All terms on the subject of watches

Our watch lexicon provides an initial insight into the world of watches and explains the most important terms.

We would be happy to explain all the details about watches to you personally in our store in Aachen and advise you on the selection of your watch.

Wristwatches by category:

Mechanical watches with manual or automatic winding:

In mechanical watches with manual winding, the mainspring is tensioned by turning the crown. They therefore do not wind themselves. The Speedmaster Moonwatch from Omega is a good example of this. Hand-wound watches are usually flat, which is why many watch manufacturers have such models in their collections.

In mechanical watches with automatic winding, the rotor winds the mainspring by moving the arm. At the same time, these watches can also be wound manually using the crown, e.g. the Senator Observer from Glashütte Original.

Watches with chronograph:

are wristwatches with a stop function. they are sporty timepieces that stop the time, regardless of the time display. the measured time is often displayed on sub-dials. These sub-dials are also called totalizers. There are both mechanical and quartz versions. Zenith is very well known for its mechanical high-frequency "El Primero" movement with 36,000 vibrations per hour, which was also used by Rolex for the Daytona.

Watches with complications:

Complications are additional precision mechanical functions on mechanical watches that do not just display the hours, minutes and seconds. They require additional switching mechanisms and individual parts, which makes the movement more complicated.

As a result, they are often very exclusive and high-priced watches. When several complications are built into a watch, it is referred to as a "grand complication". Examples are the "Perpetual Calendar" from Patek Philippe or the "Rotonde" from Cartier.

Well-known complications include the big date, moon phase and tourbillon.

Diving watches:

Sporty watches that are extremely robust and specially protected to prevent water and dust from penetrating.

Special housings with screwed crowns and seals enable them to withstand enormous water pressure.

A typical feature of the diver's watch is the diver's ring for calculating the dive time.

Rolex was the first to solve the problem of water resistance with the "Oyster".

Electronic watches:

The very first watches came onto the market in the 1960s, based on the vibrations of a crystal.

A simple battery serves as the energy source. Quartz and battery have thus replaced the balance of the mechanical clock.

This is why most models from various categories have an electronic movement.

From fashionable watches such as Swatch, to high-quality or professional models and chronographs. Quartz watches also offer other functions such as calendars, chronographs, altimeters and now heart rate monitors.

Seiko was the first to come up with a quartz watch driven by a rotor.

Bulova's Accutron was the first watch to be controlled by a mercury battery and a transistor circuit.

The Aerospace from Breitling also combines analog and quartz with various functions.

Military watches:

Watches with functional displays, such as the pilot's watch from Lange & Söhne or the IWC pilot's watch. With these watches, legibility, accuracy, reliability, temperature and resistance to magnetism or water resistance are extremely important for pilots and divers.

Pilot's watches often have special bracelets so that the watches can be worn over the pilot's jackets.

The watches made by Panerai for the Italian navy are also extremely water-resistant.

Formuhren:

All watch models that deviate from the round shape are called form watches, e.g. the Reverso model from Jaeger le Coultre, the Rolex Prince or the Tank from Cartier.

Ladies' watches:

Style, elegance, wearability and modern design. e.g. Happy Diamonds watch by Chopard.

Jewelry watches:

Watches with artistic variations in shape, technique, dials, jumping hour hands e.g. by Audemars Piquet, the baton hands and back of rock crystal by Corum, model Golden Bridge.

Important terms:

Analog: Designation for a clock that displays the time using hands.

Anti-magnetic: An anti-magnetic protective shield of the movement against magnetism by means of a capsule made of "soft iron" that is insensitive to magnetic influences.

Winding crown: for winding the watch and adjusting the date and time.

Automatic: A mechanical watch with winding of the mainspring by arm movements using the rotor or by winding via the crown.

Chronograph: A wristwatch with a stop mechanism for measuring time.

Chronometer: Watches whose accuracy is confirmed by an official certificate.

Chronometer certificate: A document issued by an official test center that confirms the accuracy of the watch according to strict criteria.

Date display: A function that displays the date (days of the month). This can either follow digitally via a window or via an analog pointer.

Digital: A digital display of the time in numbers instead of a hand. The digital display is possible both electronically and mechanically.

