Lexicon Mechanical Watches from A to Z
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Handwinder, Hand winding;
A watch whose mainspring is wound up daily by means of the winding crown.
Hertz Heinrich;
German physicist (1857-1894). The word Hertz is now used as physical
measurement for the frequencies (numbers of vibrations), indicated as
oscillation per second.
High Frequency Movement;
Watches which make a minimum of 28'800 vibrations. |
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Incabloc;
Trade mark of a Swiss shock absorber (see
Shock-absorber).
Instantaneous Date;
Instantaneous date means that the date changes instantaneously at midnight. |
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Jewel;
English term for Ruby (see
Ruby).
Jewelled Lever Escapement;
Lever with pallet of synthetic ruby. |
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Knurling Tool;
This tool is used in the production of bezels. |
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Made in Switzerland;
Produced and assembled in Switzerland.
 Mainspring;
Flat coiled spring that powers all mechanical watches.
Marine Chronometer; Highly accurate mechanical or electronic
timekeeper enclosed in a box (hence the term box chronometer), used for
determining the longitude on board ship. Marine chronometers with mechanical
movements are mounted on gimbals so that they remain in the horizontal
position is necessary for their precision.
Mechanical Watches;
Watch that stores the running power by means of a mainspring. The mainspring
is either wound up manually in a hand winding watch or in an automatic watch
by the swinging weight (Rotor)
 through
the movement of the arm.
Micron;
1/1000 mm or 0.00l millimetre used for instance to measure the thickness of
gold plating.
Mineral Crystal;
Mineral, mostly flat watch crystals. Mineral crystals are hardened after
polishing and therefore less sensitive to scratches and plexi crystals.
Moonphase Display;
Display of the 29 1/2 days' cycle of the moon by means of a dark blue disc
turning below the dial by the gear-train. |
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Nivarox;
Alloy for the manufacture of balance springs. |
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Official Certificate;
(see
Chronometer)
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 Pallet;
Part of the lever escapement, shaped like a ship's anchor (see
Escapement).
 Plate
(Bottom Plate); The plate
supports the bridges and the various parts of the movement. The movement
plate and the bridges build the frame of the movement.
Plexi Crystal;
Watch crystal made of acryl crystal. This material can be processed and
polished easily. The advantage for the owner of the watch is the
comparatively high resistance to shocks.
Pointer Calendar;
English expression for a calendar watch with a hand that points to the date
as opposed to a calendar watch where the date appears in a window.
Power Reserve;
Running time for a watch fully wound up until it stops.
Push Pin;
Small metallic spring pin fixed between the horns of the case to hold the
watch strap.
PVD;
An abbreviation which stands for Physical Vapour Deposition. The PVD
technology used for watches and bracelets is one of the most up-to-date and
non-polluting coating systems. Its quality can be compared to 10 micron gold
plating. The PVD finish is highly scratchproof and long lasting. The
authentic gilt colour tone is obtained by applying a 23 carat gold layer.
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