Rotary Watches Review – Rich Tradition and Affordable

Rotary Watches – Affordable Precision

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Rotary watches - men's automatic brown skeletonizedUnless you’re bit on history or are simply a collector of timepieces, it’s possible that you’ve never heard of Rotary watches.  They’re actually one of the world’s largest producers of designer watches, but their largest following is in Great Britain, where the company headquarters is now located.

The company was founded in Switzerland in 1895, but soon became the supplier of wristwatches to the British military and that began the company’s long relationship with the UK.  Today, they make a mixture of mechanical and electronic watches in a broad price range and offering nearly 100 styles for both men and women.

Read on for the full Rotary watches review.


Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary

Rotary Watches Build Quality

You’ll find that these are well made, with stainless steel cases (sometimes gold), mineral crystal, and many of their models feature Swiss-made mechanical and automatic movements.  Some of their models feature Japanese-made electronic quartz movements, and their watches offer water resistance of 30 meters and up to 100 meters on some of their sports models.  They offer a solid warranty and have more than a century of watchmaking to back up their work.

Movements

Traditionally, the company used Swiss mechanical and automatic movements.  Many of their higher priced models still feature these, though the company uses Swiss and Japanese quartz movements in their lower end models.  That’s OK; these are highly accurate timepieces that require little in the way of maintenance.

Innovation

You won’t find a whole lot of innovation with Rotary watches, as they tend to feature traditional styling and features.  One innovative feature they offer that is, as far as we know, unique to the  brand, is their “Revelation” series, which are watches that have two faces, each a different color.  These are reversible, making it easy to change the look of your timepiece in just a couple of seconds.

Click here to shop for Rotary watches at Amazon.com

Styling and Features

As you might expect from a company that is more than 100 years old, Rotary watches tend to favor traditional styling.  They like brown leather bands, black rubber straps for sports models, and gold colored bracelet bands for their business and evening wear models.

They do offer a number of models with chronograph features, and a few limited edition models with gold cases.  Their displays are all analog; you won’t find any digital watches in the product line.  They do offer a number of skeleton watches; these allow you to see some of the inner workings through a transparent face.

At present, they offer just under 100 models, with most being men’s models.  They offer a half a dozen variations of their reversible Revelation model, and for those who are indecisive or like variety, this might be a good choice for you, as the watch has two faces in different colors that can be easily switched.  These are nice looking timepieces, but if you’re looking for flashy colors, such as pinks and bright yellows, you’re looking at the wrong company’s products.

Care and Maintenance

Rotary watches - women's evolution Tz2 reversibleThese watches are well made and require relatively little maintenance.  Most of their models use quartz movements, so you’ll need to replace the battery every couple of years.

Mechanical and automatic movements will need winding or frequent use, or you can store your automatic model in a watch winder to keep it working and displaying the correct time.  You should store your timepiece in a cool, dry place, away from extremes of temperature and you should keep models with leather straps away from water.

If you have a sports model and frequently spend time in or near the water, you may wish to have a jeweler inspect it every two years or so to ensure that the watertight seals remain intact.

Rotary Watches Warranty

This company stands behind their products and their watches come with a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.  That’s among the better warranties you’ll find on any brand of timepiece, and it pretty much guarantees that you’ll get many years of use out of your timepiece.

If you have any problems, just send it back and they’ll take care of it for you.  Most designer watches are sold with a warranty of one to two years, so this one is exceptional and might be a good reason to buy.

Prices

Rotary watches - women's automatic partial skeletonizedAs luxury timepieces go, you’ll find that prices are moderate, ranging from about $200 to $1000 for most models.  A few limited edition models and those featuring gold are priced at up to $3000, but most of their product line falls in to the $300-$600 range.

For that price, you get good build quality, a nice selection of traditional styles, and that great lifetime warranty.  All in all, these timepieces offer good value.  They’re not overly collectible, though some older models are sought out by collectors.

As such, we can’t really recommend that you purchase as an investment; it’s better to just buy it because it looks good and it’s likely to run well for decades to come.  If it turns out that the model you’ve bought happens to appreciate in value over time, just consider that a bonus.

Where to Buy

You can find the brand for sale at a number of fine jewelry stores and high end department stores.  You’ll also find them for sale at a number of online retail outlets.  Limited edition items may be somewhat harder to find, so you might need to shop around a bit if you’re looking for something specific.  Otherwise, most retailers will probably stock a good selection of their product line.

Rotary Watches Summary

All in all, you’ll find that Rotary watches offer nice, traditional styling, good build quality, a great warranty and reasonable pricing as luxury watches go.  The company has a long history of making timepieces, and many of their models still feature the Swiss-made mechanical movements for which the company became famous.  As they pretty much offer just about everything you’d want in a luxury timepiece, we think you can’t go wrong buying Rotary watches.

Click here to shop for Rotary watches at Amazon.com