Noir Luxe Set
£133.90
Vintage Glamour Set
£74.24
Golden Luxe Crystal Set
£74.24
Emerald Dreams Set
£89.23
While we don't sell watches (yet), here are pieces that pair beautifully with one
A watch is jewellery you check forty times a day — and the watch world has its own vocabulary that can feel like a locked door. Whether you're buying a first proper watch or decoding the one you inherited, here are the fundamentals in plain English.
Quartz: the accurate workhorse
A quartz watch runs on a battery. Current makes a tiny quartz crystal vibrate 32,768 times per second, and circuitry converts that into the tick of the hands. The result is remarkable accuracy — typically within about 15 seconds a month — with almost zero maintenance beyond a battery change every few years. Quartz watches are also the most affordable. The giveaway: the second hand ticks once per second in distinct steps.
Automatic: the tiny machine
An automatic (self-winding) mechanical watch contains no battery at all — a rotor inside spins as you move your wrist, winding a spring that powers hundreds of tiny parts. Accuracy is typically within a few seconds to half a minute per day — objectively worse than quartz — and it needs servicing every five to seven years. So why do enthusiasts pay more for worse accuracy? Craft. A mechanical movement is a miniature machine with centuries of engineering heritage, and the second hand sweeps smoothly rather than ticking. Note: if you don't wear an automatic for a couple of days, it stops (most hold a 38–80 hour "power reserve") — that's normal, not broken.
The vocabulary, decoded
| Term | Plain English |
|---|---|
| Chronograph | Built-in stopwatch (the extra sub-dials and pushers) |
| GMT | Shows a second time zone with an extra hand |
| Sapphire crystal | Glass made of synthetic sapphire — highly scratch-resistant, found on better watches |
| Mineral crystal | Hardened glass — decent, but scratches more easily than sapphire |
| Complication | Any function beyond telling the time (date, moonphase, alarm) |
Water resistance: the honest translation
This is where watch marketing most misleads people. "30m water resistant" does not mean you can dive to 30 metres — the ratings are lab pressure tests, not real-world promises. The practical translation: 30m = splashes and rain only; 50m = okay for a swim; 100m = swimming and snorkelling; 200m+ = actual diving. And gaskets age, so an older watch's rating can't be trusted without a pressure test.
Which should you choose?
For accuracy, low maintenance and value: quartz, without apology — some of the most respected everyday watches ever made are quartz. For craft, heritage and something that feels alive on the wrist: automatic, accepting the quirks as part of the charm. Either way, a watch joins your rings, chains and earrings as part of one wrist-and-hand picture — worth considering how the metals match.