Perpetual calendar: The calendar is automatically switched via the day of the week, month and even leap year, usually in very exclusive watches.

Flyback: Special mechanism used in chronographs to directly stop, reset and restart the stopwatch hands.

Rate regulation: The rate regulator can be used to change the rate of the watch. By moving the regulator, the effective length of the hairspring is shortened or lengthened, thereby adjusting the rate. A special rate regulator is the "swan-neck fine adjustment".

Power reserve: Indicates how much running time the watch has.

GMT: A movement with an extra hand for displaying two time zones simultaneously. GMT means: Greenwich Mean Time, the earlier time standard to which other local times were oriented.

Caliber: The designation of the size of the movement and the series of the watch manufacturer. Caliber is indicated in lines and one line is 2.27 mm.

Complication: A technical term for a movement which, in addition to displaying the hours, minutes and seconds, has other functions such as a moon phase or perpetual calendar.

LCD: Liquid Crystal Display. A display of the time using a liquid crystal display.

LED: Light Emitting Diode. A light-emitting diode display in earlier electronic watches.

Luminescence: Superluminova is used to make it easy to read the time on dials, hands and other parts or functions of a watch in the dark.

Bezel: The ring that surrounds the glass of the watch.

Minute repeater: A mechanism with an acoustic indication of the time by pressing a slide or push button on the case, the watch strikes the hours, minutes and seconds.

Moon phase: Display of the moon phases. The duration of the moon's orbit is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds. in watches it is 29 days and 12 hours.

Paris line: A unit of measurement for the size of the movement: one line corresponds to 2.255 mm.

Plate: This is the base plate on which the movement is built. In wristwatches, the second movement plate usually consists of bridges and cocks.

Quality hallmark: A hallmark that officially defines the quality and production standards.

Quartz: Quartz crystals are the drive for quartz watches. The oscillations of quartz have a high frequency, namely 32,768 hertz in wristwatches compared to 2.5 to 5 hertz in mechanical watches, and the number of oscillations is determined by the size and shape of a quartz.

Reference: The individual designation of a watch model.

Regulation: All operations on a watch that are required to achieve the highest possible precision.

Rotor: A semi-circular disk whose rotation winds the mainspring by means of arm movements or a gear train.

Ruby: Natural or synthetic rubies used as bearings in watch movements to reduce friction and wear and to better preserve oils and other lubricants for the rotating parts.

Control wheel: A wheel that controls the various functions of the control wheel chronograph.

Split-seconds chronograph (rattrapante): This chronograph has a second chronograph hand, also known as a double or split-seconds hand. Watches with this complication have three pushers, two of which are located on the case, while the third is integrated into the winding crown to trigger the jumping seconds. The pusher can also be positioned coaxially with the crown or elsewhere on the case.

Oscillation: Movement of the unsteadiness between the two reversal points and back to the starting point. The oscillation consists of two half-oscillations.

Oscillating weight: Semi-shaped element which, like a rotor, automatically winds a watch by movement, but without complete rotation.

Scales: Division and unit of measurement of a chronograph, such as a tachymeter or pulsometer.

Coil spring: A thin metal band in the form of a coiled spiral to keep the balance oscillating evenly.

Shock protection: Contactor system for balance shafts consisting of a ruby bearing and cap jewel held by a metal spring to prevent damage in the event of a shock. The best known is Incabloc.

Tourbillon: Highly complicated special device that compensates for the effects of gravity. The escapement wheel, anchor and balance are located in a free-floating cage. The cage usually rotates around itself once every minute.

Balance wheel: The regulating organ of the clock. The balance wheel is a rotating wheel with bearings and a balance spring. The balance regulates the speed of rotation of the gear train.

Full calendar: A clock that displays the day, week and month. However, months that do not count 31 days must be corrected by hand.

Water resistance: This value is expressed in: bar or ATM ( atmospheres ) and means that the case does not allow water to penetrate. To ensure this water resistance, a watch should be checked regularly (annually).

Tension spring: Elastic spring made of steel or a special alloy, in the form of an Archimedean spiral located in the barrel. A wound mainspring releases its energy to move the gear train of the watch.