Over the past ten years, watches, once merely functional tools, have become true objects of desire. Whether fashion accessories or collectors' pieces, the watches on the market today span all sectors, from mass-market to luxury. A watch follows its owner wherever he or she goes, immediately revealing its owner's taste, financial means, and knowledge of the wheels of time. With an increase in the number of trademarks, collections, and styles, the market for watches is booming, growing annually at unprecedented rates. Auctions abound, offering astounding new records: $5 million for a Caliber 89 by Patek Philippe; $1.6 million for a steel watch by Patek Philippe. And watch overbidding makes it more and more difficult not to get confused between worth and hype. From the sundial to the quartz watch, from the clepsydra to the pocket watch, Watches studies every aspect of time-keeping mechanisms and is the definitive volume for collectors and enthusiasts.

With an original glossary of important technical terms, an alphabetized list of the main brands, including their quotation given by specialists, and a complete directory to the finest dealers around the world, Watches will help any amateur find the right watch, and will guide the enlightened amateur in his quest of the ideal piece.