WATCH LEXICON

Angling means edging clockworks to create beautiful light reflections. The edge angle is 45 degrees with the same width and breaking edge. Angling is a feature of high-quality watches. It is done either mechanically with the "pantograph" (cranesbill) or in the traditional way with a file by hand - this is how it is done at Audemars Piguet, for example.

Connecting lever with two small arms between gear train and balance.
The anchor transmits the power to the balance wheel. The anchor is mostly
claimed part in a mechanical watch, because it is the
Sliding friction and impact stress acts.

The anchor escapement is the escape wheel that gives the anchor an impulse to move. One end of the armature drives the gear forward and the other end of the armature catches or stops the movement of the escape wheel. This creates a permanent movement – ​​practically like a seesaw. Types of lever escapement: the English pointed-tooth lever escapement, the Swiss lever escapement, the Glashütten lever escapement.

It is important for the watch that it does not stop due to magnetic fields. The watch manufacturers use alloys that only respond to stronger force fields. That's why you should never wear your mechanical watch during a nuclear spin or magnetic resonance topographer (MRI).

Means, for example, stopping the balance wheel: this is a device for stopping processes in the movement.

French: "rounding off", journals whose face rubs against small bearing surfaces are rounded off to reduce the frictional force, so that a punctiform bearing load occurs with vertical bearing pressure. Rounding off leads to less wear.

Watch whose mainspring is tensioned when the arm moves
(gravity). A flywheel mass (rotor) rotates through the movement and winds the spring, or ensures that the spring keeps its tension. Inventor is Abraham L. Perrelet (around 1770).

Designation of a shape of a clock or even a rectangular one
Gem cut with straight side edges. In the case of the watch, the longitudinal shape of the movement and case has an aspect ratio of at least 1:3. This type of watch was popular with women's watches in the 1920s and can still be found today in Jaeger-LeCoultre models and Cartier.

Watches that are combined with two precious metals - mostly steel/gold or also white gold/red gold

Steel parts such as screws, pointers and dials are blued over an open flame. They are then bluish.

Is a curved watch glass.

Was developed by Abraham Louis Breguet (1795). The Breguet balance spring has an end curve that curves upwards and inwards, which does not shift its center of gravity when the balance oscillates. Advantages of the Breguet balance: the watch runs more precisely and the balance staff wears out less quickly. A feat that has been adopted by all the great watchmakers and is still used for high-precision timepieces.

Hands designed by the house of Breguet in 1783 and still used today in the watches of several luxury brands. The pointer is characterized by the fact that a ring is embedded just before the pointer tip. It is also called the "Pomme pointer".

A movement is built on a base plate/workplate. The bridges and cocks are the counterpart to the plate and form the top of the movement. The bridges and blocks serve as bearing supports for the wheel shafts. Bridges can also be optically elaborately decorated.

The movement is treated with chemicals to reduce corrosion on the one hand and change the color on the other.

An uncut and polished hemispherical gemstone - good looking but usually non-functional. Brands that often put a cabochon on the crown are Cartier, for example.

Caliber (caliber) is a term used in watchmaking to describe a specific movement. Often abbreviated to CAL.

These are gold rings that hold the jewels and screw into the wheel bridge. Mostly made for very high quality luxury watches.

Is Greek and means translated time recorder and is a watch with additional functions that allow a second hand to run, stop and return to the starting position independently of the movement.

Is a two-hand: split-seconds chronograph. A clock with
additional short-time measuring device with two second hands, which can be stopped independently of each other - very complex in terms of watchmaking!

Precision watch that has to prove its accuracy in a 15-day check. Approved by an official watch testing center - COSC (Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres). The time is measured in positions and the average daily rate must be between -4 and +6 seconds; the average daily rate deviation must not exceed 2 seconds, the largest 5 seconds. All watches are tested at different temperatures (4˚C, 20˚C and 36˚C). If the specified tolerances are not exceeded, the watch may bear the designation chronometer and receive the certificate of performance (Bulletin de Marché).

