Wohler Watch FAQ

What are the different types of Wohler watch movements?
Automatic Watches: A rotor on the movement keeps the watch powered by the motion on your wrist. If worn everyday, an automatic watch will run for life (or until it breaks). Automatic watches generally have 100's of parts inside their small cases. If an automatic watch has stopped, it is best to wind it via the crown 20-30 times to give it a good kick start. If not wound manually, wrist motion is generally not enough to keep it running accurately.

Quartz Watches: The quartz movement became common for watches in the 70's. They are powered by a battery and need little maintenance except for a battery swap every year or so. They are highly accurate compared to mechanical watches.

What is a chronograph watch?
A chronograph is a watch that has a stopwatch function. Typically, the top pusher will start and stop the chronograph. The bottom pusher will reset it. The chronograph generally can not reset in the running state. Special Flyback models allow the chrono to be reset at any time. If a watch is described simply as a "chrono", it is generally safe to assume it is a chronograph.

How do I maximize the lifespan for my Wohler quartz watch?
If the watch is not going to be worn for a long period of time, stop the movement by pulling the crown out to time setting position. This will stop the watch and preserve the battery. Have the battery checked every two years by a competent watchmaker. When the battery is changed, have the watchmaker insure the watch is pressure-tight to withstand dust and moisture. If the second hand starts advancing in four-second increments, the battery needs to be replaced. Watches will run another 1-4 weeks when the battery is low.

How can you tell what a subdial is used for?
It's not as complicated as it seems. If a subdial has a 60 at the top, it's probably a continuously running second's hand (if the watch is working, this hand will be moving). But a few subdials with 60 at the top are actually 60-minute counters.

If the subdial has a 30 at the top, it's most likely a 30-minute counter. If it has a 12 at the top, it's probably a 12-hour counter (although if the watch is a dual-time-zone model, it's probably a second-time-zone indicator). If it has a 10 at the top, it probably measures 1/10th of a second. Date subdials have a 31 at the top for the maximum number of days in a month. Moon phase subdials are obvious - they have a picture of a moon showing through the aperture - as are month and day-of-the-week subdials, which are labeled either Jan. through Dec. or Sun. through Sat.

When is it alright to change the date on my Wohler watch?
Never change the date manually when the hour hand is about the 9 and 3. Adjusting the date with the quick-set can damage the movement in this position. Never wind the hands back beyond the 12-midnight position, this can damage the movement. Some watches with complex movements and/or features require special care; please check the instructions that came with the watch.

How does "IP" or ion plating work?
Ion plating is one of the most advanced surface finishing processes in the trade. In traditional processes, the coating on the surface of the case can be rubbed off easily. Ion plating makes the metal plating more durable, more wear resistant, and also has a higher brightness. Ion plating involves adding of a titanium nitride layer, which has a high chemical stability, to the component to be plated. To this is added a metal (ex: gold, rose gold, or color) coating, normally not exceeding 0.3 urn in thickness. At low pressure-one thousandth of mercurial pressure-solid metal vaporizes and becomes electric ions when heated and bombarded by electrons, known also as plasma. Accelerated by a magnetic field, ion plating is carried out in a vacuum environment.

The greatest advantage of this process is that the titanium nitride produced is both harder and chemically more stable than that produced through traditional plating methods. Experiments have proved that the plating obtained through Ion plating is five to eight times better than that obtained through traditional methods in terms of wear and corrosion resistance. The term "permanent coating" can be appropriately applied in this case.

What does it mean when my Wohler watch is water resistant?

ATM METERS FEET USAGE
3 30 100 Suitable for everyday use. Splash/rain resistant. NOT suitable for showering, bathing, swimming, snorkeling, water related activities.
5 50 165 Suitable for swimming, white water rafting, non-snorkeling water related activities.
10 100 330 Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and water sports.
15 150 500 Suitable for recreational surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing and water sports.
20 200 660 Suitable for professional marine activity and serious surface water sports.
30 300 990 Suitable for professional diving.

Water Resistant is a common mark stamped on the back of wrist watches to indicate how well a watch is sealed against the ingress of water. It is usually accompanied by an indication of the static test pressure that samples of newly manufactured watches were exposed to in a leakage test.

An indication of the test pressure in terms of water depth does not mean a water resistant watch was designed for repeated long-term use in such water depths. For example, a watch marked 30 meters water resistant cannot be expected to withstand activity for longer time periods in a swimming pool, let alone continue to function at 30 meters under water. This is because the test is conducted only once using static pressure on a sample of newly-manufactured watches. The test for qualifying a diving watch for repeated usage in a given depth includes safety margins to take factors into account like ageing of the seals, the properties of water and seawater, rapidly changing water pressure and temperature, as well as dynamic mechanical stresses encountered by a watch. Also every diving watch has to be tested for water resistance or water-tightness and resistance at a water overpressure as it is officially defined.