It's time

What's on your wrist? Just a timekeeper? Perhaps a survival tool that tells you where you are and what you are up to? Or is it the definite article in your style statement? Shveta Verma explores new trends in watch technology.

It was an absolutely unique watch – press a button and a length of piano-wire would emerge (which could be used to wind around a person's neck to immobilise him). Press another button, and a bezel would spin out strong enough to cut rope. Wait, there's more: a slab of metal in it could act as a bullet guard; it had an in-built satellite link, a thin spool of tape for recording short messages, a coil with explosive wire, a dart gun, a screen with a scrolling message bar, a miniature LCD TV, a hidden microphone ...

If your head isn't spinning right now, you must be a James Bond aficionado, because such masterpieces can only be seen in a Bond film. But don't lose hope ... yet. Technology can make anything possible, it seems.

Watches with GPS system, an MP3 player, power indicator, camera, walkie-talkie ... they have all made their appearance on store shelves in the real world.

This revolution in time keeping got me thinking. I sat down to watch the first Bond movie, Dr No (1962), and followed it through right down to the last. And guess what? In the latest Casino Royale (2006), Daniel Craig was wearing a watch which was ... well, just a watch, albeit a good one.

So, is it a sign that watches have, um, come full circle? Have watch manufacturers jettisoned all the thrills to keep the wristwatch just what it was originally made for – a machine to tell you the time and, maybe, the day and the date?

"There is no end or the last frontier [as far as watch technology] is concerned,'' says Jean Louis Marcha.

"Micro and macro technology has become so big anything is possible in the future," says the divisional manager for Kolber International and Westar Watches.

"But technology and watch-making are two separate things. In watches, technology has nothing to do with gimmicks, it's more about improving on movements and materials. Though some manufacturers have incorporated new technological ideas or 'gimmicks', they are not intrinsic additions to a brand. Slowly these gimmicks will become more a part of mobile phones than watches,'' he believes. "But still, there are a lot of takers, especially youngsters who buy technology-loaded watches."

He offers a tech example. "In Hong Kong, there are rechargeable watches with an in-built chip meant for the Underground [the metro transport system] swiping/scanning machines so you can use your watch to swipe your 'ticket'. Who knows, perhaps in the future, the Salik tag might be embedded in a watch."

But, he says, these gadgets are for masses and are mainly marketing gimmicks. "Some 40 years ago, there was a revolution in the watch industry especially [when] quartz watches were introduced. But after experimenting with different styles, there is a march back to the past with companies reverting to the original mechanical movement.

"Mechanical movements have slight variations in time while quartz is precise but people get fascinated by old-time craftsmanship and its more complicated nature,'' says Marcha. "There is also the prestige factor associated with a mechanical watch. Men in Italy wear only mechanical watches. It's a man thing ... a status symbol and a sign of being a grown- up.''

Nowadays, engineers are incorporating more complex and complicated techniques in mechanical movements. High-end watches are also getting experimentative with different materials, he says.

For instance: a watch working on tourbillon has diamonds encrusted on it. It also boasts a super luxury strap and is truly exclusive. (Tourbillon is a device in some mechanical watches that eliminates timekeeping errors caused by slight variations due to shifts in gravity when a watch changes position during use. The round carriage or "cage" of the tourbillon holds the mechanisms that rotate the wheels, and thus the hands of the watch, in a continuous rate of once per minute.)

Which brings us to the other buzzword in the world of watches – exclusive. It is a word that is frequently used be it in terms of technology, value additions, materials used ...

"This is the new trend in the watch industry – exclusivity, and in this case [the tourbillon watch with diamonds encrusted in the dial], super luxury," says Chloe Shine, luxury brands department head, Al Futtaim Watches.

She displays another watch with a strap made of fish skin complete with scales intact. "Watches have come a long way and now exclusivity and luxury is the buzzword. Luxury need not necessarily be only expensive. It is also knowing where exactly your watch comes from, whether the watch manufacturer is following fair trade practices, etc.

"Also, all watch brands want to go up and so manufacturers are now using different materials. The more difficult the material is [to obtain], the greater is its value. For instance, ceramic watches, which are very difficult to manufacture, are a big hit."

One exceptional 'technology', though expensive, being adopted widely by manufacturers of mechanical watches is tourbillon. Watches with this device start at $25,000 and can go up to $300,000.

But ultimately, says Marcha, "the most celebrated thing about a watch is not its technology, price or the material used, it's the [engineering]. This is particularly so in the case of mechanical watches. The sheer engineering of fitting levers and cogs together for different movements is amazing," he says.

So what are the trends in watches?

According to Marcha and Shine, the latest trends in the world of watches are:

- Watches influenced by cultures: in the UAE, more steel is used in the making of the watch as other metals like silver can get tarnished.

- Also in the Middle East, the trend is changing and women are wearing more complicated watches.

- Women are also wearing more and more automatic mechanical watches.

- Mobile phone has posed a challenge to traditional watches in terms of timekeeping and is becoming an alternative choice.

- Watches have replaced jewellery as a collectible or an accessory.

- Instead of owning one watch, men and women now prefer having different watches which they can use for different occasions.

- Companies are introducing quartz brands for younger consumers to give them a 'feel' of the brand and with their growth in status they are offering high-end mechanical watches worth hundreds of thousands of dirhams.

Types of watch mechanisms

Mechanical watches are powered by the mainspring which gradually unwinds and supplies the necessary energy. An oscillator – the balance wheel – moves to and fro, in most cases 28,800 times per hour. The balance spring (also called the hairspring) controls the oscillations.

Mechanical watches are divided into automatic (also known as self-winding) and manual-wind (known as hand-wound or wind-up).

Automatic watches do not need winding if worn for about 12 hours per day. The mainspring is kept wound by the wearer's hand motion. But the watch will stop functioning if the owner does not wear it for a few days. In such cases, the crown can be used to wind it up. A special watch winder, powered by electricity, can be used to rotate automatic watches for a few hours. It is an easy way to avoid hand-winding and resetting time and date whenever you do not wear it for more than a few days.

Quartz watches are powered by a battery that supplies the necessary energy. The process of timekeeping is maintained by a piece of quartz that oscillates at the rate of 32,768 times per second. The majority of quartz timepieces feature an analog display (a dial with rotating hands). Sometimes there are also 'ana-digi' watches, ie, quartz watches with both analog and digital display.