The detailed manual work carried out on the internal components of a watch is where hand-finishing reaches a rare pinnacle. The Patek Philippe Seal requires that movements, as with the rest of the watch, are made using advanced technologies, artisanal know-how, authenticity, and exemplary finishing. Expensive, 18K jumping hour watch that contained a simple hand-wound movement so poorly finished that it would not be appropriate in a $300 watch. The internal finish of a watch is a much more complicated proposition than external finish, and a much more expensive one. There are no unnecessary parts in a watch movement.
Types of Watch MovementsA watch movement (also known as a “calibre”) is the engine of a watch that acts as the powerhouse to make the watch and its functions work. This internal mechanism inside the timepiece moves the hands and powers any complications such as a, or a. Driving all of the timekeeping functions, the movement is the essential component in a watch and keeping accurate time; a watch would not function without it.There are countless different movements that are created by watch manufactures utilizing proprietary innovations, but each of these movements will fall into one of two categories— quartz or mechanical.
Quartz movements are very accurate and require minimal maintenance aside from battery replacements. They tend to be low cost since they are battery powered and have few moving parts.
Quartz watches aren’t as desirable to most watch enthusiasts because they lack the technical craftsmanship and engineering that mechanical timepieces have. Quartz movements in fine Swiss watch brands, such as, are designed to comply with their strict quality standards. How a Quartz Movement Works:A quartz movement utilizes a battery as its primary power source and is typically the type of movement that you will find in your standard, no frills watch. To create power in quartz watch movements, a battery sends an electrical current through a small quartz crystal, electrifying the crystal to create vibrations. These vibrations keep the movement oscillating and drive the motor to move the watch hands. Mechanical Movement.
Mechanical movements are often chosen over quartz movements for luxury watches because of the level of quality and craftsmanship of mechanical movements. Skillfully created by expert watchmakers, these movements contain an intricate series of tiny components working together to power the timepiece. Although the general design of mechanical watches hasn’t changed much in centuries, technology has allowed for more precise engineering and a greater attention-to-detail. How a Mechanical Movement Works:Unlike quartz movements, a mechanical movement uses energy from a wound spring, rather than a battery, to power the watch. This spring stores energy and transfers it through a series of gears and springs, regulating the release of energy to power the watch.
Differences Between Mechanical MovementsThere are two types of mechanical movements found in luxury timepieces today, manual and automatic, each with unique characteristics. Although mechanical movements are the preferred movement, the type of mechanical movement comes down to personal preference. Manual MovementConsidered to be the most traditional movement, manual movements are the oldest type of watch movement. Manual-wind watches that we carry are often loved for their beautiful display of the watch movement, which can usually be seen through the case-back. These movements are often referred to as “hand-wound movements” because they have to be manually wound by hand to create energy in the watch’s mainspring.
How a Manual Movement Works:The wearer must turn the crown multiple times to wind the mainspring and store potential energy. The mainspring will unwind slowly and release energy through a series of gears and springs that regulate the release of energy. This energy is then transferred to turn the watch hands and power the watch’s complications. Winding IntervalsWinding intervals for manual-wind watches will depend on the power reserve capacity of the movement, which could be 24 hours to five days or more. Some watches will require daily winding while others like the, which has an eight day power reserve, only needs to be wound approximately every eight days.
Many manual wind watch owners are simply in the habit of winding their watch before they put it on. Automatic MovementThe second form of mechanical movements are automatic. Often referred to as “self-winding”, automatic movements harness energy through the natural motion of the wearer’s wrist. Watches with automatic movements are very popular because the wearer doesn’t have to worry about winding the watch daily to ensure constant operation. As long as the watch is worn regularly, it will maintain power without requiring winding.
How an Automatic Movement Works:An automatic movement works largely the same way that manual movements do, with the addition of a metal weight called a rotor. The rotor is connected to the movement and it can rotate freely.
With each movement of the wrist, the rotor spins, transferring energy and automatically winding the mainspring. Winding IntervalsWatches featuring an automatic movement will still require winding, but dramatically less than a manual watch. If the watch is worn every day, it will maintain timekeeping functions without winding; but if the watch hasn’t been worn for an extended period of time, it will need a quick wind to garner initial power. A great alternative to hand winding automatic watches is to use a, which will keep the watch fully wound when it’s not being worn.
