How consumers can identify watch quality

As the watch market heats up, watches have transcended their simple timekeeping function to become symbols of personal taste and status, favoured by an increasing number of consumers. However, a large proportion of these consumers know very little about watches. Therefore, we will introduce basic knowledge about watches and how to simply identify the quality of timepieces.

   1, Classification and main features of timepieces

    Timepieces are currently divided into two main categories: mechanical watches and quartz electronic watches.

    (I)   Mechanical timepieces

    (1)   Standard mechanical timepieces
    (2)   Calendar or day-date mechanical timepieces = standard mechanical timepiece + calendar or day-date mechanism.
    (3)   Mechanical table clocks, pendulum clocks, wall clocks, etc.
    (4)   Automatic watches = standard watch + automatic mechanism
    (5)   Calendar or day-date automatic watches = standard watch + calendar or day-date mechanism + automatic mechanism
    (6)   Multi-function complications: In addition to calendar or day-date and automatic functions, these include stop-seconds, moon phase, leap year, month length, and other functions.

    Main features:

    (1)   The vast majority of movement components are made of metal.
    (2)   The oscillation system is generally a balance wheel and hairspring, with a frequency typically ranging from 18000 to 28800 vibrations per hour, meaning the balance wheel assembly oscillates 5 to 8 times per second; a very small number of watches use a frequency of 36000 vibrations per hour; table clocks and grandfather clocks use a gravity pendulum as the oscillation system, oscillating 1 times per second.
    (3)   Due to the low oscillation frequency, timekeeping accuracy is lower than that of quartz electronic timepieces.
    (4)   Power is provided by a mainspring, an elastic component made of stainless alloy steel. The mainspring is tightened using a manual winding mechanism or an automatic winding mechanism, converting kinetic energy into the elastic potential energy of the spring. As the spring unwinds, it converts this elastic potential energy back into kinetic energy, supplying the energy lost by the balance wheel and hairspring assembly during oscillation and ensuring a consistent amplitude.
    (5)   The total number of parts is higher than in a quartz watch. A standard mechanical watch has approximately 130 parts; a calendar or day-date automatic watch has approximately 200 parts. The manufacturing process is complex, involving approximately 1000 to 1500 stages.
    (6)   The assembly and repair of these are more complex than those of quartz electronic watches.

    (II)   Quartz electronic watches.

    (1)   Analogue quartz electronic watches: The time display method is the same as that of mechanical clocks and watches, and they may also include a calendar, day-date display, or other functions.
    (2)   Digital quartz electronic clocks and watches: The time is displayed using digits, allowing for additional functions.
    (3)   Hybrid quartz electronic clocks and watches: Hybrid quartz electronic clocks and watches = analogue quartz electronic clocks and watches + digital quartz electronic clocks and watches. By combining two movements, either sharing a single battery or using separate batteries, they achieve both analogue hand indication and digital time display.

    Main features:

    (1)   The system utilises a quartz oscillator. The vibration frequency is generally 32768 cycles per second.
    (2)   High timekeeping accuracy: The daily rate is generally 0.5 seconds, which is 15 seconds per month; high-precision models have an annual variance of 1 to 2 seconds.
    (3)   Movements can be designed and manufactured to be very small and thin: the smallest movement is 3.5 ligne; the thinnest movement is 1.2 millimetres.
    (4)   Movements have fewer parts; an analogue quartz electronic watch has approximately 30% of the parts of a mechanical watch; digital quartz clocks have even fewer, with no metal transmission parts, only a small number of buttons, springs, and screws.
    (5)   Energy is provided by batteries: these include chemical batteries and physical batteries.
    (6)   Assembly and repair are relatively convenient.

    2, Composition and Function of Clocks and Watches

    Clocks and watches are composed of two parts: the movement and the exterior:

    Movement—the mechanism that generates accurate time, with a wide variety of structures. Clocks and watches of different brands may use different or identical movements; even with the same movement, different brands may have different quality standards for the movement. Currently, countries producing clocks and watches are gradually moving towards standardisation, specification, and series production, with professional movement manufacturers supplying watch brands. Only some renowned watch manufacturers with long histories and unique styles continue to use in-house movements. These movements are not sold externally, which helps prevent counterfeiting.

     Exterior—the casing that protects the movement for normal operation and for the user to wear, mainly including the case, case back, crown, dial, hands (display), and strap or bracelet. These are combined to achieve an aesthetic, sturdy, and durable result. For watches, there is an additional requirement for dust and water resistance, meaning good sealing.

     Identification of Counterfeit Clocks and Watches

    Modern clocks and watches are the culmination of precision mechanical engineering and microelectronics. There are at least several thousand watch brands in the world. Categorised by quality and price, they are essentially high, medium, or low grade, with truly famous ones numbering no more than a hundred. Currently, the displayed luxury watch brands have histories spanning 1 to 2 hundred years.

