Watch Collection:
| Different types of movements. |
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| Written by Debaufre | |
| Wednesday, 01 August 2007 | |
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Automatic Watches: A rotor on the movement keeps the watch powered by the motion on your wrist. If worn everyday, an automatic watch will run forever. Automatic watches generally have 100´s of parts inside their small cases. If an automatic watch has stopped, it is best to wind it via the crown 20-30 times to give it a good kick start. If not wound manually, wrist motion is generally not enough to keep it running accurately. For best performance wind it every 4 weeks. Quartz Watches: The quartz movement became common for watches in the 70´s. They are powered by a battery and need little maintenance except for a battery swap every year or so. They are highly accurate compared to mechanical watches. Manual Wind Watches: A manual wind watch must be wound every one or two days by the crown in order to run. They are still produced in Switzerland and can even be found on watches well over $5000. Many collectors find them highly desirable. It is easier to make a thinner and lighter watch without the self-winding mechanism. Chronograph / Chronometer: A chronograph is a watch that has a stopwatch function. Typically, the top pusher will start and stop the chronograph. The bottom pusher will reset it. The chronograph generally can not reset in the running state. A chronometer is watch that has passed a series of tests, and is a superior timekeeper. Many watchmakers will put their movements through this test to illustrate their accuracy. The dial will typically have the word "Chronometer" or "Chronometre" on the dial. To become a chronometer, the watch movement must pass 15 days of severe tests. The accuracy of the movement is checked in 5 different positions at varied temperatures. This simulates conditions under which the watch might be worn. The watch must average between +6 and -4 seconds per day in order to earn the certification. If a watch is described simply as a "chrono", it is generally safe to assume it is a chronograph. |
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