About Me
The name on the dial isn't the name inside
Most watches under a few thousand dollars run on a movement someone else made.
A handful of Japanese and Swiss manufacturers supply the industry: Seiko's NH35, Miyota's 8215 and 9015, Ronda's quartz calibres, Sellita's SW200. They appear inside hundreds of brands, and most of those brands don't mention it.
That's not a scandal — it's how the industry works, and it's usually a good thing. A widely used calibre is one a watchmaker can service in ten years, with parts still available.
What's odd is how rarely anyone says which one they're using.
Why the calibre matters more than the badge
Serviceability. A common movement can be repaired by any competent watchmaker. An unnamed in-house calibre from a small brand may have no parts supply at all once the brand moves on.
Accuracy has a published spec. An NH35 is rated -20 to +40 seconds a day. A Ronda quartz is rated to about ±10 seconds a month. Knowing the number in advance means you know whether your watch is running correctly — instead of wondering.
Servicing intervals differ. Mechanical movements need attention every five to eight years depending on use. Quartz needs a battery and little else. That's a real cost difference over a decade, and it's worth knowing before you buy rather than after.
We state the calibre on every product page where the manufacturer discloses it, along with its stated accuracy range.
What else we check
Crystal material, named plainly. Sapphire resists scratches and shatters on hard impact. Mineral glass scratches more easily but takes a knock better. Acrylic scratches readily and polishes out at home. Each is right for something — the wrong one is just the one nobody told you about.
Case finishing at the transitions. Where brushed meets polished, where the lugs meet the case. It's the cheapest place to cut corners and the first thing that looks wrong up close.
Lug width, so you can change the strap. A standard width — 18, 20 or 22mm — means a world of replacement straps. An unusual one means you're stuck with what came in the box.
A clasp that actually holds. More watches are lost to a failed clasp than to anything else.
What we don't do
Claim we make them. We don't design or manufacture watches. We select them, check them before they ship, and tell you what's in the specification — including the parts most retailers leave out.
Inflate prices to discount them. The price is the price. Where we reduce one, any "was" price is a price the watch genuinely sold at for a reasonable period.
Manufacture urgency. No countdown timers, no "one left" when there are forty.
Overclaim. A watch won't mark your milestones or accompany your adventures. What a good one does is quieter: you glance at it, it's right, and you don't think about it again.
Ask us before you order
Not sure which movement suits how you'd wear it, whether a case will fit your wrist, or what a water resistance rating actually allows?
Email us. Tell us your wrist measurement — a tape measure or a marked strip of paper laid flat will do — and what you'd wear it for. We'll tell you honestly which watch fits, including when the answer is none of ours.
We'd rather give good advice than process a return.
How we make it straightforward
- Free US shipping, tracked, insured and signature required
- 30 days to change your mind, including on sale items
- Sizing the bracelet won't affect your return — just send the links back
- No restocking fees
- A reply within 2 business days, from a person
Contact
Email: support@edwards-watches.com
Customer service: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–9:00 PM PT
Saturday, Sunday and holidays: closed.
Edward's Watches
Business address: 3333 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, United States