What men should look for when buying a watch?

For a long time, watches were the only esthetic ornaments accorded to men, nowadays men wear other jewelry and accessories but a watch still says a lot about the personality of the person who wears it. Watch terminology and things to look for.

There are essentially 5 important things to look for when purchasing a quality wristwatch in a brick and mortar store or online.

1-Image - Does the watch you are about to purchase reflect your personality, your style? Your watch should combine with your true character, not try to show someone you are not. Don't try to elevate yourself by buying a premium, luxury watch, heavy and invasive; thinking it will make you look better, if it does not suit you, the opposite effect will happen. Make sure that if you buy an expensive watch it is for the design and quality. My personality being discreet and classic, I like a slim, elegant design, round dial watch with a leather band. I tried once a heavier Rolex type steel bracelet watch, I felt like everybody was looking at me.

2-Designation

What does Swiss Made means? "Swiss made" constitutes a concept of quality. It includes the technical quality of watches; accuracy, reliability, water-resistance, shock-resistance and its aesthetic quality: elegance, originality, design. It covers both traditional manufacturing and new technologies. Only when it is Swiss, may a watch carry the indications "Swiss made" or "Swiss" on the outside. A watch is considered to be Swiss if: a-Its movement is Swiss b-Its movement is cased up in Switzerland c-The manufacturer carries out the final inspection in Switzerland.

What is the difference between a Chronograph and a Chronometer? Chronometer defines an other concept of quality; it is given to automatic and mechanical movement watches (not quartz movement) that have the highest standard of precision. A watch carrying the chronometer certification has passed 15 days rigorous testing (under different conditions) demanded by the Swiss Official Chronometer Control (COSC). It carries a premium price over non-chronometer watches. A chronograph is simply a watch with stopwatch capabilities. It has two independent time systems: one indicates the time of day, and the other measures brief intervals of time. Counters registering seconds, minutes and even hours can be started and stopped as desired.

Scratch resistance. The glass or crystal is made to protect the dial. Acrylic crystal is inexpensive, a plastic that does not prevent scratches. Mineral crystal is a glass, it is eight times harder than acrylic crystal. Sapphire crystal is the best and most expensive crystal and is three times harder than mineral crystal.

Waterproof versus Water resistant? A watch is never water proof, it is water resistant or made to prevent water from entering. A quality watch should indicate how much water it can withstand and still works. A good watch will offer resistance from 50m. Beyond that you are surely a professional diver and will need a specialist watch with depth indicator and other technicalities. If you are not, avoid taking your watch into salty water or chlorine, if you must, make sure you rinse it with warm water afterwards.

3-Mechanical, quartz, Automatic Movements Automatic mechanical watches are the most desirable in terms or practicality and functionality. A mechanical watch uses the energy from a wound spring and keeps time through the highly regulated release of that energy through a set of gears call the wheel train and escapement. Automatic watches, self-winding watch or perpetual (Rolex) are mechanical watches with a balance wheel and escapement, whose mainspring is wound by the motion of the wearer's arm, instead of having to be wound manually every day. It needs no battery. The name comes from the fact that, instead of the owner having to wind the watch to power, the watch winds itself automatically when worn regularly. Quartz watches work with a series of electronic components, all fitting together in a tiny space. Rather than a wound spring, a quartz watch relies on a battery for its energy. Automatic quartz is a combination of a watch movement that combine a self-winding rotor mechanism as used in automatic mechanical watches to generate electricity with a piezoelectric quartz crystal as its timing element. It provides the advantages of quartz and mechanical watches.

4-Price against value Can the status and prestige of the watch you are planning to buy justify its price? Up to you to decide if the price reflects the overall quality, technology, mechanism (Automatic, Quartz,), designation (Swiss-Made, Chronometer,) design, history behind the watch or just the hype behind the brand. I would differentiate between pure watch brands and fashion houses diversifying into watches. Both offer excellent products.

5-Care and Guarantee

Choose a watch which is easy to care for. A quality watch does not dispense you from caring for it and cleaning it regularly. Wash your watch in warm soapy water occasionally. Have your watch serviced every three years. Store your watch in a soft cloth. Avoid extreme temperatures.

Guarantee. Choose a watch with at least 2 years of International manufacturer warrantee from the date of purchase. It should cover against failure due to defective materials or workmanship, damages caused by water entry into the case, providing the glass, crown, and case back are intact.

