Sports watches come in all shapes and sizes. Watches have loads of different functions all designed to enhance sporting excellence and to facilitate greater enjoyment of sport. Watches have the ability to record lap times and split times, they come with countdown timers and stopwatches, there are also high-tech watches that include barometers, altimeters and pedometers. Sports watches can be both analogue, digital or a combination of the two. The ones with digital displays will often have memory so they can record your progress over a number of weeks.

There are a number of things to consider before you buy a sports watch, firstly you need to consider your sport and the things that you need your watch to do. Take into account the weight of the watch, its water resistance rating, its functions and its style (a big watch would not be appropriate for cycling for example.)

Chronograph watches

A chronograph watch is a watch with a number, normally two or three, of sub dials. The functions of the sub dials vary, but commonly include a stopwatch and a breakdown of the second, minute and hour functions into their own dials. These watches are designed predominately for use in sports, although there are many models that use the chronograph function as a stylistic feature. Chronograph watches come in a wide range of styles and have different levels of practical use. The most advanced come with the ability to record multiple split and lap times, with stop watches that are  accurate to 1/100^th of a second.

 Water Resistant Watches

Having a watch that has a suitable water resistance rating for the activity you are undertaking is essential. A watch with a 3 or 5 atm rating is not suitable for jumping into water. Although it can be worn whilst swimming. 100m watches are the ideal standard for most water sports. The rating determines how much pressure can be placed upon the watch rather than the depth to which it can go down. Specialised divers watches are essential kit for divers and there are a number of watches that are specifically designed to be able to resist the pressure of great depths. Other sports may not appear to need such high levels of water resistance, but if a watch is being used as a tool for sports it is probably worth having one that has at least 3 or 5m water resistance.

Materials

Functions are not the only attributes that you should think about if you are buying a sports watch. The material that the watch is made from will determine how practical it is. Titanium watches are always light weight so they are often a favourite for sports enthusiasts. Rubber straps are also popular as they are easy to clean and are likely to last a long time even if they are used in the water. For much the same reason stainless steel bracelets are also popular. It is worth remembering that they are heavier than rubber straps but that they are also more durable.

Best Selling Sports Watches

Casio have a lot of watches that are designed for sports.  Most of the Casio watches are digital so they can have memory in which data can be stored, the digital set up also allows for switching between different functions with ease.  The Casio G-Shock range is designed for adrenalin fueled sports.  This global best selling range is designed to be shock proof so they are perfect for extreme sports.  

Citizen and Seiko both make high end sports watches, designed with the sporting professional in mind.  They look great and are packed full of functions to enable maximum benefit from sports. Citizen’s Promaster and Skyhawk rangesand Seiko’s Sportura Collection  demonstrate the immense capabilities of sports watches. 

Click here for the whole range of Titanium Watches

The 40^th anniversary of the moon landing has been and gone, so it seemed appropriate to write a short tribute to titanium as it is known as the ’space age metal’. Named after the legendary Titans of Greek mythology titanium has been instrumental in the progress of space travel and is consistently used in aircraft and many other industries from dentistry to weaponry and of course it is also used watches. Titanium has become an essential part of modern engineering thanks to having loads of useful qualities. The best feature of titanium is that it has the highest strength to weight ratio of all metals. Plus it’s low density makes it exceptionally light weight but it is still as strong as some steels.

This means that titanium has loads of practical applications including being used as a building material for watches. It is certainly suited to use in watches because it is lightweight and strong but it is also corrosion and dent resistant. Anything worn on the wrist is destined to take a lot of hits in its life so titanium which is unlikely to be damaged by daily wear and tear is perfect for protecting the delicate workings of watches.

Titanium has a metallic white colour which is suited to contemporary watch design. It is also quite ductile when in an oxygen free environment which means that it can be easily shaped to create watch cases and bracelets. Watches like this ladies titanium Seiko, pictured above, are made from titanium and are modern, stylish and practical because of it.