Rectangular, slightly curved watch - mostly women's watches - which are adapted to the wrist.

Can be displayed either analogously - by hands - or digitally - by printed rings. The hands and ring rotate around their axis once every 31 days. They are automatically advanced by one position every day around midnight via the clockwork. Mechanical watches must be corrected by hand in months with fewer than 31 days. Usually via a pusher on the edge of the case or via the crown and the hands.

A water-resistant watch has at least one sealing ring between the case back, the glass and the crown. The sealing ring is made of plastic.

A part that protrudes from the case and is used to operate a function. Chronographs are started, stopped and reset with the help of pushers. Some repeating strike mechanisms are also triggered via pushers.

The French word for inhibition. An escapement system consists of three parts: escape wheel, anchor and balance.

Precious metals are gold, platinum, silver. They are used for watch cases. With gold, a distinction is made between the fineness of 333/1000 (8 carats), 375/1000 (9 carats), 575/1000 (14 carats) or 750/1000 (18 carats). Alloys with other metals (e.g. copper) determine the color of the gold. 21, 23 or even 24 carat gold is used for the winding rotors of very fine watches. Platinum has a purity of 950/1000.

Is extremely resistant and antimagnetic, but difficult to
edit. The alloy of steel, nickel and chrome is rustproof.

Used in watchmaking for meshing one gear with another.

A special bending of the balance spring, such as in the Breguet hairspring. By bending up, a centric center of gravity is achieved, which ensures better gait behavior.

If light hits a glass surface, part of it is reflected and the
other part goes through the glass. The sapphire crystal is usually anti-reflective - this makes it easier to read the dial because it counteracts the refraction of light. Most luxury watches use the double-sided anti-reflective coating - in addition to the readability of the dial, it ensures that it looks much closer and the dial leaves a more intensive impression. And another point is anti-reflective sapphire glasses have a colored shimmer depending on the incidence of light. You can see that from the photos.

French for waterproof. Water resistance is a snapshot of a watch and not a guaranteed value. Aging process in the sealing material or strong temperature fluctuations (e.g. from sunbathing to the sea) can allow water to penetrate even the tightest housing and lead to expensive repairs. The recommendation: have water-resistant watches checked once a year!

A complex mechanism for controlling the date display, taking into account the different month lengths in normal years and also in leap years.

The most important component in a watch. A mechanical watch has a hairspring that requires about 1/1,000,000,000 of a horsepower to keep it oscillating. This force comes from the tension spring. Depending on the length of the mainspring, the winding via the mainspring usually lasts almost 2 days, but also up to 10 days with some movements (e.g. Panerai or IWC). The mainspring is attached to the barrel and barrel with hooks and eyes. It is made from different alloys, for example iron-nickel-chromium with additions of cobalt-molybdenum-glucinium. The "Nivaflex" tension spring is one of the best-known variants and has a whole range of advantages. It cannot break, cannot deform, is antimagnetic and does not rust.

Used on watch straps that are not firmly attached to the watch case. A spring bar is a tube made of stainless steel, the ends of which can be moved and which are pushed outwards by an internal spiral spring. Spring bars are mainly used on leather straps.

Device for easy setting of a daily rate deviation of the watch. There are different designs, eg those with a gooseneck or those with an eccentric screw. Even a watch with a normal regulator hand can be precisely regulated.

With the flying tourbillon, the balance, the escapement wheel and the anchor are installed in a cage that is supported on one side. It rotates 360 degrees once a minute - i.e. all around. This balances the earth's gravity.

An oversized watch with a precision movement - mostly with luminous numerals and luminous hands as well as a second hand with stopwatch function. Developed during World War II, it was intended to be robust and could be worn over the uniform. What was special about the watch was that it had a soft iron core that protected the movement from magnetism.

