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Answer by Professor J.C. Nicolet

There may be several reasons why a mechanical watch does not work. Most people who have this problem fall into one of the following categories.

1. An old and worn watch
2. A new but not water resistant watch
3. A manual-winding watch
4. Automatic and water resistant watches
5. Watches used under rigorous conditions
6. And what about quartz watches?

1. An old and worn watch

Sometimes a person inherits a high quality watch which had worked well for more than 20 years when worn by its previous owner. Therefore, the new owner expects it to work as well for him. Well, it's precisely because the timepiece has given good service for so long that it has become worn out and it deserves a good retirement alongside other "antiques". Nobody expects modern exploits from a classic car, even if it was the best during its era. Why should we expect anything different from a watch?

2. A new but not water-resistant watch

A modern watch, even if housed in a magnificent case but one which is not water-resistant, can have problems when it is subjected to many of life's daily activities. If worn during sleep, dust can enter the watch just from rubbing against the sheets. On the other hand, if the watch is removed before going to bed, its internal temperature decreases creating an airflow into its interior. As the air enters, so does the ambient dust, but unlike the air, these small particles do not leave.

Non water-resistant watches need more care that other timepieces and it is necessary to have them cleaned more often; usually once a year for small ladies' models and once every two years for less delicate men's watches.

The use of perfume can also damage these watches as it can negatively affect the oil used to lubricate the delicate watch parts. Happily, synthetic oils used today are more resistant to the chemical in perfumes.

3. A manual-winding watch

All hand-wound mechanical watches, water-resistant or not must be wound regularly. Modern mechanical watches can often work for 40 to 50 hours between windings as compared to earlier models whose power-reserve was 30 to 36 hours. It is preferable, however to wind these watches every day and at about the same time because this will increase their precision.

Some wearers wind their watches whenever they happen to think of it, that is, several times during one day and not at all the following day. It is not wonder, then, that their timepieces sometimes stop. If this sounds like you, you should consider wearing a quartz or an automatic mechanical watch.

4. Automatic and water-resistant watches

Automatic and water-resistant watches can also present a number of problems that may be due to two factors:

-the wearer is too still
-the wearer is too active

People who are bedridden or confined to a chair because of illness, old age or, as is more likely the case, have low activity desk jobs, are not getting enough activity to rewind their automatic watch. When these people were healthier or just more active, their watches worked well, and it is perhaps difficult for them to admit that they are the reason for the poor operation of their faithful timepieces.

On the other hand, people who are too active, especially those who gesture a lot, tend to overwind their watches. They should remove their watches at night to better maintain the automatic winding mechanism. For those who are less active, they should wear their watches at night to keep them wound.

Watchmakers have defined what they call the "winding speed" of manual-winding mechanical watches by using a very simple formula:

Example: An unwound automatic watch (but wound just enough so that it will start functioning) is placed on the wrist and worn during 8 hours. Taken off, it will work for 16 hours without stopping.

Therefore:

A normal winding speed is between 2 and 3. Below 2, the watch may stop. Above 3, it will work very well at the beginning but the mechanism will wear out faster than normal.

5. Watches used under rigorous conditions

Everyone who wear a watch under difficult conditions should use a water-resistant or even a diver's watch, especially when this watch is exposed to shocks, water (especially sea water), acids, dust or sudden temperature changes. Watches used under such conditions should be equipped with resistant crystals and anti-shock devices. For doing housework, it is also preferable to wear water-resistant timepieces because they can be unintentionally exposed to water.

The magnetic doors on refrigerators and cabinets may magnetize a watch if they come into direct contact with it. In these cases stainless steel offers better protection than a gold case. A magnetized watch works very poorly though, at first glance, it is not apparent that there is the problem.

6. And what about quartz watches?

Quartz watches with analog display, that is with dial and hands (the only kind of quartz watches manufactured in Switzerland) can be damaged by water and dust. If they are in a watertight case, they are well protected and should work fine as long as the battery is good. They are also less susceptible to the effect of magnetism than their mechanical counterparts. However, they have the additional disadvantage of stopping with no warning once the battery is low. If it has not been changed for a long time, it is a good idea to replace the battery before going on a trip or on vacation since the right one my be difficult to find outside major centers in most countries.

Swiss companies selling quartz watches are able to ensure good maintenance and repair as long as the component parts are available. Once parts are no longer being made, the watches cannot be repaired. On the other hand, mechanical watches can be repaired as long as a watchmaker can be found who is capable of handmaking defective parts. This, of course, is expensive, but if the watch is a collector's item, it may be worth the effort.

