Changing Watch Bands

Watches are an investment that a lot of people may spend a lot of money on. It's important to maintain the appearance of your watch so that your money was well spend. Replacing and changing your watch band is a good way to keep up the appearance of your watch, or change it up if you have become bored with the style. Many watches have bands that can be easily replaced. Once you have changed your watch band, you may find that you have become addicted to collecting them!

To change your watch band, first detemine the band that is already attached to your watch. Before you even remove your watch, you need to examine the way that it is connected. Different straps attach to watches in different ways. It's important to know this so that you can safely release the band, and also choose a band that is going to attach to your watch correctly

Now when you begin shopping for a watch, you'll know exactly the sort of attachement you'll need, and the next decision will be which band will best match your lifestyle. There are lots of different types of materials that watch straps are made of from metal to rubber to leather, and they all close using different clasps. Think about the things that yuo do when you're wearing your watch to determine which of these kinds of bands will be best for you.

It may be difficult replacing your band for the first time, so you really need to have patience and give yourself the time needed to get the done. Remove your band in a secure place, especially if there are screws and pins, so that you will not lose anything. Once you have done this several times, the process of removing your band will become so much easier, and you'll be able to replace the bands whenever you feel like it.

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Become a Watch Collector

Collecting watches can be a fun, if not expensive, past time. It's the perfect hobby for those who love fashion, or perhaps for someone who doesn't have any creative skills. Collecting can be fun and rewarding. Here are some things that you should know about before you jump into the world of watch collecting.

Be familiar with brands
Watches can be divided into tiers which will help you know more about the craftmanship and the cost range. These are the tiers:

Basic Watches - These are watches that are the least expensive. Brands like Movado fall under here. You can find watches that will cost less than $2000 and use materials like steel.

Low end Luxury Watches - These watches will generally cost between $500-$4000 and they use materials such as real gold, with sapphire crystals.

Luxury Watches - This is where watches like Rolex and Cartier fall. These watches use the highest quality materials. They will generally cost anywhere from $1000 to $20000.

High end luxury watches - These are the best watches you will be able to buy and will often cost $5000+. These are watches for collectors that truly have a disposable income.

Budget 
Now that you are familiar with the different watch tiers, you can decide on your budget. You can either do this by deciding how much you'd like to spend per watch in your collection, or give your entire collection a set budget and buy watches of all various prices. Having a budget can often make collecting more fun and challenging since you will also be trying to find things that meet your price point.

Find a place to store your collection
If you're going to have many watches, you're going to need a safe place to keep them all to protect them from damage. You can find many watch boxes online, but you can also easily make your own by using an old cigar box or a jewelry box and then padding it.

Maintain your Collection
Some watches need to be winded, so in order for your watches to always perform, you'll need to regularly do certain things to keep them functioning even when they are not being used. Automatic watches should be stored on watch winders, while manual watches will need to be wound daily to make sure they stay precise.

Be Unique
To really have fun with your watch collection. You should consider collecting watches that are unique and say something about your personality. For example, if you travel a lot, you could collect watches from all the locations you travel to. Or you could have watches in each different type of metal. Rose gold watches are beautiful, and not a metal that many people usually own. Those are just a few ideas to help you start being inspired. The rest is up to you.

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Caring for Your Watch Band

When purchasing a watch, many people may neglect their watch bands. It's important to care for your watch band, especially if you own a leather watch because you will want to keep it from looking worn. Keeping your leather watch straps clean will also ensure that your watch will hold its value should you ever want to resell it in the future. Here are some tips on how to keep your watchband clean.

Wipe your band with a dry cloth
Moisture can become trapped in leather, as a result you'll want to use something dry to remove moisture and dirt from the strap. Do this before you wash your strap to make sure that any dirt on it will not scratch the band when it is being scrubbed. Microfiber cloths are excellent for doing something like this.

Use Soap and Water to scrub the band
Now you will want to use a damp cloth to pat down the watch band. You should not use a wet cloth or submerge the leather completely in water as that will damage it. Use a mild hand soap to wash both sides of the band. When you are finished rinse off your cloth and use it to wipe the band thoroughly. Make sure to allow your watch to dry completely before wearing the watch again.

Use a leather conditioner
Leather conditioner is great because it keeps leather looking new, shiny, and soft, as opposed to dry and cracked. If you have a leather band made from unfinished leather, you should use mink oil or leather preservative to condition it.