Used in chronographs. With this flyback function, stopping, zeroing and starting can be triggered in one operation. The hands fly backwards at the touch of a button – if the chronograph didn’t have a flyback function, you would have to press the pusher three times: once to interrupt the stopping process, a second time to reset the hands and a third time to start a new counting process
trigger.

All movements that are not round Form movements - such as
Movements in the forms: tonneau-shaped, baguette-shaped or rectangular.

Number of vibrations per second (unit = Hertz). A wristwatch with a balance wheel that vibrates at 18,000 vibrations per hour has a frequency of 2.5 Hz. Watches that vibrate quickly have 28,800 vibrations per hour or more per hour, which corresponds to a frequency of 4 Hz.

Is a quartz watch that is controlled by radio. The clocks are equipped with a decoder and they receive the DCF signal from the radio tower in Frankfurt. This signal is adjusted to the world time and ensures that the watch always receives the exact time. The waves from the radio tower reach several thousand kilometers. In addition to the exact time, the radio clock can also automatically adapt to time changes.

This refers to the working parts of a watch that are coated with a layer of gold or rhodium (a metal with a silvery sheen similar to platinum).

Daily deviation from 0 to +15 seconds. This was established by Chronoswiss but is indicative of all mechanical watches.

Is the operational readiness of a watch - i.e. from the time of full winding to the relaxation of the mainspring.

Is the display or measured power reserve – maximum running time of a mechanical movement after winding.

Steel watch screws and hands are permanently colored blue by heating them to around 290°C. This has no basis but is more beautiful to look at.

Mineral glass that is treated with a surface treatment (chemical or heat) and is therefore twice as scratch-resistant as normal mineral glass.

Ensures that the tension spring relaxes uncontrollably. The ratchet is attached to the spring barrel bridge and makes a rattling noise when the watch is wound up.

Also known as a transparent back, so that you can admire the beautifully decorated movement and its function in mechanical watches.

There are 4 different types of glasses: Crystal glasses - with earlier ones
watches used. They are scratch-resistant – but sensitive to breakage. Plastic glasses, also called Plexiglas - used mainly in the 1940s. They are unbreakable - but scratch easily. Mineral lenses are harder and more scratch-resistant than plastic lenses. Nowadays the sapphire crystal is mostly used. It is scratch and break resistant and can only be processed with special diamond tools.

Are made of a copper alloy containing about 3 percent beryllium. The simpler nickel balances are silver colored. Glucydur balance wheels have a hardness of 380 Vickers versus only 220 for the nickel balance wheel and only 180 for the brass one. As a result, they can be easily riveted, balanced and finely adjusted (antimagnetic, non-oxidizing).

world clock. Greenwich mean time. Greenwich is the world zero time. The earth is divided into 24 time zones. The time displays on earth are always based on GMT. New York has GMT -7, Sydney +8.

precious metal. Used in movements of high quality mechanical watches. For example, for the screws of the balance wheel for jewel settings and partly for wheels. Some manufacturers also make the entire movement out of gold.

Application of intricate forms (= guilloches) to metal, this is done mechanically using an engraving tool with mechanical gears.

A balance wheel patented by Patek Philippe (1951). This special balance consists of 8 disc-shaped and slotted regulating elements on axially arranged pins - pivoted. It is also often referred to as the forerunner of the modern, screwless ring balance. This balance is not only used by Patek Philippe - but also by other watch brands.

Also called amplitude in watchmaking. Is not the same amplitude as in the physical domain - but describes the angle that the oscillating balance describes between its turning points.

Timepiece in which the mainspring has to be tensioned by hand using the winding crown.

For example, acrylic glass is 20, titanium is 200, untreated mineral glass is 400, hardened mineral glass is 900, sapphire glass is 2,000 – sapphire glass is 5x as hard and scratch-resistant as mineral glass and 100x as hard as plastic.

