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| Word |
Description |
| Accuracy |
Refers to the rate consistancy of a watch, and not necessarily if the watch is keeping exact time. A watch which gains or loses the same amount of time each day is termed accurate. |
| Acrylic Crystal |
Sometimes referred to as Hesolite, an acrylic crystal is composed of a composite that is less hard than a mineral or sapphire crystal. Although it can be scratched, these scratches are easily removed. Benefits to an acrylic crystal are resistance to glare and resistance to shattering. |
| Annual Calendar |
A mechanical watch that knows how many days are in a month, but needs to be adjusted once each year in February. |
| Atmosphere |
An atmosphere, or ATM, is a unit of measure used to indicate water resistance. One atmosphere equals 10 meters. |
| Automatic |
A mechanical watch this is powered by movement. In response to motion, a rotor turns and winds the mainspring. |
| Beat |
The vibration (half-oscillation, or "tick") of a movement. Most watches beat at a rate of 18,000 or 28,800 vibrations per hour (VpH). |
| Bezel |
The bezel is the upper part of the watch body. On sports, pilots and divers watches, the bezel may feature calibrated markings, and may rotate in one or both directions. The bezel may also be design to rotate smoothly, or to click. |
| Cabochon |
A smooth round or convex polished gemstone that is set in the watch crown. |
| Case |
The metal housing that contains the movement and internal workings of the watch. The most popular case metal is stainless steel, which is usually surgical stainless steel. Other popular case metals include yellow gold, rose gold, white gold, platinum and titanium. |
| Chapter Ring |
Circle bearing the hour (and sometimes minute) numerals or indices. |
| Chronograph |
A watch with a stopwatch function. Most chronograph watches hae two pushers which extend on the right, one for starting and stopping the chronograph and the second for resetting the chronograph to zero. |
| Chronometer |
A watch whose movement was tested by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres in Switzerland prior to the watch being made. The mean daily rate test requires that the watch maintain an accuracy within -4 to +6 seconds of variation per day. |
| Column Wheel |
The upright castle-shaped wheel in a chronograph that acts as a sliding link to operate the various levers that set the chronograph function in motion. Column wheel chronographs are often considered superior because of their sureness of action. |
| Complication |
An additional mechanism in a watch movement. The most important complications include (but are by no means limited to) automatic winding systems, chronograph mechanisms, perpetual calendars, minute repeating striking works and alarm mechanisms. |
| COSC |
Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, or chronometer. The standard used by COSC is to test the accuracy of a mechanical wristwatch movement, before it is assembled into a watch, for consistent accuracy under a range of position and temperatures.
COSC actually peforms seven tests as part of the certification. But the most commonly mentioned is the "mean daily rate" test for which a standard men's watch size mechanical movement, the watch must maintain an accuracy within -4 to +6 seconds of variation per day. |
| Crown |
On a manual winding watch, the crown is required to wind the watch while on an automatic watch it is optional. The crown also may perform other functions, such as setting the time, date, moon phases or other complications. |
| Dial |
The face of a watch, showing hours, minutes, and seconds. Other smaller dials are referred to as “subsidiary.” |
| Ebauche |
An unassembled movement, without escapement, balance, hairspring or mainspring. |
| Escapement |
This term is used to describe the mechanism that transfers power from the mainspring via the wheel train to the oscillating system of a timepiece. |
| ETA |
ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse is a Swiss producer of mechanical and quartz watch movements and also manufactures clock movements, as well. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swatch Group. |
| Fine Adjustment |
A device that makes it possible for the regulator to be operated with the highest possible degree of precision. Various constructions have been devised, e.g. the swan’s neck or eccentric screw. |
| Frederic Piguet |
Frederic Piguet is a Swiss movement producer and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Swatch Group. It is most often associated with Blancpain watches, but their movements are used in a variety of brands. |
| GMT |
The abbreviation for Greenwich Mean Time. All time is calculated from the naval observatory at Greenwich, England, which is zero degrees longitude. |
| Guilloche |
"Engine-turned" decoration found on the dials of better watches. |
| Incabloc |
A brand of shock absorber designed to prevent damage to pinions or jewels. |
| Jewels |
Precision watches are equipped with jewels to minimize friction on the most important bearings, on the anchor pallets and on the ellipse jewels.
A hand-wound precision watch requires at least 15 functional jewels: 10 bearing jewels, two endstones, two pallet jewels for the anchor and one lever jewel (ellipse). An optimal arrangement can be achieved with 18 jewels.
More complicated watches (e.g. those with automatic winding, chronograph or repeating striking mechanisms) require a correspondingly larger number of jewels. |
| Lemania |
Lemania is a Swiss movement producer and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Swatch Group. It is most often associated with Breguet watches, but their movements are used in a variety of brands. |
| Lugs |
The extensions from the case to which the strap or bracelet are attached. |
| Mainspring |
Mainsprings are long, elastic, spirally wound strips of steel, which have been used since the 15th century as a reservoir of power for mechanical timepieces. |
| Manual |
A mechanical watch that does not feature a rotor, and therefore must be wound by hand using the crown. |
| Moon Phase Display |
A moon phase display indicates the phases of the moon by approximating the 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes change in phases. |
| Movement |
The complete inner mechanism of a watch. |
| Perpetual Calendar |
A mechanical watch that accurately accounts for the numbers of days in a month, as well as leap years. |
| Power Reserve |
The amount of time that a mechanical watch will run when fully would before it stops. |
| Rattrapante |
A chronograph with two chronograph hands, used for split second timing. |
| Regulation |
The process of adjusting the timekeeping of a mechanical movement to achieve beter results. Regulation is typically made using different positions and temperatures. |
| Rotor |
A pivoted weight attached to an automatically wound movement which winds the mainspring when the watch is in motion. |
| Screw Down Crown |
A threaded winding crown that screws tightly into the case. It assures resistance to water and dust penetration. |
| Stainless Steel |
An alloy made of steel, nickel and chrome. Most watches use 316L steel, which is the same as used in surgical implants. |
| Water Resistant |
This phrase describes wristwatches whose cases, in their original states, resist penetration by water up to a particular depth. A wristwatch can be described as "water resistant" when it resists perspiration, sprayed water and rain and when it can be submerged to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes without allowing water to penetrate.
Water resistance is not the same as waterproof. |