Before we proceed with further resolution of your watch problem, please provide us the watch model number.

Please note that Seiko automatic watch with 7S26/7S36 movement typically runs fast for a few weeks when fresh from the factory.

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Answer by Professor J.C. Nicolet

A bit of history

The phenomenon of magnetism was first observed by the Greeks about 600 B.C. The natural magnet Fe3O4 (a black ferrous oxide), called magnetite was found in the province of Magnesia in Turkey. Around the 3rd Century A.D., the Chinese used magnetic material found in nature to make their compasses so necessary in navigating the high seas. In 1600, William Gilbert, physician to England's Queen Elizabeth I, published a treatise called "De Magnete" which theorized that the earth was one gigantic magnet, thus explaining variations in the movement of needles that had been magnetized.

Artificial magnetism

Magnetic fields produced by natural magnets are too weak to disturb the operation of a watch. The same is not true, however, of man-made magnetic fields. In the early 19th Century, when scientists discovered how to produce very large electric currents, strong magnetic fields appeared by electromagnetic inductance. This important physical phenomenon was discovered in 1831 by Faraday, and began the development of important practical applications of electricity, i.e. electric motors, current generators, telegraph, telephone, radios, etc. In 1872, Siemens produced the first really efficient electric motors, and over the next 30 years, these new inventions quickly found their way into small workshops wherever electricity was available.

By the end of the 19th Century, the widespread use of electric motors brought with it the widespread magnetization of pocket watches. The first "victims" of this artificial magnetism were people employed in factories using electricity. The early current generators caused the formation of strong magnetic fields which had a negative effect on any watches worn in the workplace.

A solution to this problem arrived in the form of an apparatus composed of a horseshoe-shaped magnet that could be turned by means of a crank. At each half-turn, the polarity of the magnetism at any given point changed direction. By alternatively moving the magnetized object towards the horseshoe and then away from it, the article could be demagnetized. (This same principle is used today except that the horseshoe has been replaced by a powerful coil connected to an alternating current.)

Early preventive measures

In the 19th Century, the regulating organs of watches were made essentially of steel thus making them highly susceptible to the effects of magnetic fields. The first measures to prevent this problem consisted of placing pocket watches in empty waxed white iron boxes which conducted the magnetic forces. While these waxed boxes were very efficient in protecting the watches, their main drawback was that they had to be opened to tell the time.

The first quarter of the 20th Century brought about significant changes in this domain. The 1920 Nobel prize winner, Charles-Edouard Guillaume of Fleurier, Switzerland invented a nickel-iron alloy which replaced the earlier steel alloy in making balance springs. This greatly improved the reliability of watches for three reasons:

· They were less sensitive to magnetism.
· They were less sensitive to rust due to humidity.
· They were less sensitive to thermal changes (which was the principal aim of Guillaume's research).

With this alloy and the invention of stainless steel used in making cases, watches were no longer susceptible to the effects of magnetism in the home or in normal industrial workplaces.

And gold?

Unlike their steel cousins, watch cases made from gold do not protect the watch from the effects of magnetism. It is therefore advisable to equip the movements of these timekeepers with a para-magnetic screen made of iron, mu-metal or permalloy. This precaution is usually not taken for esthetic reasons. A gold watch with a protective screen is not very elegant, making it more difficult to sell. Perhaps one day, manufacturers will look more closely at this problem. In the meantime, wearers of gold watches should be careful not to expose their timepieces to magnetic fields.

Magnetic fields in the home

So where are the risks of these forces in the home? Non-negligible magnetic fields are found near loudspeakers, stereo systems, televisions and radios. Therefore, one should avoid setting a gold watch on top of any of these items. Less obvious, but posing an even greater danger for a gold watch are the magnets found in refrigerator doors or other cabinets. Even a brief contact with these items is enough to magnetize a gold watch. Caution is the byword when wearing one of these timekeepers in the kitchen. Although a magnetized watch can be demagnetized as mentioned above, the procedure is tedious. To do a good job, the watch must be dismantled and each steel part demagnetized separately.

GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time. It is the standard by which all time is kept. The world was divided into 24 time zones, starting with Greenwich, England. Time zones around the world are expressed as positive or negative offsets of the GMT. GMT watches are inspired by this important role in global time keeping. Watches provided with the GMT function are created to help you out when you find yourself many miles away from home in a different time zone as they simultaneously display the time in 2 independent time zones. Via a special hand, it shows the time in the place of departure while the local time is displayed by the two main hands of the watch.

