Reference and Serial Numbers The various numbers on your watch generally serve to date it and to prove its authenticity. While the reference or model number stands for the whole watch, components like the case and movement also have numbers.
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What do the numbers on my watch mean?
The Arabic numbers — 1, 2, 3 up to 12 — appear in watches in different forms. Depending on the watch style, Arabic numerals often appear from 1 to 12, representing each hour. Other watch designs use Arabic numerals at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock positions. Others only use a single 12-o’clock Arabic numeral marker.
How do I identify my watch?
The dial will normally tell you the watch brand and sometimes even its model name. The manufacturer can usually be found beneath the hour marker at 12 o’clock. With any luck, there will also be a clue as to the model above 6 o’clock. This will come in the form of the model name or the movement (e.g., “Automatic”).
Is the serial number on the back of the watch?
The case back number (typically 4 digits) dictates what the case will look like. The materials can vary even with the same case back number, but the size and dimensions will be the same. Many people mistake the longer number on the case back, which is the watch serial number, for the watch model number.
How can you tell if a watch is valuable?
You can usually find the reference number on the dial, case back, lugs, or in the watch’s papers. Can’t find the reference number or model name? Use the Watch Scanner in the Chrono24 app. It can recognize 15,000 watches and tell you their current market value with a single photo.
What does 10 20 30 Mean on a watch?
A sub-dial with markings 20, 40 and 60 shall be revealing seconds or minutes while the markings 10, 20 and 30 are meant to register 30-minutes for a stopwatch.
What are the outer numbers on a watch?
These scales go from zero to 60, indicating minutes in an hour, and are used to keep track of time spent underwater, a critical parameter along with depth and remaining air. The first 15 (sometimes 20) minutes are marked in one-minute increments while the rest of the scale is usually marked in five-minute increments.
Where is the model number on a watch?
The model number of your watch can be located on the back plate of your watch. The model number will begin with at least one letter (examples highlighted in red). Use this model number without the hyphen/dash in the search bar to search for spare parts applicable to your watch (for example GA110).
Is there an app to identify watches?
Chrono24 has added a Watch Scanner to its smartphone app that is designed to identify a watch and display its current market value with just one photo from the phone’s camera.
How do you authenticate a watch?
Serial No: If the watch is authentic, the serial number on the watch case and bracelet should be exactly similar. Tally these numbers to differentiate between a real and counterfeit watch. Sometimes, the serial number is also placed on a sticker behind the dial of the watch, so you may want to check there as well.
Do old watches have any value?
Yes, they do. According to Jeffrey Hess, a vintage watch expert and author of The Best of Time: Rolex Wristwatches: An Unauthorized History, all fine men’s watches have value, whether they work or not. Even some non-working mediocre men’s watches are worth something, he says.
Can you check a watch serial number?
The serial number of your watch is engraved on the case at the 6 o’clock end between the lugs. You will need to remove the bracelet/strap to see it. The model reference is engraved in the same place at the 12 o’clock end.
How can you tell if a serial number is real on a watch?
If the watch is real, the serial number on the watch case and bracelet both should be exactly similar. Tally these numbers to differentiate between a real and fake watch. Sometimes, the serial number is also placed on a sticker behind the dial of the watch, so you may want to check there as well.
How old does a watch have to be to be vintage?
25-30 years old
What exactly is vintage? The definition of what makes a watch vintage can vary widely, but it’s generally said to be anything 25-30 years old, or older.
What is the rarest watch in the world?
5 of The Rarest Vintage Watches Ever Made
- Rolex 4113.
- Patek Philippe Ref.
- Bao Dai Rolex Ref.
- Vacheron Constantin Chronometre Royal Ref.
- Patek Philippe 3974.
What is the highest number of jewels in a watch?
The standard number of jewels used in watches is 17. But that’s for fully mechanical models. Self-winding automatic and semi-automatic watches can have even more, anywhere from 25-27. The Logical One by Romain Gauthier probably has the highest jewel count to date, numbering 63 jewels.
What does the 3 circles in a watch mean?
A chronograph watch typically has three dials to register the time elapsed – a second dial (also referred to as a sub-second dial), a minute dial and an hour dial. Positions can vary based on the watch manufacturer.
What are the 3 little circles on a watch?
Subdials are the mini-dials that sit on the watch face or dial. Also known as auxiliary dials, subdials serve different functions—like tracking lapsed seconds, minutes, and hours, the phases of the moon, a second time zone —across mechanical and specialty watches like chronographs, calendars, and GMT watches.
What are the three little circles inside the watch mean?
Those are the Chronograph on the watch, if you start the chronograph part each one will spin around at a different rate depending on what it measures.
What is the back of the watch called?
An example of a typical analog watch with a leather strap
| (A-1) | Hour mark Line or dot used as gradation for the hours. |
|---|---|
| (A-5) | Case (side) Part that includes the crystal, the bezel, the case body, and the back of the case. The mechanical parts inside the case are often called movement. |
Why do watches need to be rotated?
Leaving your watch in a winder ensures that when you come to wear it you can be confident that the time is correct and the watch can be immediately worn without the fuss of having to adjust the date or time.