    1, Brand Counterfeiting:    

    Brand counterfeiting generally occurs with high-end luxury brands because of the high profits involved. The trademarks and exterior components are made to look identical to the original products, appearing flawless at first glance. Even the packaging, manuals, and certificates of authenticity are complete. However, the watches use movements that do not match the brand, or the materials used for the components are of inferior quality. The production cost for such a brand is lower. They are often sold internally at prices much lower than the original brand, yet still yield high profits. In some cities with inadequate watch testing facilities and irregular shopping centres, these are also sold, causing significant losses to users. In the domestic market, there have been instances of fake Rolex, fake Rado, and fake Fiyta watches.

    2, Counterfeit Exterior Components

    Currently, exterior components account for a high proportion of a watch's price. For example, a Cartier watch produced in France is priced at 352 ten thousand RMB. It is set with 36 carats of natural diamonds; calculated at 6 ten thousand per carat, the diamonds alone are worth over 200 ten thousand. Therefore, counterfeit exterior components should be strictly addressed, primarily in the following aspects:

    (1)   Identification of natural diamonds, synthetic diamonds, and rhinestones (glass stones): Natural diamonds are the hardest of all materials, rated at a hardness of 10; synthetic diamonds are generally rated at 8 to 9; rhinestones (glass stones) have a lower hardness than natural and synthetic diamonds and are fragile. Synthetic diamonds and rhinestones are very cheap, costing only 0.1 to 0.2 RMB per stone. Therefore, when purchasing a watch with natural diamonds, one must be careful about authenticity to avoid being deceived. If necessary, go to the relevant department for testing.

    (2)   Identification of K-gold, gold-plated, and acid-gold plated items: The surface colours of K-gold, gold-plated, and acid-gold plated items are all yellow, making them difficult to distinguish and prone to counterfeiting. For example, a K-gold case may have differences such as 10KK gold, 14KK gold, or 18KK gold, which are difficult to distinguish without testing equipment. Some even pass off gold-plated cases as K-gold cases. Furthermore, the thickness of the gold-plated layer on a gold-plated case is also difficult to measure. Some watches are marked as 3 microns gold-plated, but in reality, they do not even have 1 microns. After using the watch for more than 1 year, the gold turns black, and it even loses its rust-prevention capability. Therefore, users should ask clearly when purchasing gold-coloured watches, as shopping centres have regulations that the exterior is not covered by warranty. Of course, for expensive K-gold cases, people do not dare to counterfeit them easily, but there may be differences in the gold content ratio.

    (3)   Counterfeit watch crystals: As introduced earlier, there are three types of watch crystals currently in use: acrylic, ordinary quartz glass, and sapphire crystal. What is easily confused and difficult to distinguish is quartz glass and sapphire crystal. There is a significant difference in quality and price between the two. Sapphire crystal was once called "scratch-proof glass" and has now been changed to "scratch-resistant glass". Its price is dozens of times that of ordinary quartz glass; therefore, only high-end watches use sapphire crystal. Fake Rolex watches sold in the past used ordinary quartz glass for their crystals. In the absence of testing equipment, a simple method can be used to distinguish between ordinary quartz glass and sapphire crystal: place a drop of water on the flat surface of the watch crystal and then stand it upright; if the water remains as a small bead without spreading, it is sapphire crystal.

    3, counterfeit and inferior movements

    Currently, the world's watch movement producers include Switzerland, Japan, China, and other countries. By examining the movements used by various brands, one can distinguish between genuine and counterfeit or inferior watches.

    (1)   All imported Swiss watches must use Swiss-made movements. If a movement is found to be made in Japan, China, or another country, the watch is a counterfeit or inferior product.

    (2)   All imported Japanese watches must use Japanese-made movements. If a movement is found to be made in Switzerland, China, or another country, the watch is a counterfeit or inferior product.

    (3)   Domestically produced watches use a wide variety of movements, including Swiss, Japanese, and domestic ones. The issue lies in the use of inferior movements to assemble watches for sale, passing them off as high-quality goods to deceive consumers.

    4, eradicating counterfeit and inferior goods to protect consumer interests

    Since China joined the WTO, timepieces from various countries have entered the domestic market through many channels, leading to more intense competition. Effective measures should be taken to resist the influx of counterfeit and inferior goods and reduce quality risks in imported stock. It is essential to exercise strict control in the following areas to eradicate counterfeit and inferior goods and protect consumer interests.

    (1)   Controlling supply channels and the product quality of domestic manufacturers

     (2)   Strengthening the supervision of timepiece product quality in the market, conducting regular spot checks on commercial or specialist stores, publishing quality inspection results, and notifying manufacturers and operators to rectify or cease the sale of substandard timepieces within a specified period.

    (3)   Handling consumer complaints regarding timepiece quality and providing quality appraisals and certifications.

    To protect their own interests, consumers who suspect or doubt the authenticity of their purchased goods can have them tested at a timepiece quality supervision and inspection station, which will issue a test certificate.