|
| |
Lexicon Mechanical Watches from A to Z
|
|
[
A - G
|
H - P
|
Q
|
R
|
S
|
T
|
V
|
W ] |
|
|
Quartz Watches;
Watches with analogue or digital display, whose movement is powered by a
quartz. The quartz analogue watch: The division of the time functions by
means of quartz, whose vibrations are generated by a battery. The
analogue time display is shown by electrically driven hands. In digital
watches the display is, in most cases, by liquid crystal numerals.
Quick Change Corrector (Date);
Mechanism for the direct setting of the date, to avoid turning the hands
over 24 hours. |
|
|
Regulating;
With fine regulating the watchmaker adjusts a watch to run as accurately
as possible (see
Fine Time Adjustment).
Repeater; Watch that strikes the hours by means of a mechanism
operated by a push-piece or bolt. There are various types of repeaters.
Quarter-repeater: sounding a low note for the hours and a "ding-dong"
for each of the quarters; Five-minute repeater: striking the hours,
quarters and five-minute periods after the quarter; Minute-repeater:
striking the hours, quarters and minutes; Grande sonnerie (grand
strike): striking the hours and quarters automatically and repeating
when a push-piece is pressed down; Chiming repeater: in which the
quarters are struck on three or four gongs of different pitch.
Rotating Top Ring;
Rotating bezel on the top ring of a watch case, serving in most
instances to record additional data.
Rose Gold;
Alloy of gold, copper and silver. The rose gold tone is due to the
copper content.
Rotor;
(see
Swinging or Oscillating Weight).
Ruby;
Synthetically produced precious stone, used in the watch movement as
pallet stones and bearings (jewel holes) to reduce friction and wear. |
|
|
Sapphire Crystal;
Watch crystal made of artificial sapphire. A sapphire crystal is highly
scratch resistant due to its extreme hardness.
Selfwinding;
(see
Automatic).
Screw Back;
Case back with thread so that is can be screwed on to the watch case.
Screw-in Crown;
Special crown which is screwed in for better security and used mainly
for diver's and sports watches.
Setting Mechanism;
By pulling out the crown the time and date can be set. The core of this
complex mechanism
 is
the cannon pinion, fitted with a special kind of coupling-clutch. This
enables the watch to be set independently from the gear-train.
Shock-Absorber;
Principle: the endstone a is subject to the action of a spring b. If an
axial shock occurs, the endstone can lift slightly until the shoulder c
strikes a fixed part of the setting. To damp lateral shocks, the jewel
hole is fitted in a setting comprising an inclined plane d which
provides for a slight lateral shift limited by the collet-arbor or by
the roller-arbor e which strikes a fixed part of the framework.
Small Second;
Second display not from the centre, but by a hand in a subsidiary small
dial. This type of second implies a different construction of the
movement.
Stainless Steel;
Steel which does not get rusty and is not affected by corrosion. It is
extremely resilient.
Swinging Or Oscillating Weight
(Rotor); The natural
movement of the arm makes the oscillating weight swing round, thus
winding up the mainspring of the automatic watch. |
|
|
Tachometer (Tachymeter);
The tachometer division on the dial of a chronograph serves to measure
the speed, e.g. of a car on a measured course of 1 km or 1 mile. At the
moment the car passed the starting point of the course, the chronograph
is set and stopped at the final point of the course. The position of the
stopped hand on the tachometer scale corresponds to the speed in km
(miles) per hour. The speed over the whole test run must be the same.
Tritium;
Isotop of hydrogen, slightly radio-active, is used to activate the
luminous dots on the dial. The emitted radiation is so low that there is
no health risk. |
|
|
Vibrations;
(see
Amplitude) |
|
|
Waterproof;
English term for water resistant watches.
Water Resistance;
Watch case, crown, buttons (push-pieces) and crystal are water resistant
and dustproof up to the underwater pressure or depth mentioned by Ulysse
Nardin. The water resistance should be checked yearly.
Winding System;
Shaft on which the crown is fixed at the outer end. The winding system
 is
the connection to the watch movement.
[previous] |
|
|
