What is a watch bezel?

Types of bezel

Dive bezels rotate one way only, anticlockwise, and carry a 60-minute scale. Line the zero up with the minute hand at the start of a dive and you can read elapsed time at a glance; because it only turns one way, a knock can only make the dive look longer, never shorter. Most click 60 or 120 times per turn.

GMT bezels carry a 24-hour scale and usually turn both ways. With the GMT hand they show a second time zone; turning the bezel shows a third. Two-colour versions split day from night.

Tachymeter bezels are fixed and carry a scale that converts elapsed seconds into speed, on chronographs like the Omega Speedmaster. Countdown bezels, compass bezels and slide-rule bezels on pilot watches like the Breitling Navitimer are rarer.

Fixed bezels can be smooth, polished, fluted like a Rolex Datejust, or set with gems. Some watches put the rotating scale inside the crystal instead, as an internal bezel turned by a second crown.

Bezel inserts

The scale on a rotating bezel is usually a separate insert. Aluminium inserts fade and scratch with age, which many collectors like; ceramic inserts, now common on luxury divers, are almost scratchproof and keep their colour but can crack if struck hard.

Bezels in our catalog

Current watches in our catalog, which is weighted to popular enthusiast models.

Questions

Why do dive bezels only turn one way?

So that an accidental knock can only make the remaining air time look shorter, never longer. Underestimating your dive time is safe; overestimating it isn't.

What does a 120-click bezel mean?

That the bezel clicks 120 times in a full turn, so each click moves it half a minute. 60-click bezels move a full minute per click.