WATCHES 101-PART IV

INTERIOR FEATURES

The following are the main interior parts of a watch:

Movement

The inner mechanism of a watch that keeps time and operates the watch’s functions.

Caliber

Used to denote the size of a movement usually measured in lignes (2.256 mm); also used by manufacturers as “names” for their movements

Ebauche

Literally the basic frame; commonly used for an assembled movement, without escapement, balance and hairspring and mainspring.

Mainspring

A coiled flat spring which provides the power that drives the gear train of mechanical watches.

Balance wheel

An oscillator is a flat ring which pivots on an axle, which regulates or governs the speed of the movement.. It must be perfectly poised. After it has swung one way, the spring at its center reverses it and makes it swing the other way- hence the “tick tock” of a mechanical watch. Both balance and hairspring are made of a special alloy to offset the effect of temperature changes.

Hairspring or balance spring

A very delicate spiral spring attached to arbor of balance to control oscillations.

Balance staff

The axle on which the balance pivots.

Jewels

Used as bearing to reduce wear at points of greatest friction in movements. Usually 17-21 jewels in mechanical watches. By reducing friction they add years to a watch’s life. Once they were natural rubies, but now are synthetic. Their design shape helps to hold oil at the specific point of lubrication.

Quartz crystal

An oscillator made of a tiny piece of synthetic quartz. Its standard frequency is 32,768 times per second.

Hertz- Hz

The number of oscillations per second of electronic watches.