What is a Watch MovementA watch movement is the internal mechanism of a watch that keeps time. In modern day horology it is not uncommon to find the same movement in a number of watches that are produced by the same company. However, high end, luxury, Swiss watchmakers design their watches with movements specific to the watch function. For example, Rolex Yacht-Master II has a regatta chronograph, a brand new movement designed by Rolex specifically to keep track of the starting sequence of a yacht race.
While a Rolex Milgauss is designed with an antimagnetic hairspring which allows it to keep accurate time even in highly magnetic environment.Simple Mechanical Watch MovementManual MovementA manual watch movement consists of the following components:Mainspring. A mainspring is a power source in the mechanical movement. Winding (or turning) the crown coils the mainspring.
Gradual unwinding of the mainspring turns the gears inside of the watch mechanism.Gear TrainA gear train consists of a number of wheels or gears that transmit stored energy from the mainspring to the escapement to drive the balance wheel. A gear train (or train) has two functions: 1) it scales up the speed of rotation of the mainspring. This allows for the use of a very strong and slow turning mainspring to be used that will keep tension without the need of being wound for days. 2) Allows for the rotation of the escape wheel to be divided into units of time (seconds, minutes, hours).Escapement. Dial Train is also known as the handsetting train.
It is a set of gears that translate the energy from the balance wheel and transfer it to the hands of the watch allowing them to move and show accurate time.Automatic MovementAn Automatic Movement or a Self-Winding Movement is a mechanical movement in which the mainspring is wound automatically through the natural movement of the wearers hand or winding box. A Self-Winding Movement contains an eccentric weight (or a rotor) which turns on a pivot. The natural movement of the wearer’s wrist causes the rotor to move. This motion translates into a circular motion of the rotor, which winds the mainspring.
Most watches with automatic movements have enough reserve energy to keep the watch running for 48 hours. This allows the watch to remain running while it is stationary overnight.Over WindingBecause the self-winding mechanism continues to work even after the watch was fully wound up, measures had to be taken to prevent the mechanism from putting access pressure on the mainspring. To prevent overwinding a slipping clutch (or a bridle) is installed. A bridle transfers additional force from the fully wound mainspring allowing it to maintain proper tension.Quartz or Kinetic MovementThe first Quartz movement was developed by Seiko. In this particular movement a rotor turns a small electrical generator.
The generator charges a battery or a capacitor which powers the movement. This removes the need for the traditional, routine battery replacement.FlybackFlyback feature is an additional feature that appears in some chronograph watches that enables the wearer to start, stop, and reset the stop watch independently of all other chronograph functions.QuicksetA Quickset date allows the wearer to adjust the date by simple turning the crown of the watch until the correct date appears on the date wheel.ParachromeRolex wanted to produce a hairspring that was resistant to magnetic fluctuations as well as shock. After years of experimentation, Rolex finally developed a metal alloy that fit their needs. A combination of Niobium and Zirconium was fused together in a high vacuum at 2400 °C and electrified by 5, 000 volts. After the metal is removed from the furnace, it reacts with atmospheric oxygen and turns blue. Rolex called this metal alloy Parachrome.
Parachrome Blue Hairsprings are used in Rolex Milgauss, Rolex GMT-Master II and a number of other watches.Jewels. Refers to the number of jeweled bearings used in a watch movement. Originally jewel bearings were made out of naturally occurring gems such as diamonds, garnets, ruby, and sapphires. Today, most jeweled bearings are made out of synthetic sapphire or ruby.Jeweled bearings is a bearing in which a metal spindle turns in a jewel-lined pivot hole. Jewel lined bearings are used predominantly in watch movements and precision instruments due to their small size and weight, low, predictable friction, temperature stability, and the ability to operate without lubrication.
All of these factors increase the accuracy of a watch movement or a precision instrument while cutting down on maintenance cost and frequency.Manufactures use the number of jeweled bearings used as a point of advertisements on their timepieces. The most common number of jewels found in a watch is 17, however the more complex the movement, the greater the number of jewels being used.CaliberCaliber or Caliber is a term used in horology to describe the movement of the timepiece. Originally, this term was used to refer to the size of the movement, however, now it is used to refer to a specific model of a movement.