Is a valve that protects diving watches in particular from damage. The valve allows excess pressure that has entered to escape more quickly when the external pressure drops again. That's why the Rolex Sea-Dweller, for example, has a helium valve.

Very important! Is a mechanism that transmits the force of the mainspring via the wheel train to the oscillating system (balance wheel, balance spring) of a watch. The escapement consists of the escapement wheel and the associated pinion, the anchor with the two pallets, the Anger fork, the safety pins and the large pulley with an ellipse and the small pulley. The two rollers are attached to the balance staff and move back and forth to the rhythm of the balance (Swiss lever escapement). The escapement of a mechanical watch performs heavy work: With a balance wheel beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, the gear train advances 691,200 times within 24 hours. Within four years, this results in over a billion impulses going through the escapement. That's roughly six times the capacity of a human heart.

Technical term for “horological science and time measurement”.

Means shock protection: is the most commonly used shock protection for pocket and wristwatches (was developed in the 1950s) and can be easily installed in all calibres.

Elements on the dial such as dots, dashes or symbol shapes. In the case of simple watches, indices are sometimes dispensed with entirely.

It is said that a watch has different indications, i.e. in addition to the time, complications are displayed in divided areas of the dial. Indications are, for example, small seconds, calendar date, stopped time, phases of the moon.

In movements with an indirect central second hand, the second hand is driven outside of the actual flow of power in the gear train. They are often installed in calibers with a small second.

This is referred to when oscillating systems carry out small and large oscillations at the same speed.

The special thing about this watch and where the name comes from - it is only wound up once a year. This is a table clock with a rotating pendulum under a glass bell.

Technical term for the shape, size and complication of a movement, it usually indicates the type of movement. “Caliber” used to refer to the movement diameter, measured in Parisian lines (one line equals 2.256mm). Today, “calibre” generally refers to a movement. The following number is a designation of the manufacturer and is not related to the diameter.

Comes from the French (calotte: cap) and stands for a strongly curved pocket watch case or for the curved case front of wristwatches.

Vertical groove decorations on watch case.

Is a measure of, for example, the gold content of an alloy. There is a 24-part scale. Fine gold consists of almost 100% gold and is called 24 carat (kt). The case of an 18-carat wristwatch has 750 thousand parts fine gold. Other alloys are copper, brass, or silver, which are used as an admixture. A carat is the 24th part of a kg of fine gold, i.e. 41.66 g. The gold content is noted on the case with a stamp (hallmark).

A distinction is made between the small second and the central second. With the small seconds, the seconds display is arranged decentrally - it is often located at 6 o'clock, for example on the Nomos Tangente. A representative from the field of dress watches. The small second takes on an aesthetic function here. In chronographs, the small second also has practical relevance. The seconds are shown here in dials alongside other complications.

Component of a mechanical watch. Ratchet wheels allow the rotation of the rotor to be used for winding in either direction. They are constructed in such a way that one ratchet wheel locks when turned to the right and the other one when turned to the left, creating the power connection to the mainspring barrel. Only one ratchet wheel is used in unidirectional automatic watches.

Carrier for anchor, balance and wheel bearings. Is fixed in one place with adjusting pins.

Additional mechanics beyond the time display. Complications have chronographs, perpetual calendars, moon phases.

Central switching element for the user. Button for winding a watch, setting the hands and correcting the date display.

The crown winding tensions the mainspring by turning the winding stem via the pin (= crown) on the outside of the case.

Is it called a stopwatch: it is used to measure short periods of time.

Plays a crucial role in regulation. In contrast to pocket watches, wristwatches in particular are worn in many different positions. Pocket watches are usually either hanging (crown up) or lying down (dial up). Precision wristwatches are therefore generally adjusted in 5 different positions "crown left", "crown up", "crown down", "dial up" and "dial down". If they are to bear the designation chronometer, the rate accuracy must be proven by a multi-day inspection at the official watch testing center (COSC). In the 5 positions, the mean daily gait must be between -4 and +6 seconds; the average daily rate deviation must not exceed 2 seconds, the largest rate deviation must not exceed 5 seconds. All watches are tested at temperatures of 4°C, 20°C and 36°C. After passing the chronometer test, a certificate is issued.

