| Analog - Opposite of digital, a watch showing the time using hands. |
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| Annual Calender - The automatic allowances for the different lengths of each month in the calendar module of a watch. This this type of watch also usually shows the date and month, and most of the time the phases of the moon. |
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| Anti Reflection - A film created by steaming the crystal to eliminate light reflection and to improve legibility. |
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| Aperture - The dials of some watches have apertures in which certain indications or the watche's movement are shown (e.g. the date, the hour) |
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| Applique - Applique or applied chapters are numbers or symbols cut out of a sheet metal and stuck or riveted to a dial. |
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| Assembling - Process of fitting together the components of a movement. This was formerly done entirely by hand, but the operations have now been largely automated. The human element is however still primordial, especially for inspection and testing. |
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| Assortiment - French term for the parts used for making an escapement. |
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| Ateliér - The small shop in which a watchmaker works. |
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| Automatic Winding - A watch that winds on its own. - A watch whose mainspring is wound by the movements or accelerations of the wearer's arm. On the basis of the principle of terrestrial attraction, a rotor turns and transmits its energy to the spring by means of an appropriate mechanism. The system was invented in Switzerland by Abraham-Louis Perrelet in the 18th century. |
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| Balance - This might be thought of as the very basis of a watch's movement. It is a tiny moving part secured at its base with a hairspring that causes it to swing to and fro at a regular pace. Each of the to-and-fro movements of the balance ("tick-tack") is called an "oscillation". One oscillation is composed of two vibrations. |
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| Bar - A metal plate fastened at one point to the main plate, leaving room for a gear wheel or pinion. The balance is usually stored in the called the cock. |
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| Barrel - Thin cylindrical box containing the mainspring of a watch. The toothed rim of the barrel drives the train. |
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| Bezel - The ring surrounding the watch dial and crystal. |
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| Bridge - Complementary part fixed to the main plate to form the frame of a watch movement. The other parts of the movement are mounted inside the frame. |
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| C.O.S.C. - The Control Officile Suisse de Chronometers, an independent regulatory council that tests and certifies watch movements for chronometer status. |
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| Cabochon - Usually used in reference to a decorative stone set in the watch crown. |
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| Caliber - A term that indicates a kind of watch movement. Calibers come in many variations. |
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| Case - Container that protects the watch-movement. It also gives the watch an attractive appearance as possible, subject to fashion and the taste of the public. |
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| Casing (up) - Process of inserting and fixing a watch movement into its case. |
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| Chablon - French term for a watch movement, of which all or part of the components are not assembled. |
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| Chronograph - Watch with two independent time systems. One indicates the time of day, and the other measures brief intervals of time. Counters registering seconds, minutes and even hours can be started and stopped as desired. It is therefore possible to measure the exact duration of a phenomenon. Not to be confused with the timer, the stopwatch and the chronometer. |
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| Chronometer - This term refers to a stopwatch with precision rigorously tested by the C.O.S.C. in Switzerland. |
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| Cock - See Bar |
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| Cotes de Geneve - Surface decoration comprising an even parttern of parallel stripes, applied with a quickly ratating plastic or wooden peg. Also reffered to as Vagues de Geneve |
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| Crown - Knob located on the outside of a watch case and used for winding the mainspring. It is also used for setting the hands to the right time and for correcting thecalendar indications. |
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| Dial - Indicating "face" or plate of metal or other material, bearing various markings to show, in ordinary watches and clocks, the hours, minutes and seconds. |
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| Direct-drive - Refers to a seconds-hand that moves forwards in little jerks. |
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| Display - Indication of time or other data, either by means of hands moving over a dial (analogue display) or by means of numerals appearing in one or more windows (digital or numerical display) |
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| Ebauche - French term commonly used in English-speaking countries for an incomplete watch movement which is sold as a set of loose parts, comprising the main plate, the bridges, the train, the winding and setting mechanism and the regulator. The timing system, the escapement and the mainspring, however, are not parts of the "ébauche". |
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| EOL - End of Life. In quartz movement, the second hand will start to "jump" every four seconds when the end of battery life is near. |
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| Escapement - Set of parts (escape wheel, lever, roller) which converts the rotary motion of the train into to-and-fro motion (the balance). |
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| Etablissage - French term for the method of manufacturing watches and/or movements by assembling their various components. It generally includes the following operations: receipt, inspection and stocking of the "ébauche", the regulating elements and the other parts of the movement and of the make-up; assembling; springing and timing; fitting the dial and hands; casing; final inspection before packing and dispatching. |