At present day there are two major types of timekeepers with the GMT function. The first one is called world time. The world time watches feature all 24 time zones and require minimum correction. The second major type is represented by standard timekeepers with a few independent counters on the dial. There are also a number of subdivisions relevant to the timepieces of the latter type.

There are several types of GMT functions. Many have 3 hands:

• A minute hand (makes a full revolution in an hour)
• An hour hand (makes a full revolution in 12 hours)
• A 24 hour hand (makes a full revolution in 24 hours)

Many also come with an additional bezel marked by minute indicators, hour indicators, or even the names of different cities. The various indicators differentiate the time zones. Other GMT-style watches may come with subdials, have an outer rotating bezel, or they may combine 12- and 24-hour time displays.

If a quartz timepiece offers the GMT function, it will not influence much its price. In case of mechanical watch models, the development of a timepiece with the same function requires considerable changes in the overall construction of the caliber. Consequently, the timepiece with the GMT function is priced much higher.

Chronometer is a designation given to a watch that has the highest standard of precision. The designation is given to automatic and mechanical movement watches, not those that run with quartz movement. A watch carrying the chronometer certification has passed vigorous tests demanded by the Swiss Official Chronometer Control (COSC), an  official watch testing laboratory in Switzerland.

Please visit http://www.BodyingCare.com. to create a ticket and elaborate your watch problem. Your email will be replied within 2 business days of sending.

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Answer by Professor J.C. Nicolet

By convention, a watch is said to be "simple" when it indicates hours, minutes and seconds. Following this definition, a watch equipped with an automatic mechanical movement, indicating only these functions, would also be considered a "simple" watch. The same definition applies for a very precise chronometer which indicates the time with a very high degree of accuracy, even though this particular timepiece has been subjected to a series of very stringent tests by the Chronometric Observatory or another official chronometric testing facility. While sometimes people confuse a chronometer and a chronograph, these two timekeepers are not at all the same. Chronographs are defined below.

A watch is said to be "complicated" when it indicates functions in addition to the time. These may include optical readings using hands or windows, or they may be acoustical in nature, using chimes or bells

A "grand complication" is a watch that contains at least three "complications", coming from each of the groups listed below.

Group 1: Complications using visual indications

a. Simple chronograph
b. Counter chronograph
c. Split-second flyback chronograph
d. Independent second hand chronograph
e. Jumping second hand chronograph

Group 2: Complications using visual astronomical indications

f. Simple calendar
g. Perpetual calendar
h. Moon phases
i. Time equation

Group 3: Complications using acoustical indications

j. Alarm
k. Quarter repeater
l. Half-quarter repeater
m. Five-minute repeater
n. Minute repeater
o. Passing strike

Definitions of complications by group

Group 1 a. A simple chronograph is a watch possessing a center sweep second hand which can be started, stopped and brought back to zero by means of a push-button.

b. A counter chronograph has one or two additional subdials which count the minutes or hours starting from a given point in time.

c. A split-second flyback chronograph is equipped with two superimposed center sweep second hands which can be started together. The flyback hand may then be stopped to indicate the reading at an intermediate time. When it is restarted, this hand instantaneously "flies" back to the position of the first hand.

d. The independent second hand chronograph was the precursor of the modern chronograph. It consisted of an independent center or sweep second hand which could be started or stopped independently of the normal time function but which could not be reset to zero. This second hand advanced instantaneously then remained immobile for nearly a second until it advanced again. It was driven by a wheel and an independent spring which was wound separately by turning the crown backwards. These watches have not been produced for many years but are now highly prized by collectors.

e. The jumping second hand chronographused an independent center sweep second hand which advanced continuously rather than in jerks. In addition, this watch contained a small hand in a special subdial at 6 o'clock which completed a revolution in one second, jumping around in four or five successive quick movements. This timepiece is no longer being made.

Group 2

Astronomical functions were the first complications to be introduced into watches. As early as the 16th Century, many years before the regulating spiral was invented, exquisite pocket watches were equipped with date readings and lunar phases.

f. Simple calendar watches provide one, two or three functions, i.e. the date, often the day and sometimes the month. All the months have 31 days so it is necessary to manually correct the watch five times per year.

g. Perpetual calendar time-pieces provide the three indications of their simple calendar cousins but also automatically correct for the 30-day months as well as for February's 28 or 29 days.

