitted to more expensive watch models due to the higher production cost. Anti-Reflective coating can be added to Sapphire glass to lessen reflections and glare and makes it easier to read the watch face
Crown & Water Resistance - Options available are Push In Crown - Water Resistance 30m , Push In Crown - Water Resistance 100m or Screw Down Crown - Water Resistance 200m
The crown is used for winding a manual watch, for setting the hands to the correct time and date but is also the most important feature when discussing water resistance. This term refers to the watch's ability to withstand ingress of water to varying degrees. For more information visit our watch care page (link to watch care)
The most secure crown is a screw down crown which is only available on metal cased watches as the crown screws onto a threaded pendant tube and a water proof seal is achieved when the case locks with the crowns internal thread and the O-ring seals
A push in crown utilises one, two or three O-ring seals depending upon the water resistance needed but as they can be open to the atmosphere, when adjusting the time and date it does not offer the same level of protection as the screw down variety but is usually suitable for most lifestyles. Water resistance with a push in crown
An overview on the definition of water resistance on the watches available is detailed below but please remember that water resistance is tested in static dry tests. For example, if you dive into a pool wearing a watch which is 30 metres water resistant, the pressure impacted upon the watch on hitting the water may be greater than that experienced at a 30 metre static test. As a result, the number of metres shown on a watch face does not indicate the depth that the watch can be taken to. All watches serviced by us must pass the water resistance test before we will despatch your watch back to you.
30 metres (3 atm) - Will easily withstand splashes of water and rain but should not be worn for swimming or any water sport activities.
100 metres (10 atm) - Suitable for swimming and snorkelling but should not be worn for Scuba diving or any impact water sports.
200 metres (20 atm) - Suitable for all water sport activities and Scuba diving.
Strap Pins - Options available are Heavy Duty Spring Pins or Screw In Pins
All of the watches featured on our website use either heavy duty diameter spring loaded pins or screw In pins to connect the watch strap to the case. Spring pins offer flexibility and are easy to change using a screwdriver or small bladed penknife. The solid screw in pins are stronger and able to resist the forces that can be put upon them. These can only be changed with the correct size screw driver, which in our case is 1.2mm diameter.
Illumination - Options available are Green or Blue
Green trigalights are more easily perceived by the eye and therefore appear brighter than blue because the human eye is most sensitive to it's wave length.and therefore are more practical for most night activities. That is why it is the chosen colour for military application. On the other hand, Blue is the favourite colour for a large percentage of the worlds population and is not as common as Green in terms of watch illumination.
Movement - Options available are Quartz 3 Hand, Swiss Quartz Chronograph & Alarm or Automatic
A quartz watch is battery-powered watch. The battery causes the quartz to vibrate and the integrated circuit translates these vibrations into one second beats. A chronograph model uses sub dials so that it can be used as a stopwatch in addition to just keeping the time. They feature a second hand with a flyback function which returns the hand quickly to zero, so you can start timing again. Simply press the start button to start the stop watch function and the second hand will start moving. Press stop to stop it and the reset button to activate the flyback and return the hand to zero. A quartz watch would keep time within + - 10 seconds a month
An automatic watch has a mechanical movement but it does not need to be regularly wound unless it is not worn. The automatic watch is wound continuously as the owner wears it: when the wrist moves, a rotor inside the watch rotates by the force of gravity, causing the mainspring to be wound. An automatic watch would keep time with + - 10 seconds a day.
Strap - Options available are Nato, Textile & Leather, Rubber, Silicon, Leather or Metal bracelet
There are a variety of straps available for all watch models featured on our website and the choice depends upon the users style and requirements. Nato watch straps are single piece straps favoured by the military as they will withstand a broken spring bar and have advantages when using in adverse weather conditions.
Rubber and Silicon straps are designed as flexible, durable, comfortable watch straps that can be used in water whereas the comfortable padded leather watch strap is the more traditional and smarter option.
The metal bracelets are very solid, robust, hard wearing and are designed specifically for a watch as they match the case finish and feature shaped end pieces to perfectly fit the strap to the shaped watch case. Although they are more expensive than the other strap options, it gives the watch a completely different look.