Method
How these pages are written
Every page is written from sources that were read for it, and lists them. What a source does not state is not written.
Sources
A company’s own pages, archives and published histories are the first source for its own facts: when it was founded, by whom, and what it made. Museums, standards bodies and independent historians are used for context, for definitions, and for anything a company has reason to frame in its own favour.
Each source is listed at the foot of the page that uses it, with who publishes it, whether it is official or independent, and the day it was read. The numbers beside each claim lead to that list.
How a claim is marked
- Stated plainly when a company’s own source says it, or two independent sources agree.
- Attributed when only the company says it: “Sinn says…”. Claims to be first, only or oldest are always attributed to whoever makes them.
- Given both ways when sources disagree, with each account and its source.
What changes
History does not change, but who owns a company, where it is based and what it makes now can. Facts of that kind show the day they were last read, and are read again on a schedule.
Drafts and reviews
A page says at its foot whether it is a draft or has been reviewed. A reviewed page has had every claim checked against its sources on the day it gives.
What is not here
No advertising, no affiliate links, no sponsored or paid pages, no rankings and no buying advice. No specifications or reference numbers: those belong to the makers, and to the Watch Vault Archive’s Reference Directory, which takes them from the makers’ own pages. No company logos or photographs: the pages are written to work without them.