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| Etablisseur - French term for a watch factory which is engaged only in assembling watches, without itself producing the components, which it buys from specialist suppliers. |
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| Flange - The usually inclined ring that separates the crystal from the dial. |
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| Fly-Back Chronograph - In a chronograph with analogue display, an additional centre second hand which can remain superposed on the other one as it moves, can be stopped independently and then made to "fly back" so as to catch up with the other hand, can be stopped and reset to zero together with the other hand. |
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| GMT - Greenwich Mean Time, the standard for all international time. |
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| Guilloche - A type of engraving in which thin, often hand machined lines are interwoven in a pattern. |
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| Hand - Indicator, usually made of a thin, light piece of metal, which moves over a graduated dial. Watches usually have three hands showing the hours, minutes and seconds. |
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| Horology - The science of time measurement. |
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| Jewel - Bearing, endstone or pallet used for reducing friction. Generally made of synthetic material, except for the precious or semi-precious stones like ruby, sapphire, and garnet which are sometimes used in luxury watches. |
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| LCD - Liquid-crystal display. Digital time display. |
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| Lug - In wristwatch-cases, a thin metal rod fixed between the horns, for attaching the wrist band. |
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| Luminova - Synthetic material that glows in the dark, used especially in diving watches. |
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| Main Plate - Base plate on which all the other parts of a watch movement are mounted. |
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| Mainspring - The driving spring of a watch or clock, contained in the barrel. |
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| Manufacture - A watch company that uses a movement in at least one of its models that it has manufactured itself on its own premises. |
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| Minute Repeater - A striking mechanism with hammers and gongs for acoustically signalling the hours, quarter hours, and minutes elapsed since noon or midnight. |
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| Mother-of-Pearl - Multi-colored shell of any fresh water mollusk, thinly sliced and used on watch dials. |
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| Movement - The assembly of mechanisms and other internal elements of any timepiece. |
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| Perpetual Calendar - The calendar module for this watch type automatically makes allowances for the different lengths of each month as well as leap years. A perpetual calendar also usually shows, the date, momth, and four year cycle, and may show the day of the week and moon phase as well. |
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| Pulsometer - A scale on a dial, flange, or bezel that, in conjunction with the second, may be used to measure a pulse rate. |
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| Pusher - Any button that operates the special functions of watches. |
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| Quartz - The quartz movement uses the famously stable vibration frequency of quartz crystal subjected to electronic tension with the help of outside energy. |
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| Rattrapante - The flyback hand of a chronograph. |
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| Repeater - A watch that indicates hours with a note or tone. |
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| Rotor - Half-disc of heavy metal, which is made to rotate inside the case of an automatic watch by the energy produced by the movements of the wearer's arm. Demultiplied by a specially designed device, its rotations continually wind the mainspring of the watch. |
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| Screw Balance - Before the invention of a perfectly weighted balance by use of a smooth ring, balances were fitted with weighted screws to get the exact impetus desired. Today, a srew balance is a sign of quality in a movement due to its costly construction. |
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| Setting - Process of bringing the hands of a watch or clock to the position corresponding to the exact time. |
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| Shock Absorber - Resilient bearing which, in a watch, is intended to take up the shocks received by the balance staff and thus protects its delicate pivots from damage. |
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| Skeleton - A transparent case that displays the inner materials (especially the movement) of a watch. |
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| Sonnerie - A type of minute repeater that like a tower clock sounds the time not at the will of the wearer, but rather automatically. |
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| Split-Seconds Chronograph - See Rattrapante |
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| Tachometer - Instrument for measuring speed. In watchmaking, a timer or chronograph with a graduated dial on which speed can be read off in kilometres per hour or some other unit. |
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| Tourbillon - A technically demanding device to compensate for the interference of gravity on the balance and thus improve the watch's rate. |
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| Trotteuse - French term for a direct-drive seconds-hand, especially a centre seconds-hand. |
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Water Resistant - Made to prevent water from entering. Water-resistant case, watch-case whose joints are made to prevent moisture from entering.
To 30m, means the watch is splashproof
To 50m, means the watch will withstand swimming(not diving)
To 100m, means the watch will withstand snorkelling and diving into a pool (not scuba diving)
200m, means it is a professional diving watch, including scuba diving |
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| Winding - Operation consisting in tightening the mainspring of a watch. This can be done by hand by means of the crown or automatically by means of a rotor, which is caused to swing by the movements of the wearer's arm. |
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