Holes - the pivots of the gear train. In fine wristwatches and pocket watches, but also in large clocks, the bores are specially fitted with jewels for fast-rotating wheels and pinions. Bearing jewels are artificial rubies with a central hole for low-friction bearing of the pivots (shafts of the gears).

Simpler timepieces are content with holes in the plates, bridges or cocks. This means that if there is a lack of oil, the bores can "run out" after a while.

Sum of all gears and mechanisms that transmit the energy.

Luminous hands, which glow without exposure to light, are made of prometium, an extremely weakly emitting radioactive material that is absolutely harmless to health. The half-life of prometium is about 5 years, after which it usually no longer radiates. Swiss manufacturers also used tritium in the past - half-life 10 years, but stronger gamma rays are emitted here. Pointers that only emit light again contain zinc sulfide or zinc silicate.

Watches that are produced in small series or for a specific occasion, such as Omega watches for the moon landing Apollo 11 series. The numbering usually takes place on the dial or case back.

French unit of measurement - ligne - one line corresponds to 2.256 mm (see also caliber). It is still used today in clocks.

Another term for moon phase - see point moon phase.

French and means "little moon" and is the border of the dial on a wristwatch. Depending on the watch type, the bezel may contain additional information. For example, the diving time can be marked as a mark on diving watches, or the pulse rate can be read off on chronographs.

A magnetic field is not exactly conducive to a mechanical watch. For this reason, you should not place mechanical watches on electrical devices or heating radiators, or wear them for examinations such as in nuclear spin or magnetic resonance topography (MRI). The magnetic forces have a negative effect on the movement, i.e. the balance spring. The faulty rate behavior can be corrected by "demagnetizing".

Due to the problems with mechanical watches with magnetic fields, watch manufacturers have designed movements that are insensitive to magnetic fields: through non-magnetic materials (e.g. Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra, Cartier Pasha, Zenith Dufy El Primera, Rolex Oyster Perpetual Air-King) or shielding of the movement with a cover made of "soft iron" (e.g. Rolex Milgauss).

Comes from the Latin manu factum = made by hand. In the technical language of watchmakers, the watch manufacturers can call themselves that if they only use movements that have been developed and manufactured in-house with full vertical integration - including all components. He must have made at least one raw movement himself. Within the industry, the finishers of ready-made ebauches are called establisseurs. Exceptions are watch brands that use exclusive movements or movements specially reserved for them. Finally, there are modifications to common standard calibers that are developed and implemented on special orders from various establishments

Watches that are powered by a spring and whose oscillating system runs purely mechanically, for example via the balance wheel or the pendulum.

Central European Time. On April 1, 1893, Germany and other Central European countries introduced CET. The CET has a difference of +1 hour compared to the mean solar time of the Greenwich prime meridian (GMT = Greenwich Mean Time), defined as world or universal time.

Flywheel rotor in an automatic watch - the heart of an automatic watch. In today's calibers there are central and micro rotors. The advantage of a micro rotor is that it is significantly smaller and much flatter. This allows the watch to be designed flatter. Due to the smaller size of the rotor, there is also significantly less flywheel mass available. Therefore, the micro rotors are often made of heavy fine gold. The most famous model with a micro rotor is the Patek Philippe Nautilus.

This ribbon has its origins in the Italian city of Milan. It is a close-meshed bracelet that is woven from stainless steel, gold or silver. Advantage it is very flexible, pliable and extremely robust. Also very popular in summer and an alternative to leather, textile or link bracelets. Due to the network structure, the Milanese bracelet is often also called a mesh bracelet (mesh = mesh).

