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> How Watches Work
How
Watches Work
Brought to you
courtesy of: 
Watches
at ashford.com
In addition to their exterior beauty, watches
are also an incredible feat of engineering and craftsmanship.
Many complicated parts must all work in tandem in order
to not only tell time, but perform the myriad other functions
that many of today’s watches perform.
This section contains an overview of the major
parts of a watch, as well as an explanation of how watches
operate.
Watch Parts
Watches contain many parts that work together
to tell time, as well as perform other useful functions.
These could include a chronograph, altimeter, alarm, day/date
calendar, phases of the moon, slide-rule, etc. Here are
descriptions of the major internal and external parts and
their functions. For more detailed explanations, you can
also visit our Watch Glossary.
External Watch Parts
Crystal
The cover over the watch face is called the
crystal. There are three types of crystals commonly found
in watches: Acrylic crystal is an inexpensive plastic that
allows shallow scratches to be buffed out. Mineral crystal
is composed of several elements that are heat-treated to
create an unusual hardness that aids in resisting scratches.
Sapphire crystal is the most expensive and durable, approximately
three times harder than mineral crystals and 20 times harder
than acrylic crystals. A non-reflective coating on some
sport styles prevents glare.
Hands
A watch's hands are the pointing device anchored
at the center and circling around the dial indicating hours,
minutes, seconds and any other special features of the watch.
There are many different types of hands:
- Alpha: A hand that is slightly tapered
- Baton: A narrow hand sometimes referred
to as a ‘stick hand’
- Dauphine: A wide, tapered hand with a facet
at the center running the length of the hand
- Skeleton: Cutout hands showing only the
frame
- Luminous: Hand made of skeleton form with
the opening filled with a luminous material
Bezel
The surface ring on a watch that surrounds
and holds the crystal in place is called the bezel. A rotating
ratchet bezel moves in some sport watches as part of the
timing device. If rotating bezels are bi-directional (able
to move clockwise or counter clockwise), they can assist
in calculations for elapsed times.
Crown
The nodule extending from the watchcase that
is used to set the time, date, etc. is called the crown.
Most pull out to set the time. Many water-resistant watches
have crowns that screw down for a better water-tight seal.
Dial
The watch face that contains the numerals,
indices or surface design is called the dial. While these
parts are usually applied, some may be printed on. Sub-dials
are smaller dials set into the main face of the watch. These
can be used for added functions, such as elapsed times and
dates.
Case (or Watchcase)
The watchcase is the metal housing that contains
the internal parts of a watch. Stainless steel is the most
typical metal used, but titanium, gold, silver and platinum
are also used. Less expensive watches are usually made of
brass that has been plated with gold or silver.
Bracelet
A bracelet is the flexible metal band consisting
of assembled links, usually in the same style as the watch
case. Detachable links are used to change the length of
the bracelet. Bracelets can be made of stainless steel,
sterling silver, gold, or a combination.
Strap
A strap is simply a watchband made of leather,
plastic or fabric.
Internal Watch Parts
A watch’s main timekeeping mechanism
is called its movement. Today’s watch movements fall
into two categories: Automatic mechanical or quartz.
Automatic mechanical movements mark the passage
of time by a series of gear mechanisms. Most automatic movements
are wound by the normal, everyday movement of your wrist,
which charges the watch’s winding reserve.
Quartz movements are powered by a battery
and do not stop working once removed from your wrist.
Balance Wheel
The regulating organ of a watch with a mechanical
movement that vibrates on a spiral hairspring is called
the balance wheel. Lengthening or shortening the balance
spring makes the balance wheel go faster or slower to advance
or retard the watch. The travel of the balance wheel from
one extreme to the other and back again is called oscillation.
Gear Train
This series of small gears in both quartz
and mechanical movement watches is responsible for transmitting
the power from the battery (in a quartz watch) or spring
(in a mechanical watch) to the escapement, which distributes
the impulses that mark the time.
Escapement
This part of the watch restricts the electrical
or mechanical impulses of the gear train, metering out the
passage of time into equal, regular parts.
Motion Work
The motion work is a series of parts inside
a watch that receive power from the escapement and gear
train, which distribute and generate the watch’s power.
The motion work is responsible for actually turning the
watch’s hands.
Mainspring
The mainspring is the energy source responsible
for powering the watch movement (as opposed to a battery
in a watch with a quartz crystal movement). The spring is
wound, either manually (using the winding stem) or automatically,
by the motion of the wearer’s wrist. Potential energy
is stored in the coiled spring, then released to the gear
train which transmits the power to the escapement and motion
work, which turns the hands on the watch dial.
How a Watch Works
Watches essentially tell time by the integration
of three main components: an energy source, a time regulating
mechanism and a display. The energy source can be electronic
(as in a battery) or mechanical (as in a wound spring).
A watch’s main timekeeping mechanism is called its
movement.
Today’s watches fall into two categories:
Mechanical movements and Quartz movements.
Here’s a breakdown of how each type
of movement works:
Mechanical (Automatic) Watches
Mechanical watches are made up of about 130
parts that work together to tell time. Automatic mechanical
movements mark the passage of time by a series of gear mechanisms,
and are wound by the movement of your wrist as you wear
it.
The gear train then transmits the power to
the escapement, which distributes the impulses, turning
the balance wheel. The balance wheel is the time regulating
organ of a mechanical watch, which vibrates on a spiral
hairspring. Lengthening or shortening the balance spring
makes the balance wheel go faster or slower to advance or
retard the watch.
The travel of the balance wheel from one extreme
to the other and back again is called oscillation. A series
of gears, called the motion work, then turns the hands on
the watch face, or dial. See illustration below.
Quartz Crystal Watches
Quartz watches work with a series of electronic
components, all fitting together in a tiny space. Rather
than a wound spring, a quartz watch relies on a battery
for its energy. The battery sends electrical energy to a
rotor to produce an electrical current.
The current passes through a magnetic coil
to a quartz crystal, which vibrates at a very high frequency
(32,768 times a second), providing highly accurate timekeeping.
These impulses are passed through a stepping motor that
turns the electrical energy into the mechanical energy needed
to turn the gear train.
The gear train turns the motion work, which
actually moves the hands on the watch dial.
Wrist
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