Counterfeit Watches

Since it is April Fools Day it seems like a good day to write a little bit about Counterfeit Watches. Counterfeit Watches is certainly nothing new. When the British were making the best watches and clocks in the late 1700&1800’s the French and Swiss counterfeited them, then when America was making the best pocket watches the Swiss Counterfeited them. Probably the most Counterfeited watch today is the Rolex. Because of its name recognition. The Counterfeit Watch industry accounts for a Billion dollars annually in sales. Of coarse a lot of these sales are to people that know they are buying counterfeit. But what can be more disappointing than to shuck out the money for what you think is real only to find out later that it’s a fake. The quality of these Counterfeits has really gotten very good with most of them coming from China. Imagine that. The only way you can tell for sure that it’s real is to take the back off and see what type of movement is in the watch. Just be careful when you buy a high end watch and remember that if it seems to good to be true then it probably ain’t true. Come see us at The Time Shop!!

Custom Knife Making

I have been making Custom Knives for over fifteen years now. I make most of my knives out of D2 precision ground steel. I use what is referred to as the stock removal method. First I design the knife on poster board then cut out my pattern and transfer it to the piece of steel I want to use then I shape the steel accordingly using the metal cutting bandsaw and knife grinder then I put the bevel on the edge keeping it about the thickness of a pencil led then I grind about 70% of the hollow grind I then stamp my name and drill any holes that I want then I work out the flat areas of the knife and polish them. Now it should be ready for heat treat which I do in my EvenHeat Kiln. After the hardening and tempering process I am ready to finish the knife. I go back to the knife grinder and finish the grinding being careful not to let it get to hot. This requires a bucket of water. When I’m through grinding I will polish the blade and then we’re ready to put on the handles and whatever guard or bolsters we have chosen for this knife. Come by The Time Shop and check out our collection of custom knives!!

The Quartz Watch

I will give you a brief history of the Quartz watch and try to simply tell how it works. I’m pretty sure that I have read where Bulova developed Quartz technology for the military. But since they had there Accutron they didn’t pursue the new technology for there watch industry. Bad mistake! Seiko started the Ouartz revolution December 25,1969 with the introduction of the Astron and the Swiss followed in 1970 with the Beta 1 movement. Basically the way the Quartz watches work is the battery sends a electrical current through a circuit to the Quartz Crystal which causes it to oscillate 32,768 times each second. This is a naturally occurring phenomenon of nature that is consistent . This is what provides the power to the step motor that in turn turns the gears that have the hour, minute and second hand. Of coarse all of this has to start with a battery. The average battery life on a Quartz Watch is usually about one year and I strongly recommend that you have this service performed by a professional. And we proudly offer this professional service at The Time Shop!! Thanks

The Best Type Watch

I’ve always loved watches wear one all the time. Up until about three years ago I had a different perspective on what watch I wore. What changed me was a book that I bought telling you how to build your own watch. That book and a lot of subsequent books really opened my eyes to a fascinating world of the watch industry and the dying repair trade. Needless to say that I became obsessed and it turned me to a purist. We like the mechanical watches, fascinated by them it’s so cool to open the back and watch the balance wheel twirling back and forth. You open the back of the quartz watch and it is really pretty boring. Just a battery and a coil and some other boring parts. I will admit that the quartz is more accurate because of the quartz crystal ( which I plan to write about in another post) but a good running mechanical watch is close enough for me. It is about personal preference. And we sale and work on both at The Time Shop!!