Mineral watch glass, corresponds in its hardness and structure to the window glass. It is approx. 20x as scratch-resistant as acrylic (Plexi) glass. Advantages of mineral glass: more scratch-resistant than plastic glasses / disadvantage: sensitive to impact. Mostly used today.

The moon goes through a phase that depends on the position of the sun in relation to the moon in relation to the earth. A distinction is made between new moon - first many - full moon - last quarter - new moon. The moon goes through these phases within about 29.5 days.

Nivaflex mainsprings are made of cobalt, nickel, chromium, tungsten and iron as well as titanium and beryllium. Tension springs made from it are non-magnetic, impress with their extreme tensile strength, high reverse bending strength, excellent corrosion resistance and good temperature resistance.

Special alloy for the balance spring. It is rustproof, antimagnetic and can compensate for temperature fluctuations.

Is Latin and means "to swing" - it is an oscillating system. In watches, the oscillator consists of the balance wheel, the anchor and the rising wheel.

Large date display with 2 independently concentrically arranged number rings with date quickset.

Gold plating (given in micron thickness) applied electrolytically (galvanically) in the bath. The actual placement is mostly 585 gold (14k). "Flash" gold-plated = extremely thin gold coating.

Rare, precious precious metal. More than 300 kg of ore must be mined for 1 gram of platinum. 100 kg is enough for 1 gram of gold. It has the highest melting point at 1,773°C (gold 1,063°C, silver 960°C). Stronger, tougher and heavier than other jewelry metals, requiring special tools and processing techniques. After all, it is mostly used with a fineness of 950/1000. This means that corresponding products consist of 95% pure platinum. A platinum case weighs around 35% more than an 18k gold counterpart.

The ticking clock is one of the oldest and most accurate mechanical machines. A work that deviates from the official time norm by 30 seconds per day (86,400 seconds) has an arithmetic error rate of 0.035%. Their level of accuracy is already an amazing 99.965%. Officially tested chronometers achieve far better values, which can be less than 0.005%.

A watch - mostly chronographs - that make it easier to measure your heart rate. After starting the chronograph hand, only 20 or 30 pulse beats have to be measured and after stopping, the tip of the hand points to the corresponding pulse rate per minute.

Also known as a double or split-seconds chronograph. This additional pointer allows split times to be taken. In addition, the split-seconds hand runs as a second hand under the stop-seconds hand and can be detached when stopping. The second hand is often controlled by an additional button at ten o'clock. Rattrapants are among the most complicated complications.

Number or combination of letters and numbers to identify a watch model.

A mark carved into the back cover by a master watchmaker after repairing a watch.

Is a complication of a mechanical watch that strikes the time when desired by pressing a pusher. There are different possibilities here: simple quarter repeater, which only strikes the number of hours and quarter hours, up to minute repeater, which sounds the hours, quarter hours and minutes in different tones. In earlier years, when there was no electric light, people knew what time it was. Today, the minute repeaters - which are very complex - have become rare collector's items and much sought after.

The element of the clock is the circle: Here the hands trace their paths to indicate the hour and minute, possibly also the second or the date.
With a retrograde display, the hands dance out of line. After a quarter or half circle they jump back to their starting point. The Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Rétrograde and the Delphis from Chronoswiss, for example, have a retrograde function.

Ebauche. Complete movement (plates, bridges, set of wheels, steel parts...) without escapement, balance wheel, hairspring, mainspring, dial and hands.

Unlimited rotating oscillating weight in automatic watches. Depending on the construction of the elevator, the mainspring is tensioned in one or both directions of rotation. There are central and micro rotors. Central rotors rotate over the whole movement, micro-rotors are integrated into the movement level.

Scratch resistant watch glass. It is 5x more scratch-resistant than mineral glass and the hardest of all glasses (see also hardness). Only the diamond is harder. Sapphire crystal consists of synthetically produced sapphire - has exactly the same crystalline structure as real sapphire - it has no pores..

