Comparison Luminox 0329 vs Casio A-158WEA-1

This parameter determines, first of all, the appearance of the clock, and only then — the functionality. In addition, the wearing of "men's" and "women's" watches by adults is related solely to the rules of style and social norms, and not to the technical characteristics of different models.

— Men's. Men's watches have a rather large case and a relatively discreet, dim design — which, however, can be different, from strict classics with a single scale on the dial to "hi-tech" with an abundance of additional features.

— Women's. This type of watch stands out primarily for its original design, more varied and bright than in men's models; this applies not only to the watch itself, but also to complete bracelets / straps. A fairly large number of such models are designed to play the role of not only a wrist chronometer, but also a fashion accessory. In addition, they are generally smaller and more elegant, and even rather large women's watches weigh less than men's watches of the same size.

— Unisex. A watch with a neutral (in terms of gender) design, without pronounced details that would characterize it as masculine or feminine. In general, the design of such watches is often quite bright and original, many unisex models are designed for a youth audience, lovers of the original style, etc.

— Baby. Watches...designed for children have two main features. One of them is a characteristic design: in bright colours, often in the style of popular cartoons or comics. The second is that regular bracelets or straps are designed for a small child's hand and are equipped with the simplest clasps so that the small owner does not have problems with putting on / taking off. Also note that children's watches are distinguished by relatively simple functionality — you will not find special features like world time, chronograph, barometer, etc. in them (see "Features").

The country of origin of the brand under which this watch brand is produced. Usually, the headquarters of the manufacturer is located in the same country. But production facilities may be located in another country, or even in several countries. Most of the brands under which modern watches are produced come from the following countries (in alphabetical order): Austria, England, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Korea, Russia, USA, France, Switzerland, Japan.

Note that in the modern world, the quality of a product is very weakly related to its country of origin (both claimed and actual). Much more it depends on how carefully one or another manufacturer controls the quality in their production. So when choosing, it makes sense to focus not so much on “nationality” as on the overall reputation of a particular brand.

Official mark used for watches made in Switzerland.

Switzerland is actually the "world capital" of watchmaking, products from this country are considered the standard of quality. However, not every watch brand officially registered in Switzerland has a production in this country. In order to distinguish “real Swiss watches” on the market, the Swiss Made label was introduced. To receive such a marking, the watch must meet several formal requirements at once, prescribed in the legislation of the country — namely:

— have a Swiss mechanism;
— this mechanism must be installed in Switzerland;
— there the clock must pass the final check.

In turn, the movement is considered Swiss if it is assembled and tested locally, and also contains at least 60% of Swiss components (by value, excluding the cost of assembly).

It is worth noting that there are loopholes in the “Swiss Made” law that allow not too scrupulous manufacturers to actually bypass the criteria specified in the law, formally fulfilling them. For example, most of the movement assembly work can be carried out at a factory in Asia, but if the last wheel is installed in Switzerland, the movement can already be considered assembled in Switzerland. So when buying a “Swiss Made” watch, it doesn’t hurt to clarify how carefully a particular brand follows official requirements. Nevertheless, in general, such watches are superior in quality to analogues from other countries (but how much...this difference corresponds to the difference in price is another question).

A caliber can be described as the type of movement used in a watch. It is expensive and impractical to design a unique movement for each watch model, so most manufacturers often use the same movement in different watch models, sometimes with significantly different designs. The term "caliber" is due to the fact that initially the type of movement was designated by a number (in inch lines) corresponding to its largest size; however, today unique names or alphanumeric indices that are not directly related to sizes are widely used.

Knowing the name of the caliber on which the watch you are interested in is built, you can, if desired, find more detailed information about the mechanism and determine how its characteristics meet your requirements.

The watch has a separate second hand. Note that the location and features of the operation of such an arrow may be different. So, in some watches it is installed on the same axis with the rest of the hands, in others a separate small dial is provided for counting seconds. On some models, the second hand is part of the chronograph (see Features/Features) and only moves when the chronograph is on.

The accuracy of the rate is usually determined by the largest error — the deviation from the reference time, which can occur in a month when the watch is constantly running in normal mode. Accordingly, the smaller the number in this paragraph, the more accurate the clock. In addition, the accuracy of the movement is a kind of status indicator: if the error exceeds the values stated in the characteristics, this may indicate a malfunction in the mechanism.

If the accuracy indicators are the same both in advance and in lag, one number is indicated in the characteristics — for example, 30 sec / month (i.e. +/-30 sec / month); however, many mechanisms have unequal deviations, for example -15/+25 sec/month. Also note that this parameter is relevant only for quartz watches (see “Movement type”): in mechanical models, the accuracy of the rate is noticeably lower, it is measured in seconds not per month, but per day.

— Arrow. A classic-looking dial with divisions to indicate the time and at least two hands — hour and minute — moving in a circle. This option limits the ability to display additional information and any additional function significantly complicates the design, but this classic allows you to make watches in any design, which is so appreciated.