Most importantly, take your time, try, compare and investigate. Find quality watches at http://www.carametis.co.uk/acatalog/designer-mens-watches.html

by Nicolas Mekchoudi

mens watch

Mens Vitamins - Learn which Key Nutrients Every Man Needs

Because of the great biological demands on a man's body, it is essential to consider using some formulation of men's vitamins. First, it is important to understand that the word vitamin is often used interchangeably to describe not only vitamins, but also minerals, phytonutrients, amino acids, enzymes, herbs and a whole host of other nutritional supplements.

Because each gender has their own set of nutritional and metabolic needs, it is vital that men choose vitamins specifically designed for them. Males require a number of specialty nutrients that just are not available from diet alone. Because of this, it important to choose a men's vitamin that meets all of your nutritional needs.

Key Nutrients

In men's health, the main concerns include enlarged prostate, prostate cancer and gynomastia (enlarged breast tissue). As a man ages, they creates less testosterone, furthermore, a large share of the testosterone they do produce is converted to estrogen. Because of this, their breast tissue might begin to enlarge and they may see a decrease in libido. Many of the pharmaceutical drug therapies used to counteract the effects of this hormone reduction can cause very serious side effects, the most severe being accelerated growth in undetected prostate cancer and liver dysfunction. One natural way to combat hormonal problems is to make sure the men's vitamins you are taking include the bioflavonoid (isoflavone) Chrysin, a plant extract, which naturally helps inhibit testosterone conversion to estrogen. It is important to use a supplement that has a chrysin potency of 90 percent or higher. Chrysin is an expensive ingredient so most supplements contain it at paltry potencies and tiny dose amounts. Avoid these products.

Zinc is another important component of the mens vitamin supplement you choose. This powerful nutrient has proven positive effects on prostate health. The most common form of zinc used in supplements is citrate. While this form is beneficial, your men's vitamins should contain a healthy dose of zinc aspartate. Why? Because zinc aspartate travels directly to the prostate. The phytonutrient Quercetin also helps to protect against prostate cancer. It contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties to block male hormones that encourage cancer cell growth. The other well-known and effective prostate nutrients that must be in your men's vitamin supplement are:

* Beta Sitosterol * Corn Silk Extracts * Lycopene * Saw Palmetto * Resveratrol

When considering other key components of men's vitamins, vitamins and minerals are of course important, but in low doses, and only to fill in nutrient gaps missing in your normal diet. If a large percentage of your supplement is made up of large doses of vitamins and minerals then you're not getting good value for the money. Vitamins and minerals are the cheapest ingredients in supplements!

Other key elements of a quality supplement include the following:

* Phytonutrients * Standardized medicinal herbs * Amino acids * Enzymes * Cofactors * Trace elements * Specialty nutrients * Special immunity enhancers

Good health starts with a strong immune system. This is your first line of defense against cancer and other major disease. In order to keep your immunities up it is important to have a variety of powerful boosters in your men's health supplements, including polysaccharides, alpha lipoic acid, turmeric, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, vitamin B6, calcium and manganese.

Things To Look For When selecting a Quality Mens Vitamin Supplement

The first thing to check is that all herbs are standardized. This will guarantee the potency and amount of active ingredients in the supplement you purchase. Many products avoid using standardized extracts because they are considerably more expensive.

To ensure that the product is safe, pure and potent, all unprocessed materials must be sourced from Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) registered and audited facilities and all ingredients must have a Certificate of Analysis (COA) to confirm their potency. These should be freely available to any consumer who requests them and their must be a confirmed paper trail proving the source of all ingredients.

In addition, supplement companies must test all raw materials prior to manufacture for compliance with the COA and for microbiological contamination. Finally, be sure the product does not contain artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, fillers or binders, as well as potential allergenic substances such as lactose, gluten, wheat and yeast.

A quality vitamin supplement for men containing all the nutrients mentioned above provides an excellent foundation for your preventative health regime as well as for treating existing health conditions. By taking steps to ensure that a supplement is manufactured in accordance with the criteria listed in this article and has a competitive price, you can feel confident that you are using a highly efficious and safe product which offers excellent value for money.
About the Author

Brett Seagrott is a health researcher who previously worked for a manufacturer in the nutritional supplement industry and is the author of http://www.nutritional-supplement-truths.com In his site Brett reveals a number of industry secrets that supplement manufacturers don't want consumers to know. He has evaluated leading, nutritional supplements

by Brett Seagrott