Watch GlossaryCase

What Is The Case in A Watch?

A watch case is the sturdy metal outer shell that contains the bezel, dial and the movement. It protects the watch and its timekeeping features from dust, moisture, and sudden shocks. Watch cases are mostly made from stainless steel, but also other materials such as rose gold, titanium, even lesser expensive brass, with PVD coating and polish for desired texture, be it matt or glossy sheen. Watch cases come in different shapes such as round, cushion (round bezel stacked over squarish case), rectangular, carré (French for square), oval, tonneau and asymmetrical. Each body type if fit for a particular watch shape. One should be careful about choosing the right case type.

The watch case size is measured in two ways: lug-to-lug, basically the ‘arms’ that extend from the case to secure the strap/bracelet, or from top to bottom, which is the dial to the caseback. The method of measurement changes, depending on the edges or contours of different case sizes. View the inscription on the caseback for the final size measured in mm (millimeter). Highly complicated, masculine-looking watches range between 38mm to 46mm sizes, while dainty, feminine watches measure between 26mm to 36mm.

Examples Of Watch Cases

The Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster is nicknamed ‘Pac-Man’, ‘Mini Panerai’, ‘baby Panerai’ for its 40mm cushion-shaped case and sub-Luminor/Radiomir dimensions reminiscent to Panerai models

Nivada Grenchen Depthmaster Shop The Collection