h. The indicator for moon phases is made up of a small specially shaped window in which the various phases of the moon appear and disappear month by month. The most common mechanism in use today is composed of a single wheel with 59 teeth supporting two symmetrical moons. The wheel moves by one tooth per day which gives a lunation of 291/2 days. Since the true lunation is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds, this gives a difference of 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds per lunation, or an advance of one day over a period of 2 years and 235 days.

i. The time equationfunction indicates the difference between the true local solar time and the average artificial time. Our 24-hour day is an artificially designated average solar day. The true solar time varies constantly in relation to the average solar time, with the difference reaching more than 14 minutes around February 11 and 16 minutes around November 3. Only four days per year are actually exactly 24 hours long. If a person wants to set his watch using a sun dial, it is necessary to know this time difference, or time equation, for each day of the year. In the past, some watches were equipped with a fixed hand indicating the time equation at noon each day. Other watches used an additional minute hand carrying a sun which continuously showed the local true solar time. Although no longer considered very useful, the time equation watches are highly regarded by collectors.

Group 3

j. The alarm function uses a very old mechanism whose fabrication was a mandatory part of the training for master watchmakers. This acoustical device can be programmed for a period of 12 or 24 hours.

The term repeater is used for a watch equipped with a strike or chime capable of indicating the hour on demand and repeating it as often as desired. The precision of the time indicated depends on the type of repeater.

k. A quarter repeater function strikes, on demand, the hours and quarter hours which have just passed. It uses two bells of different tones, signaling each hour by a low tone and each quarter hour by a higher tone followed by the lower one. For example, at 3:40, the quarter repeater strikes three low tones, followed by two series of high-then-low tones, giving bong, bong, bong, silence, then bing-bong, bing-bong. By mentally adding 71 1/2 minutes to the hour chimed, the largest deviation between the real time and the last hour chimed will be 71 1/2 minutes (one-half of a quarter-hour). In our example of 3:40, we can estimate the time to be 3:37.5, giving an error of 2.5 minutes.

l. A half-quarter repeater function strikes the hours and the quarter-hours but uses a high tone to signal that the half-quarter has just passed. Using our example of 3:40, this repeater would chime as follows: bong, bong, bong, silence, then bing-bong, bing-bong, then bing to indicate that a half-quarter has just passed.

m. A five-minute repeater system strikes the hours with a low tone and each five-minute interval with a higher tone. At 3:40, the mechanism would chime bong, bong, bong, silence, then eight higher pitched bings.

n. A minute repeater watch strikes the hours and quarters as does a quarter-repeater. In addition, the minutes which exceed the last quarter are signaled by a succession of rapid strikes on the higher toned bell. For example, 12:59 would be given by 12 low tones, then three series of high-low tones, followed by 14 rapid high tones.

o. Watches with a passing strike function automatically signal the hours and quarter-hours, with the hour repeated at each quarter. They also are equipped with a device indicat-ing the hours and minutes on demand. The energy for this function is provided by a powerful spring which is wound at the same time as the watch. However, the number of demands is limited. A silence position is also provided to discontinue the chime, if desired.

Grand complications

It is possible to make several types of grand complications. In general, though, they are composed of a split-second flyback chronograph with counters combined with a perpetual calendar (with or without moon phases) and a repeater function, usually a minute repeater. There is, however, nothing to prevent the addition of other elements not mentioned here, such as a power-reserve indicator, thermometer, hygrometer or any other device not yet imagined by today's watch-making geniuses.

Patek Philippe pocket watch for James Ward Packard with a perpetual calendar, solar hour, rising and setting sun times, moon phases and a rotating disk of 500 stars representing the Ohio night sky, minute repeater with three bells.

Question

Is it possible to attribute the creation and development of the first perpetual calendar watch to a specific watchmaker?
Ralph Edgar, Portland, Maine, USA

Most watch historians give credit for this invention to Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823). Indeed, Breguet was a great watchmaker, having invented and perfected a large number of ingenious devices. However, in an article entitled "Horology" published in 1765 in the Encyclopedia by Diderot and d'Alembert, there is a description of a watch equipped with a perpetual calendar using a large disk on which are marked the months and dates of a normal year. But this timepiece was made by a Swiss watchmaker working in Paris named Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807). The disk made a revolution in 365 days and the month of February contained 28 days. It was therefore necessary to let the watch stop on February 29 in order to maintain the time equation function which was also part of Berthoud's system. The energy for his perpetual calendar was derived from the daily winding of the watch.

Another watchmaker also preceded Breguet in the development of the perpetual calendar function. Jean-Antoine Lépine (1720-1814) was known as the inventor of various devices which Breguet then later perfected. One example, among others, is the anti-shock device which is often mistakenly credited to Breguet. Lépine also invented calibers for bridged watches. His ingenious system replaced the upper plate and simplified assembly and the development of functions. It is still used in all mechanical watches today.

