Croton Watches

Croton Watches are made by a 130 year old watch making company that got its start in 1878. The company got it’s name from the Italian city that it began in. Italy is the perfect place for a watch company because of the country’s advances fashion experience and the fact that it is right next to Switzerland, which is a country that is know for it’s ability to make precision timepieces.

By continuing it’s high level of quality, Croton had become quite valuable by the 1900’s. Nationwide Time was another company that was family owned, like Croton, and had been in the watch business since the 1960’s. They like Croton and decided that they had similar values. They had wanted to expand their business and decided the best way to do this was to buy Croton, which they did in 1991.

The new owners were looking to take the company to new heights by providing customers with innovative, high quality watches with an emphasis on value. They offer a lifetime guarantee. They have over 250 different styles to pick from.

 The company has 5000 distribution points and is featured on ShopNBC, a home shopping channel.

The company has segmented itself into a few more companys. These are Nicolet, Andre Girroud, Manhattan, Paul DuPree and Nina Raye.

These watches are on par with a Rolex, except for the lower price. Who doesn't want to get a better value? Croton also has some very unique watches that you would not find with many other luxury watch companies. Whatever style you are going for, you are sure to find the right watch in Croton's vast selection. There is a huge price range for the watches. I've seen some on Amazon for as low as $60 and they can go up to $10,000. One of the best things about these watches is that they all have a lifetime guarantee. The service of the watch has a $20 service fee and a turn around time of 10 days.

Croton Watch Movements: What Are They?

Movement is the name for the motors which make the watch function. There are several different types. They all have there advantages and disadvantages.

Croton Automatic Watches

This is when the watch is charged by the movement of the person wearing the watch. These watches are very precisely made and can only be created by the best watchmakers. Since these watches are so specially made they are rarer and cost more money. There is a rotor in the back of these watches that is precisely balanced. It pushes on a spring which winds the watch. This is what makes the automatic energizing feature work. If the watch is not worn it will not be moved around. Eventually the watch will stop because it has not been wound by the automatic movement. You can manually wind the watch if this happens. If you have several watches like this you can buy a special box which moves the watches when you are not wearing them. This should keep them from stopping and at the right time.

• Advantage: You don't have to worry about changing batteries. 
  
• Disadvantage: They cost more money. They tend to be less accurate.

Quartz Watch Movement

This type of movement runs off of batteries. The battery will of course need to be replaced every 1 to 2 years. You should not leave a dead battery in a watch because the battery chemicals can eat away at the delicate parts of the watch and ruin it.

• Advantage: More accurate. Costs Less
  
• Disadvantage: Dead battery can eat away at the watch. You will have to change the battery and deal with the hassle of that.
  

Chronograph is just a fancy name for stopwatch. You can usually only find these in quartz movement watches. It is very difficult to find one that has an automatic movement. These are rare watches that are prized by collectors.

These watches are certified by the Controle Officiel Suisse Des Chronometers. The watches have this name because it was used to signify a watch that was precise enough for ship navigation. This organization formed in 1973. They do all sorts of tests with the watches to make sure they live up to the standard. Some watch companies don't go through this organization because they themselves may perform better tests. It is important to keep in mind that an automatic watch can change over time and may become less accurate due to environmental factors. This is usually only used for automatic watches because quartz watches are already very accurate.

Whenever people go underwater, not diving, but lets say in a submarine, after 250 feet down the difference in pressure makes normal air toxic to breath. To keep the air from being toxic people add helium to it. Helium atoms are smaller that oxygen atoms. Since these atoms are so small they sneak into the watch under its seal a little at a time. This happens over the course of a few days or even weeks. When the submarine comes back up to the surface the helium wants to get out of the watch because the pressure is changing and it cannot get out of the seal fast enough. That is why some watches are equipped with a helium release valve. Pulling on the valve will let the helium out quickly. If your watch didn't have one of these the crystal face would pop off. So don't take your watch under water if you don't have a helium release valve!

It is amazing that watches can be water resistant. There are not many watches out that that are really able to be dunked in water and still work. You should think of a watch that is water resistant or waterproof as being a backup plan unless it is for diving or swimming. If you take a shower with your watch on you have to realize that steam can get in the watch too. There is also an extreme temperature difference when you go into and out of your shower. This feature should really be thought of as oh whoops I forgot to take my watch off, thank goodness it still works.

I'm actually amazed by the prices for these watches on Amazon right now. I can't believe that they are so low. You can get a really nice watch for very reasonable prices. If you are thinking about doing any Christmas Shopping, even for Father's Day or Mother's Day, watches really are the perfect gift. Almost everyone needs one and appreciates them. For these prices I may even snag a few. Of course if you are looking for watches that are in the thousand dollar range you should take a trip to your local jeweler.