Finished decor. The name comes from "satin" a slightly shiny cotton fabric. Satin watch stainless steel bracelets look similar. Saturated surfaces are matt-glossy surfaces.

See under Rattrapante - also called double hand and is a second hand on the seconds hand. Several processes can be stopped simultaneously if they start at the same time and have different durations - such as in competitions. The split-seconds hand is linked to the chronograph hand by an expensive mechanism. One special pusher allows the split-seconds hand to be stopped as often as you like and – for example to read an intermediate time – brought back into line with the chronograph hand that is still running.

A back that is threaded and then screwed onto the watch case.

Balance in which the balance wheel is balanced with embedded screws (screws are also weights). They serve to establish the weight balance of the unrest.

A regulating device for setting the exact rate of a watch, in which the restoring moment for the regulator hand for precise adjustment is generated by a spring. This feather is in the shape of a swan neck.

The sweat of the watch wearer is just as visible as the acid in the car battery. Electrolysis (a galvanic bath) is created in which the ions migrate from the carrier material to the skin. This can cause the skin to discolour and the covering to come off – for example the gold plating.

is the most common watch escapement. It falls into the category of "free anchor escapements" because the balance wheel swings "free" after leaving the anchor.

Movement in which the plate, bridges, cock, spring barrel and, if applicable, the rotor have been made to such an extent that only the material necessary for the function remains. So you can see through the clockwork . For fine watches, skeletonizing is carried out by hand or semi-automatically according to a template (pantograph) and is the highest school of watchmaking.

By grinding semi-circular structured surfaces of metal parts (e.g. wheels, dials), which optically creates the impression of a radiant sun when the light is reflected.

See also under the point "Nivarox".

The spiral is the soul of a mechanical watch. The narrow, band-shaped metal strip ensures that the restlessness moves back and forth regularly. And if the spiral is lengthened or shortened, the period of oscillation of the unrest can be regulated.

Movement in which the hour hand is replaced by an analogue disc and bears all 24 hour digits. A small mechanism ensures that this disc advances by 30 degrees of arc after every 60 minutes and the next hour appears in the dial section.

To reduce friction, jewels are used on the anchor plates and the ellipse, so-called bearing jewels / perforated jewels and cap jewels. It is not always the case that watches with many jewels are also particularly expensive. On the contrary: often, especially with cheap wristwatches, a number of "each" noted on the dial suggests high quality. In these watches, however, the jewels are rarely placed where they are actually needed. A hand-wound precision watch requires at least 15 functional jewels: 10 bearing jewels, 2 cap jewels for the balance wheel, 2 pallet jewels for the lever and 1 lever jewel (ellipse). A good equipment is given with 18 stones. In the case of complicated watches, eg with an automatic winding mechanism, chronograph or repetition striking mechanism, the number of jewels required increases accordingly.

Special system to protect the fine and delicate pivots of the balance staff against breakage. The perforated and cap jewels of the balance staff bearings are spring-mounted in the main plate and the balance cock. In the case of hard impacts, they yield either laterally and/or axially. A shockproof wristwatch should survive a fall from a height of 1 meter onto an oak floor without damage. In addition, it must not show any significant rate deviations afterwards.

Designation of country of origin on the dial and/or the movement of a "Swiss wristwatch". Today there are timepieces that show off the Swiss-Made logo – which is legally correct – but don't deserve it. They benefit from a decree on the use of the Swiss name for watches, according to which the designation of origin "Swiss Made" can be used if the movement is Swiss. That is, if the assembly, formwork and final inspection take place in Switzerland. In short: at least 50% of the components must come from Swiss manufacturing plants and withstand Swiss controls.

Dial scaling on chronographs and is used to measure average speeds. A distance of one kilometer or one mile must be covered for the measurement. The chronograph is started at the starting point of the measuring section – for example a milestone on a motorway – and stopped again at the end. The chronograph hand now points to the average speed (km/h or mph) at which the measuring distance has been covered.