Regarding the perpetual calendar, one of Lépine's biographers wrote: "In 1770, Lépine had the honor of presenting to Louis XV an astronomical repeater watch equipped with a time equation function and perpetual calendar. The former was used only in clocks and the latter was his own invention." Unfortunately, the watch in question has disappeared and no other perpetual calendar timepiece is known to have been made by him. Breguet may have picked up this invention later, since, as some historians speculate, he may have been a student of Lépine.

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Answer by Professor J.C. Nicolet

The early "calendar" watches, dating from the 16th century, were equipped with a mechanism giving the day, date and month in addition to the hour which was still imprecise at that point in time.

In a calendar watch, the days and months follow sequentially but the same cannot be said of the dates which are either 28, 29, 30 or 31 depending on the month and whether it is leap year or not. In a "simple" calendar watch, it is necessary to correct the date five times during the year, i.e. the ist day of March, May, July, October and December

Abrahain-Louis Breguet is usually credited with having invented the mechanism which made these corrections automatically.

His invention led to today's "perpetual calendar" watches as opposed to "simple calendar" timepieces. These models are based on the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar in use today. As a result, leap years are not deleted at the end of three out of four centuries, thus making it necessary to correct the watch three times in 400 years. Regarding leap years, February 29 has been deleted in the years 1700, 1800 and 1900. It won't be deleted in 2000 but will be in 2100, thus today's ads for perpetual calendar watches are right in their claims that these models will not have to be corrected for over a century. The actual duration of a year is 365.2422 days. The perpetual calendar counts the year as having 365.25 days while the simple calendar counts 12 x 31 = 372 days making it necessary to remove 6 or 7 days every year.

To explain how the perpetual calendar works, we will discuss a mechanism devised by the author for an astronomical clock (see diagram). The principal part of the mechanism is the perpetual lever (B) which pivots on (b). It returns to its position by an action of the spring (rb) and it normally pushes against the perpetual cam (P). A small finger (D) completes one turn per day around point (d) and drags the lever between the hours of 23hOO and midnight by sliding on its inclined plane. The perpetual level (B) is equipped with two pawls (C1) and (C2) which are acted upon by their two respective springs. Each day around midnight the beak (Bj) moves the seven-pointed day star which is held in place by its jumper-spring. The diagram shows the position at midnight just before the jump to March 1. Normally the date is changed by the pawl(Cl) while the pawl (C2) slides onto the cam (L).

Date change

Five times per year, when the date changes from the 30th to the lst (or for leap years, from February 28 to 29), it is the pawl (C2) positioned behind the catch of the cam (L) which causes the hand to move from 30 to I (or from February 28 to March 1). For the month change, the lever (M) pivoting on (m) held by a pin on the cam (L) moves the month star from February to March.

The secret of the perpetual calendar is in understanding the way that the perpetual lever engages the pawl (C2) behind the catch of the cam (L) on the appropriate date. We have seen that the perpetual lever at rest pushes against the cam (P). This cam is the memory for the perpetual calendar. It has seven ridges corresponding to the months with 31 days, four indentations corresponding to the months with 30 days and a movable rectangle for February. The cam thus determines the three levels of rest for the perpetual lever.

The pawl (C2) which is engaged behind the catch of the cam (L) can occupy three different levels, This pawl can then become engaged behind the catch on the evening of the 30th and will not act until the 31st at the same time as the the pawl (Cl).

This then is the case of 31-day months corresponding to the seven ridges. The pawl(C2) becomes engaged behind the catch on the evening of the 29th when the lever pushes on the base of the indentation. The evening of the 30th, between 23h00 and midnight, it causes the date to change to the 31st. Finally for February the lever, pushing on one side of the rectangle and always lower than the bottom of the indentation, allows the pawl (C2) to move the date from February 28 or 29 directly to March 1.

An ingenious addition is that the small movable rectangle has three sides equidistant from its center of rotation and the fourth side which is positioned higher than the others. Thanks to this small simple mechanism hidden behind the date star, it rotates one-quarter of a turn each year so that once every four years, the highest side pushes on the lever.

For that year, the pawl (C2) will only act on the 29th of February, corresponding to the leap year. If we simplify the mechanism by replacing the small movable rectangle by a fixed indentation, the jump will always occur on February 28 and the calendar would then have to be corrected for leap years. This simplified device is called a "semi-perpetual calendar".

