Rox Blog

If you want your watch to dazzle and impress long into its life, and to be able to keep time long after its initial calibration, then proper maintenance of watches is of critical importance. Luckily, however, in order to take good care of your watch you don’t have to be a master watchmaker!

First off it’s important to remember that watches are highly attuned mechanical pieces and this means that they are uniquely fragile and sensitive to even the slightest disruption. This usually precludes them from being washed in liquids (apart from some water resistant models) and therefore it’s best to clean your item with a soft brush.

Before cleaning your gents watches, if possible you should detach the bracelet, which can then be cleaned via more traditional and effective methods such as with a detergent and water solution. With the actual timepiece itself, on the other hand, you could very gently use a toothbrush or, ideally, use a cleaner specially formulated for gents watches. If you have a particularly complex mechanical watch or the dirt is particularly embedded within the watch the best idea is to take it to a specialist cleaner who will be able to use the latest methods for cleaning watches, such as with ultrasonics.

Indeed watches are often bought with inheritance in mind, and therefore it is important that their value remains ostensive decades and even centuries in the future, and therefore the correct maintenance of your watch is not only a matter for your own enjoyment of the piece but is a matter for generations to come!

At Rox we are able to offer jewellery from the world’s best jewellery brands, so whether it’s sublime diamond pieces or exquisite designer watches you’re after, you can be guaranteed of only the best in style and functionality from Rox.

Watches, like no other accessory, benefit from branding and there are certain designer watches and brands that immediately bring to mind ideas of high quality and style. At Rox we can offer all of the best names in designer watches, such as recognisable fashion brands e.g. Emporio Armani to renowned watch makers such as Raymond Weil; so, whether you’re looking for exquisite ladies watches or highly-functional men’s pieces you’re bound to find exactly what you’re looking for! You might assume that to buy into the high echelons of designer watch brands might come at a premium, but some of the best watch brands offer pieces for around a hundred pounds, making them a truly affordable aspirational gift.

At Rox we don’t just deal in watches, however, and we are also to offer a wide range of other jewellery pieces, such diamond bracelets and earrings from time honoured brands such as Swarovski, which are immediately recognisable for their high quality and elegance. In fact, we offer such a wide choice of jewellery and watches that finding just the right item for yourself or that special someone is not only easy, but is affordable; with even the most stylish brands are able to offer items that just scream high-glamour, whilst not breaking the bank!

A great watch can turn any outfit into a stylish affair, and can add sparkle or modern elegance depending on your tastes. They are unique accessories, however, in that they are not only stylish pieces but are triumphs of modern ingenuity and engineering.

Quartz watches are especially ingenious but are now so ubiquitous that you’re probably wearing one yourself! They work by the “piezoelectric oscillation of quartz crystals”. This might sound ridiculously technical, but it is actually a fairly simple mechanism, and involves the regular oscillation of quartz crystals. This means that quartz watches are unrivalled in terms of accuracy.

Mechanical watches involve more traditional mechanisms to keep time and they are, therefore, not as accurate as quartz watches. However, they do have an aspirational semblance and high-quality antique pieces will invariably be mechanical. The often complex mechanics of mechanical watches involve a lot of expertise for their construction, this means that some bespoke and premium brand watches can be rather expensive.

Digital watches with LCD screens are perhaps the most versatile and durable of all watch types; this makes them ideal pieces for sporting activities or for occasions when practicality is demanded. Whilst they can be great time pieces with unrivalled features e.g. water resistance or stop watches, their functional nature means they are not ideal as ladies watches for dressy occasions.

Whatever kind of designer watches you go for, watch technology is no so evolved as to guarantee only the best in terms of functionality and quality, making a watch not only a great fashion accessory but a highly functional modern piece!

It’s fair to say that men don’t have too many opportunities to make a style statement, and are often inhibited – by work commitments, for example – to certain kinds of dress. However whether you’re in business attire or even casual clothing there is a fantastic way to add some true style and elegance to an outfit with mens watches.

Just like in all high-quality fields the market for mens watches is governed by some awesome brands, each investing in their products not only with super quality but also with aspirational worth. Some great watch brands (that we’re sure you’re familiar with) include Gucci, Armani and Diesel and you’ll notice that many good watch brands are also very famous fashion houses – so that with a watch from them you can truly buy into a bit of high fashion!

Premium branding isn’t all that makes a watch truly elegant, however, and the best and most stylish watches are constructed out of only the finest materials, including gold, silver and platinum, this means that mens watches are ultra-durable and ultra-aspirational.  Many men’s watches even have faces that are jewel encrusted, which can show off real elegance and affluence.

Of course men crave functionality and therefore style over practicality is not an option and, instead, watches have got to as durable and accurate as they are sylish. Luckily, with the latest technologies, watchmaking has never been such an exact science, and with watches such as “chronographs” you can be guaranteed of perfect functionality!.

When we come to purchase watches, it is often a rarity that we think about the sheer brilliance of the invention of the watch. At Rox, we believe that a time before designer watchmakers is a time hard to imagine, however, there is a very interesting history behind the little bit of timekeeping and modern watches we now adorn our wrists with.

The history of watches began with cavemen, a group that had to observe the sun and shifting of shadows throughout the day in order to determine a good time for doing particular things. Hunting was a pursuit especially determined by the position of the sun in the sky. Around 4000 B.C., knowledge of astronomy began to develop and people began to use the sun, moon and the stars to form a calendar system. When the word Zodiac is mentioned these days, many people initially think of horoscopes and personality profiles, however, before this, the Zodiac was a chief aspect in the creation of timekeeping.

In terms of the first actual watch as we would refer to it today, it is believed that it was developed in approximately the year 1500. Enormous clock towers evolved into smaller, more portable devices over time; however the first watch faces were actually attached to belts or necklaces. These first inventions were also very heavy and egg-shaped, which shows just how much of a change the watch market has undergone.

Nowadays, designer watches are a device that we often take for granted. However, next time you check the time, it is worth considering their deep history and thanking our cavemen ancestors for their fascination with time!