— Digital. As the name implies, the time in such a watch is displayed by numbers, while the role of the dial itself is played by a liquid crystal screen. It is this type of watch that is commonly called "electronic". LCD screens are much more convenient for displaying additional information than arrow dials, they provide more options (for example, a stopwatch can easily count tenths and even hundredths of a second).

— Mixed. An option that combines both of the above types. Usually it is an arrow dial, supplemented by a small LCD screen. Thus, in one model, the advantages of both types of dials are combined — the visibility of the arrows and the versatility of the screen. Watches of this type can only be quartz.

— LED. In fact, it is a variation of the digital dials described above, in which LED screens are used instead of LCD matrices. The key feature of such watches is that they are, by definition, backlit — in the sense that the image itself glows. In addition, the colour of the image may vary, and many o...f these models have a bright and unusual appearance. On the other hand, such dials consume more energy than traditional liquid crystal ones, which consequently affects battery life. In some models, this moment is partly offset by the fact that the screen does not work all the time, but turns on for a few seconds at the touch of a button; however, this also creates certain inconveniences — in order to find out the time, you have to make extra movements.

— Disk. A rather unusual type of dials based on the use of rotating disks with numbers printed on them. There are virtually no arrows in the disk dials, their role is played by special windows in which the readings of a particular disk are displayed. Such watches differ in their original appearance, but in terms of convenience they are still somewhat inferior to traditional watch models (especially since the second hand — or rather, the disk — is usually not provided for in their design). Thus, this option has not received much distribution.

The type of markup used on the main watch face. This parameter is relevant for models with hands (see "Dial Type"), while the type of marking is indicated only on the main scale — additional marks on the bezel are not taken into account (although markings on the additional world time dial may be taken into account).

This parameter does not affect the functionality of the watch, and the choice depends solely on the tastes of the owner. The main types of markings found in modern watches include Arabic and Roman numerals (which can be supplemented with marks), a combination of these numbers, as well as the simplest marks themselves. Here are the main features of these options and their combinations:

— Arabic. Dials that have marks only in the form of Arabic numerals — that is, standard modern numbers "1", "2", etc. In this way, both all divisions of the dial, and only some of them (for example, 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock). However, anyway, there are no other types of marks in such watches.

— Roman. Dials that are marked only in the form of Roman numerals — combinations of the symbols I, V, X. This marking gives the watch a peculiar style, but it can take some getting used to — and therefore is less common than Arabic numerals. Again, in this case we are talking about dials that do not carry any other designations, excep...t for numbers of this type.

— Tags. Minimalistic design, in which the divisions on the dial are indicated only by a label, without a signature. Most often, marks are applied to all twelve hours; exceptions to this rule are possible, but they are rare nowadays. It should be noted that such a design can be found both in classic watches with minimal functionality and in advanced models with extensive features: in the first case, the marks give the product a neat appearance, in the second, they save space on the dial for additional scales and markings. Theoretically, such markup is not as convenient as notation with numbers; however, almost all dials in modern wristwatches use a 12-hour scale with a standard location of marks, so with a little habit you can completely do without numbers — the position of the mark on the scale already carries enough information.

— Arabic + Roman. Dials that combine both types of numbers described above at once (sometimes also with marks; in this case, the presence of marks is not specified). The most popular type of watch with this feature is the world clock (see "Features and Features"), where one dial is marked with Arabic numerals and the other with Roman numerals. There is also a combination of these symbols on the same scale — for example, when 3 and 9 hours are indicated by ordinary numerals, and 6 and 12 by Roman numerals. However, neither one nor the other variant received special distribution.

— Labels + Arabic. Dials, in which part of the markings are applied with Arabic numerals, part with marks (for both, see above). Moreover, the ratio of both can be different: for example, in some models there is only one digit (usually "12"); in others, key positions "3", "6", "9" and "12" are designated by numbers; thirdly, part of the dial is occupied by a display, near which the numbers simply do not fit and you have to manage with marks, etc.

— Marks + Roman. The dials, in which part of the markings are applied with marks, part with Roman numerals. This markup method is generally similar to the “labels + Arabic” option described above (and can also provide different design options).

Clock face background colour. Indicated for models with pointer or combination dials (see "Dial type"); in purely electronic models, usually, either a grey substrate (for conventional LCDs) or a dark base (for LEDs) is used.

The most popular in modern watches are black, white, silver and blue dials. However, in addition to this, other shades can be found on the market — in particular, beige, yellow, green, golden, brown, red, orange, pink, grey and purple. A special case are watches with chameleon glasses (see below).

Some models are available in several colour options, in such cases these options are listed separated by commas — for example, "white, red, silver." If the dial is painted simultaneously in 2 or 3 colours, they are indicated as a combination — for example, "white with red" or "white with yellow and red". And multi-coloured models include models in which more than 3 colours are used for the dial.