The month is changed from 31 to I by the action of a pin placed on the cam (L)acting on the lever (M) which pivots on (m). As soon as the pin of the cam (L) escapes from the lever, the latter is drawn behind the next tooth by a spring. The end of (M) is jointed to allow it to pass behind the next tooth, thus causing it to move at the end of the following month.

Like Champagne, Bordeaux or Port, certain products have stringent standards (based on location or quality) that must be met before carrying a particular designation. The Swiss have several organizations to ensure the integrity and reputation of Swiss watchmakers. The accepted standard for what constitutes a Swiss-made watch is a Swiss movement, set into its case in Switzerland, by a manufacturer of Swiss origin.

A Swiss movement is defined as a movement that was assembled in Switzerland (by a Swiss-based manufacturer), and whose Swiss movement parts constitute 50% or more of a movement's total value. Movements that meet this requirement will carry a stamp (on the watch's face or back of the case) with the words "Swiss," "Swiss Made," "Swiss Quartz," "Suisse," "Produit Suisse" or "Fabrique en Suisse." The former three are the most popular in North America.

If your watch says "Swiss Movement," it means that the inside parts of the watch are Swiss, but that the case is not, therefore it cannot carry the other stamps. If the case is Swiss, but the movement is not, it will say "Swiss Case."

Some other tidbits: If your watch has a "T" on its face, it means it has tritium , the greenish-white substance on the hands and numbers that glows in the dark. If the face has the letter "O," it means that the hourly markings on the dial are made of gold.

The cover of a watch's face, known as the crystal, is designed to protect the dial. There are three main types of crystal found in watches: acrylic, mineral and sapphire.

Acrylic crystal is an inexpensive plastic that does not prevent scratches, but allows scratches to be buffed out.

Mineral crystal is glass, which is composed of several elements that aid in resisting scratches (it is seven times harder than acrylic crystal). It is generally found on more expensive watches.

Sapphire crystal is the cover of choice for premium watches. It is the most expensive type of crystal and is three times harder than mineral crystal. It is made of an extremely durable synthetic material that makes it shatterproof and scratch resistant (not scratchproof). Some have a non-reflective film to prevent glare.

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Answer by Professor J.C. Nicolet

TECHNICAL REASONS

The important parts of a mechanical watch are mainly those that move, i.e. gear trains, the balance and the escapement. In early times, the fine pivots of these pieces turned directly in holes drilled into two brass plates separated by pillars. In order to facilitate assembly and repair, the upper plate was later replaced by separate elements, called "bars" (also "bridges" or "cocks" depending on the number of supports).

The lower brass plate (called "bottom plate") was drilled with small holes in which the other ends of the pivots turned. These holes also contained small oil sinks from which the oil flowed into the holes to lubricate the pivots. With time, though, dust from the air collected in the oil sinks. This resulting mix of oil and dust formed an abrasive substance which acted like sandpaper, slowly filing away the softer brass of the plate and to some extent even the harder steel pivots. With continued use, the abrasive action of the oil-dust mixture working in concert with the turning action of the pivots caused the holes to become oval. The watch would then start to work erratically, finally stopping.

These observations led watchmakers to look for a material harder than brass that would withstand more wear and tear from the pivots. The substance they turned to was the ruby, a material second only to the diamond in hardness.

A BIT OF HISTORY

The use of the ruby goes back to 18th century England (at the time the cradle of quality horology) where watchmakers first had the idea of using small ruby pellets (called jewels) as bearings for the pivots of the balance. The technique of drilling the ruby was invented by a Swiss optician and astronomer, Nicolas Fatio, who went to England in the hope of exploiting his invention. He tried to obtain a "royal privilege" for his technique which they wrongly claimed was already in use. In the end, Fatio did not receive the privilege and other skillful workers set about producing drilled ruby pellets for the watch trade.

In those days stones were second-rate rejects from the jewelry trade. The technique allowing fro precision drilling of the rubies gave the British watch industry supremacy over continental horology for about 20 years. After that, French watchmakers such as Abraham-Louis Breguet brought over English craftsmen (and their jeweling techniques to work for them in France. This market the beginning of the end of the British monopoly.

For many years, this relatively costly labor-intensive technique limited jewels exclusively to very high quality watches. Slowly their manufacture became more industrial and their pieces more accessible to other aspects of watchmaking.

A further decrease in price accompanied the creation of synthetic rubies, based a method developed in 1902 by August Verneuil, Professor in Paris' Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. In fact, synthetic rubies, as well as their natural counterparts are corundum, i.e. crystal-line aluminum oxide.