Have a specially sealed crown. The floor is particularly well sealed and the work is often specially protected by a plastic container. See also our post on diving watches

Is a material used in space travel. The material is extremely heat-resistant, light, hard and a non-magnetic metal alloy. It does not contain any nickel - good for people suffering from nickel allergy. The material is more brittle compared to steel. This is why the base of titanium watches is screwed in and not pressed in.

Commonly used in watchmaking to check rate accuracy and the unit of measure is microns.

Elaborate mechanism in which the balance and the escapement rotate around their own axis during the oscillation process. This serves to compensate for gravity and any deviations.

This includes all parts that are necessary to get a watch running. There are 2 main categories: quartz movement or mechanical movement. The difference between the two movements lies in the power source – manual winding or battery. The regulator or oscillator of a movement is always made to oscillate so that the movement is set in motion - i.e. the hands and complications can turn/move. The movement is often also referred to as a caliber - abbreviation "Kal.".

The balance is the connection with the balance spring. It is the rate-regulating element in a mechanical watch. The precision (accuracy) of a timepiece depends crucially on its construction. The balance wheel can be described as a balanced "flywheel". In classic movements, the balance oscillates back and forth at 5 semi-oscillations/second or 18,000/hour. In modern wristwatches, the beat rate of the balance wheel has been increased to 19,800, 21,600, 28,800 or even 36,000 semi-oscillations/hour in order to increase accuracy. The speed of the balance wheel rotation (28,800 A/h) is comparable to the wheel of a locomotive driving 140 km/h.

Is the visible part of watch casebacks and is used to store the balance staff. The balance cocks are often decorated with engraved ornaments.

The chronograph movement most commonly used in the Swiss watch industry. Automatic, diameter 30 mm, 7.9 mm high, 25 jewels, 28,800 A/h, 50-hour power reserve

Jewels set in a small gold ring and screwed precisely into the bridge with three tiny screws to reduce abrasion.

Makes the watch waterproof. This means: when the crown is screwed (threaded), the sealing ring on the inside of the crown presses against the case of the crown and thus seals the watch. In addition to the tightness, a screw-down crown also ensures that the time cannot be changed so quickly and protects the watch from impacts because the force is transmitted to the case instead of directly to the movement.

With a water-resistant watch, the case, winding crown, pushers and glass are all made in such a way that neither dust nor water can penetrate. 3 ATÜ is the pressure of 3 kg/cm2 and this corresponds to a water depth of 30m. When swimming, the swimming movements put more pressure on the watch. This means that only watches that are water-resistant to at least 100 m are suitable for swimming. Water resistance is not a permanent feature, so waterproof wristwatches should be checked once a year.

UTC – GMT: Starting from the Greenwich prime meridian, the time shifts by a full hour for every 15 degrees of longitude. This world time system was first implemented in 1883 by Canada and the USA. Watches with a world time display show two or more time zones on one dial. How is this possible? Either through several movements in one case or through an additional mechanism (also called "heure universale" up to 24 hours).

Base plate on which the movement is built. The dial is attached to the front and the back is used to hold the various components of the movement.

In order to display the time in an analogous way, rotating display elements are installed on the dial. The hands can have different shapes such as baton hands, lancet hands, arrow hands, Breguet hands, Mercedes hands.

As the name suggests, the second hand is placed in the middle and is usually longer than the hour and minute hands.

Mainsprings are long, elastic, spirally wound strips of steel that are the heart of mechanical watches. They are housed in the spring barrel and have the highest torque when fully wound. If the spring tension relaxes, the torque also decreases, which affects the rate of the watch. The mainspring is regularly tightened in automatic watches. This results in a relatively constant torque and thus a smooth transition. "Nivaflex" mainsprings are generally used in modern wristwatches. These consist of a special alloy and are permanently elastic and largely break-resistant.