Section · Journal
14 articles to guide you through your choice.
Featured
Box, warranty card, reference ending: a grey market watch can differ from the one you saw in a shop without being a fake. What can change, what never changes, and what the law says, with the texts to back it up.
Pierre Laurent10 minSelection
Dial, crown, bezel, lugs, case back, jewels: the name of every part of a watch, what it does and what it reveals, with real figures from our stock.
Pierre Laurent16 min
Setting the time and date on a watch without damaging anything: the crown positions, the 9 pm to 3 am rule, a date that changes at noon, screw-down crowns, chronographs and digital watches.
Pierre Laurent14 minAll articles
Cleaning a watch and its strap without damaging it: the water resistance rating decides, not the material. The method for steel, leather, silicone and milanese mesh, and the moves to avoid.
Pierre Laurent13 min
A stopped quartz watch almost always means a flat battery. How to find the right cell (SR626SW, 377…), identify the case back, know when to do it yourself and when to see a watchmaker, and the water resistance test people forget.
Pierre Laurent18 min
A crystal missing from a bezel, and the watch looks finished. This guide explains why stones hold less well on steel than on gold, how to seal them with clear varnish in ten minutes, what you must never use, and why no manufacturer covers this loss under warranty.
Hélène Marchetti21 min
Polishing paste works through abrasion: it removes material, it does not add any. What it repairs on a mineral crystal, what it damages on gold plating, and the thirty-second test that decides.
Frédéric Blanc7 min
Before removing a scratch from a watch, you need to know what material you're working with. Mineral crystal: yes. Sapphire: impossible. Gold plating: irreversible. The guide by material, with catalogue figures to back it up.
Frédéric Blanc10 min
Your vintage Casio says "Water Resist" on it, yet it came back out of service after a swim? This is the scenario we see most often in our after-sales service every summer. A158, A159, A168, LA670, LA680, A700: these watches tolerate accidental splashes and dust, nothing more. A watchmaker explains to you why, model by model, what the engraving really says, the steps to take if water has entered, and why immersion voids the warranty.
Pierre Laurent18 min
A tiny speck of dust or a fibre under the crystal, sometimes straight out of the box: annoying, but rarely serious. Where does it come from, even on a brand new watch? When should you use the warranty rather than opening it yourself? And how do you remove it properly with a blower bulb and tools you already have at home? The complete step-by-step method, from a watchmaker trained in Morteau.
Pierre Laurent23 min
ATM, bar, metres: three units, one same parameter, massive confusion. What does the rating engraved on the back of your watch really mean? Why does 50m never mean 50 actual metres? How to decode, verify, and choose the right water resistance for your needs? The complete educational guide by a watchmaker trained in Morteau.
Pierre Laurent27 min
10 ATM on your watch dial, how many metres is that really? Can you swim in a pool, bathe in the sea, go snorkelling? The honest answer, from a PADI diver who tested in real conditions. 10 ATM is the rating that truly frees your watch from everyday constraints, provided you understand its limits.
Nicolas Bernard24 min