In the industrial fabrication process, the basic component alumina (aluminum oxide) undergoes a series of operations, i.e. purification, heating, fusion and crystallization, which results in pear-shaped pieces of artificial ruby. Chromium oxide is added to get the red color of natural rubies.

The large-scale manufacture of rubies permitted the creation of abundant quantities of these synthetic stones, more homogeneous in quality than the ones found in nature. The jewelry trade takes most of these stones. In watchmaking, the cost of the rubies came mostly from the labor needed to drill and set them, as the cost of the raw material was relatively low. Having said this, it must be noted that from beginning to end-product, about 90% of the ruby is destroyed, with only the remaining 10% usable for watches. Up until 1930, the ruby pellets were jewelry-fitted into the brass, but later, the technique of driving (pressing) them into the plates was adopted, thus lowering production costs even more.

A COMMERCIAL GIMMICK?

In the mind of the public, the idea that watches contain jewels give them a certain added prestige value. Manufacturers were quick to exploit this belief and started to add unnecessary stones to increase the prices of their products. The term "upjeweling" was an American term coined to refer to this dubious practice which was fairly widespread in the U.S. at the time. It was finally abolished by the U.S. Customs authorities who disallowed "upjeweled" imports from entering the country. There are some, however, who suggest that their real motives may have been less noble and that this was merely a kind of camouflage protectionism for the U.S. watch industry.

Today, Swiss watchmakers no longer use this questionable practice and their advertisement is not based on the number of jewels in a movement. The total number of rubies, i.e. "jeweling", can vary. In a simple hand-wound mechanical watch, the number of jewels varies from a minimum of 14 to a maximum of 19.

In automatic or complicated watches, where there are more moving parts, the number of rubies is higher. Once in awhile, someone will hear a rumor that a what repairer has stolen the rubies out of a watch and replaced them with brass bearings. This is a totally baseless myth. For the watchmaker to remove the rubies and replace them with brass would require a lot of effort and would certainly not be worth his time given that the jewels cost only a few cents to buy.

To sum it all up, having jewels in a watch is certainly a factor that adds to its overall quality. They are indispensable for the long-life and correct functioning of a good quality watch.

Often the bezel (top ring on the case), serves to record additional data, and can often move in both directions to provide a number of functions. A unidirectional bezel only turns one way to prevent any danger of false manoeuvre. Especially important when being used to measure diving times as even if the bezel is knocked and moved it will simply indicate the diver has less air or decompression time rather than more.

Folding Clasp (also called deployment clasp): This clasp folds under the bracelet or watch strap and does not release the strap into two sections.

Hidden Clasp (also called butterfly clasp): Folds the sections under the watch band to make the bracelet appear as an uninterrupted chain.

Tang Clasp: A buckle with a hook, the tang that fits into a hole on the watch strap.

Jewelry Clasp: A hinged hook that folds over a bar to secure the watch band.

The jewels are synthetic sapphires or rubies which have been drilled, champfered and polished to serve as bearings for gears in watches, reducing friction or mechanical parts to a bare minimum.

Generally speaking, on may say that a simple mechanical watch (hours, minutes and seconds hands) should include at least fifteen jewels located in the places most subject to wear due to friction. It should be fitted with a shock-absorbing system on the balance, a good quality balance-spring and an unbreakable spring.