One more reason why titanium is used for watches is that is is generally found to be biocompatible. This means that it is unlikely to cause an allergic reaction when in contact with skin, which is why it is often used in body jewellery and for surgical implements and implants.

Altogether titanium is a really practical metal to make a watch out of. However it does have one drawback. In the earth’s crust it is the ninth most abundant element yet it is never found in high concentrations, it is scattered around all over the place. This combined with the high number of uses there are for it means that the price of titanium remains high. Often watch makers consider it prohibitively expensive to use in watches. Although Sekonda make this titanium ladies watch and this titanium gents watch available which are both a really great price and best sellers on Find Watches. Alternatively there are many high end watches made from titanium that normally have a host of other features for those that demand a lot from their watch. This Citizen eco-drive titanium chronograph is one example of this it is an elite watch designed with 200m water resistance and made to be exceptionally practical and durable. 

 You can view the whole range of titanium watches available here.

A Guide To Watch Bracelets and Straps

Watches come in all different shapes, colours and sizes but they are generally made from only a small amount of different materials.  I have compiled this list of the materials commonly used in watch manufacture so that you can quickly and easily tell which materials suit your needs best.

Gold Watches

Gold is used for luxury watches. There are two main reasons for this; firstly that gold is an expensive material, secondly that it is an extremely soft metal. Gold watches are dress watches, normally purchased for special occasions and are not typically suitable for everyday wear.

Gold Plated Watches

If you fancy a gold watch but want something more practical than a solid gold watch you can opt for a watch with a leather strap and gold case or a gold plated watch. Gold plated watches have the same lustrous colour as gold but come at a fraction of the price. New technology in this field means that instead of layering the gold on top of a base metal it can now be infused into it (by a process known as Physical Vapour Deposition or P.V.D.). This results in a more even spread of colour and longer lasting cover which is what you get with this beautiful ladies Rotary watch.

Silver Watches

Silver is not as expensive or as soft as gold but is still a malleable substance which is why it is used so frequently in jewellery. Silver watches are more durable than gold watches but are more prone to tarnishing. Although this can be rectified by regular cleaning.

Titanium Watches

Titanium is a lightweight and exceptionally durable material. It has the highest strength to weight ratio of any metal. Anything that is worn on the wrist is likely to take a lot of damage over it’s life, so titanium is an ideal material to make a watch out of. The downside is that it is an expensive material compared to stainless steel, so the cost is often considered prohibitive by watch makers. Although of course we have got some great deals on titanium watches! Check out this half-price gents sports chronograph from Sekonda.

Stainless Steel Watches

Stainless steel is the most common of all metals used in the construction of watches. It is strong, resistant to most forms of corrosion and does not easily stain. This combined with its distinctive bright colouring make it an ideal metal to use in watch making. It is commonly used for watch cases whatever the strap type and is a great value for money.

Rubber/Resin Watches

Watches with resin straps are normally designed for serious outdoor use. They are really tough and have the advantage of being both lightweight and water resistant, protecting the delicate workings of the watch. Many children’s watches will have a strap made from resin for much the same reasons! 

Leather Strap Watches

Leather is used to make watch straps because it is inexpensive, compared to the other products. It also allows for endless customisation. Leather can be dyed any colour. Due to the predominant use of buckles as a fastening, leather straps can be made one length and easily adjusted to fit a number of different sized wrists. The downside is that they are nowhere near as long lasting as metal straps and they can get stained fairly easily. Leather straps have an extra advantage of being made from a soft natural fabric, so most people find that they are comfortable to wear. Imitation leather is also available although these straps tend to be cheaper and less durable.

Webbing Strap Watches

Webbing straps are generally the cheapest of the straps on the market. They are commonly made from nylon. They are fairly durable and normally water resistant. They are often used for watches that are designed specifically for outdoor pursuits such as the Sekonda Expose range or for children’s watches.