• Analog: The traditional dial; keeping time with hands.
• Aperture: The date display window on a watch dial.
• Calendar: Displays featuring the day, date or year in addition to the hour; analog watch dials show this feature in apertures or subdials.
• Caliber: The configuration and size of the watch movement.
• Countdown Timer: A chronograph function that measures how much of a preset period of time has passed.
• Chronograph: A watch with multiple functions measuring specific durations of time, often in fractions of a second. Subdials and hands measure the time periods; such as the stopwatch of a sports watch.
• Chronometer: A high-precision timepiece whose movement has been quality-tested by the Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres [COSC], a Swiss laboratory. The COSC tests the movement at five different positions and 3 different temperatures for several consecutive days to determine accuracy. Timepieces qualifying as chronometers include a COSC certification number.
• Complication: Refers to any watch function other than the basic timekeeping function, e.g. calendars, stopwatches, alarms and other extras. 
• Digital: A dial that shows the time and other features in a LCD (liquid crystal display) or LED (light emitting diode) display. This feature is useful displaying information on a multifunction watch.
• Dual Time: A display that shows two time zones on the dial. The feature can have two dials, a subdial placed in the main dial, or analog and digital displays on the same watch.
• Guilloche: A pattern of ridges that ripple outward from the center of a flat surface; a sunburst pattern. This texture is common on the dials of dress watches.
• Horology: The history and craft of making watches, clocks and other devices for measuring time. 
• Jewels: The jewels form the bearings in a mechanical or automatic watch. The movement generally will have at least 17 jewels.
• Kinetic: A watch mechanism or battery that is powered by natural movements of the wearer's arm. A quartz watch with kinetic movement never needs a new battery.
• Lap Timer: A chronograph function that measures segments of a race; it can stop to show the time for each lap without losing track of the total race time.
• Manual wind: Another term for the mechanical watch. To build up a store of power in the movement, the user winds a crown on the watch case by hand. 
• Mechanical: Watch movement using a spring that must be wound by hand. The spring slowly unwinds to release the energy that powers the watch.
• Moon Phase Dial: A subdial that tracks the phases of the lunar month. Some watches have a Sun and Moon subdial which tracks the 24-hour day.
• Movement: The finished assembly of the inner workings of a watch. 
• Perpetual Calendar: Automatically resets the day at the end of the month or year, including leap years.
• Power Reserve: The amount of energy, notated in hours, that a watch has stored in its movement. The average mechanical or automatic watch has a full power reserve of about 36 hours.
• Réserve de Marche: A French term for the power-reserve function. The amount of energy, notated in hours, that a watch has stored in its movement. The average mechanical or automatic watch has a full power reserve of about 36 hours. 
• Skeleton: This case design displays the watch movement with an open dial or with a clear crystal placed on the case back.
• Sweep Hand: The marker that denotes the seconds as it moves around the dial of an automatic watch. Also called the sweep second hand, this marker moves in a smooth arc on the dial. The second hand of a quartz watch will click forward in second-long increments.
• Tachymeter: A register set on the bezel that measures the distance covered over a specific period of time.
• World Time: Found in digital watches, this function features a list of the current times in major cities around the world.

Quartz:
Quartz watches use a battery in conjunction with a piece of quartz to create a pulse that powers the movement.

Automatic:
Automatic watches whose mainspring is wound by the movements or accelerations of the wearer's arm. Some automatic watches may require an automatic watch winder to keep them wound.

Mechanical:
A watch with mechanical movement needs to be manually wound.

Solar powered:
Solar powered watch is a watch that is powered entirely or partly by a solar panel. Sunlight and artificial light are absorbed by a solar panel behind the crystal. The dial is either on a layer above or actually on the solar panel. This solar panel converts the light into electrical energy to power the watch.

 

 

• Band: The cuff that wraps around the wrist making the piece a wrist watch. Metal bands are called bracelets. Leather, rubber or fabric bands are called watch straps.
• Bezel: Ring that attaches the crystal to the watch case.
• Case: Frame that houses the watch mechanism.
• Case Back: A removable cover that allows access to the internal mechanism of a watch.
• Clasp: The hardware that fastens the band together; a buckle.
• Crown: A button on the side of the case that adjusts the time and date. The button also winds many mechanical watches.
• Crystal: The clear protective case over the watch dial; usually a Plexiglas or mineral disc. Hardlex crystals, a heat-treated mineral crystal, and sapphire crystals are especially scratch-resistant.
• Dial: The face of a watch case that displays the timekeeping functions.
• Subdial: A small window or register with its own hands that is placed on the main dial. Chronograph watches have three or four subdials to display multiple functions.
• Lugs: The hardware that connects the case to the watch band.

In order for timepieces to be read in the dark, a radio luminescent material is laid on the dial indexes and hands.
According to ISO 3157 Standard, only the use of the following radionuclide is authorized for timepieces: tritium (3H) and promethium (147Pm). It is important to specify that these radionuclide emit a radiation of low energy, perfectly confined by the watch case and glass; they may under no circumstances threaten the health of the watch user.
ISO 3157 Standard allows an optional marking for timepieces emitting less than a certain value. The marking may be made on the dial as follows:

deposits activated by tritium : T
deposits activated by promethium : Pm

On the other hand, timepieces with a higher value, such as divers' watches, must be marked as follows:

deposits activated by tritium : T 25
deposits activated by promethium : Pm 0,5

The indication "T Swiss made T" means that the watch is Swiss and contains a certain quantity of tritium that emits less than 227 MBq (7,5 mCi). The indication "Swiss T 25" means that the watch is Swiss and contains a certain quantity of tritium that emits less than 925 MBq (25 mCi).