In the case of a ¾ plate, unlike the classic bridge plate, the entire gear train is mounted under a further plate.
This construction is mainly used in English, American and especially in Glashütte watches.

Polymethyl methacrylate.
This plastic was used for the manufacture of watch glasses until the 1980s.

Tuning, regulating and general setting of a watch is called adjusting.

In professional regulation, the gear is subject to various circumstances, such as position and temperatures.
According to official regulations, such regulation provides that the watch is monitored for several days in at least 5 position, at two different temperatures (23.8 and 38 °C).

This additional function for mechanical watches comes from the 16th century and was patented in 1908 by Eterna.
With this function the alarm time can be adjusted exactly and when the set time comes, the watch announces itself with acoustic sounds.

Complications in which all the different monthly lengths during a leap year cycle are displayed correctly and without additional adjustment.
The switch of February 29th has to be done manually every 4 years, since it does not have a wheel, which rotates around its own axis within 4 years, as in the Eternal Calendar.

This function displays the day, date and month on the watch.
In most cases, manual re-adjustment is required for months that have less than 31 days, but there are rare exceptions where the change occurs automatically at date position 31.

An amagnetic watch is considered to be unaffected by negative influences of magnetic fields, or only very little.
In order to do this, susceptible components are produced from materials which are difficult to magnetize.
For example, Elinvar or Nivarox spirals are alloys made of components such as brass, nickel or even beryllium bronze.
In addition, parts such as the escape wheel, pallet fork and lever disc are also made of non-magnetic metals.
Another option is to enclose the entire movement with an additional housing made of a very conductive alloy.
This additional housing prevents the emergance of magnetic fields inside the housing.
Only if a watch under the effect of a magnetic field of 4800 A/m (Amper/meter) maintains its rate and subsequently an accuracy deviation of a maximum of 30 seconds/day, this can be officially designated as amagnetic.

If your watch suddenly runs slow, it could be an indication that your watch is magnetized.
This deviation can, as a rule, be regulated again by means of a demagnetization tool.

Before 1933, balance springs were made from so-called stainless spring steel, but this metal changes its elasticity at great temperature fluctuations.
This affects the speed of the watch.
These spirals were now replaced by auto compensating balance springs "Nivarox".
Since the alloy consists of several metals, the temperature fluctuations are automatically compensated for by the various properties.
Today all high-quality wristwatches have Nivarox-Spirals and Glucydur-Balances installed.

The basic principle of automatic winding is to use the arm movements to tighten the mainspring.
This principle was invented for the first time in 1770 by Louis Perrelet.
Since at that time only pocket watches were used and they were experiencing far too little movement in order to tighten the mainspring, the prevalence of this construction did not remain.
It was only with the invention of the wrist watch that this development took its place in watchmaking.
In 1922 the first serial watch with automatic winding by Léon Leroy was introduced.
Followed in 1931 by the first Rolex with single-acting rotor winding.
The further development and perfection of this principle lasted until the beginning of the quartz crisis, but it was only a decade later in 1983 that it was revived.

This type of caliber or movement was very popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
Also called bar-movement, the proportions (long side / cross side) are at least 3:1.

The balance wheel in combination with the hairspring is the heart of every mechanical watch and is responsible for the accuracy of the watch.
The balance wheel was used up until the 1940s to compensate for variations in temperature.
The watchmakers Jean de Hautrfeuilled and Christiaan Huygens developed and patented their idea in 1675.

The bearing is a hole for the pins of the gear train.
These holes are mostly combined with bearing blocks.

If the beats of the regulating organs, such as for example the balance, are added, the result is the beat rate. A full vibration results from two beats.
As an example we take a classic watch with a beat rate of 18.000.
This means, that the watch performs 9.000 full and 18.000 half oscillations per hour.
So in this case, the watch has a frequency of 2,5 hertz.

A metal from the group of the alkaline earth metals.
This silvery-white and malleable metal is often used in watch making due to its hardness, strength and elasticity as part of the alloy for the production of for example the balance made from beryllium bronze.

The bezel is the glass rim of a case.
In modern watches, the rotatable rings on the front of a watch are often referred to as the bezel.
These bezels usually have a special function.

Bicolor is the use of 2 different colored metals in the design of a watch.
The combination of stainless steel and yellow gold is often used.
However, other combinations such as titanium and rose gold are increasingly used in the design of modern watches.
Both solid gold or gilded elements may be used.

Prior to the invention of the auto compensating balance spring, a so-called bimetallic compensation balance was used.

The screw balance wheel was made of two metals (steel and brass).
These two metals have a different coefficient of thermal expansion.
As a result, the alternating moment of inertia acts against the thermally induced changes in the length of the balance spring made of stainless spring steel.

Watches for blind people really exist!
In most cases, the glass edge, including the glass itself, can be removed in such watches in order to be able to scan the position of the hands.
In addition, the indices are highlighted and dotted.

To allow steel parts to be tempered blue, sensitivity and, above all, a great deal of experience is necessary.
The parts to be made blue are heated in a small kind of pan until the steel begins to turn blue at about 300 degrees Celcius.
If these are overheated, they become porous and black and can no longer be used for further processing.

An alloy of zinc and copper.
Brass is often used in the production of watches, e.g. for the production of plates.
Depending on the intended use, different mixing ratios can be determined.

In 1795, Abraham-Louis Breguet introduced his improved version of the conventional balance spring.
The technological innovation was the new form of the end curve of the spiral.
Thanks to this, Breguet succeeded in making all his watches even more precise, as it positively influences the concentric movement of the balance.
Later, this balance spring was also named after its inventor.
Due to the high production costs, these springs are only installed in very high-quality watches.

This term refers to the hands mainly used in classical watches.
These are characterized by their elegant and timeless shape as well as by a small hole at the end of the hand and have remained almost unchanged till our present time since the 19th century.

The bridge is a metal-milled component that moves at least one pin of a rotating part of a watch.
This component is screwed to the plate in which the counter bearing is located.
The bridge is usually named after the turning part which the bridge bearing.
For example, the bridge that holds the minute wheel is therefore called minute wheel bridge.

An abbreviation for 'Central European Time' introduced in Germany and other Central European countries in 01.04.1893.
The difference to the universal time is +1 hour.

Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Center (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres)
This Federal Authority has the task to carry out all official Chronometer tests (see Chronometer) and to issue the appropriate certificates.
The headquarters of this test centre is located in Chaux-de-Fonds, but there are already branches in Geneva, Biel, and Le Locle.

An additional gear mechanism used in complicated watches, for example for watches with a minute repetition or a calendar.
A cadrature is either mounted on a separate plate and connected as a single module to the movement.
Alternatively, a cadrature can be placed directly in the movement, the decisive factor being the construction of the watch and the caliber used.
The second variant is more expensive and more elaborate than the use of the cadrature as a single module.

The caliber describes the dimensions and the shape of the movement and its parts.
Over the years, the variety of different calibers has been greatly reduced, since the good calibers have been continuously developed.
One differentiates between round calibers for open-face watches (lepines), the round calibers for watches with a spring case (Savonnettes), as well as the form calibers used in baguette-shaped, oval or rectangular watches.
In the case of the Lepines, the second wheel is in line with the crown; in Savonnettes, where the small second is used, the second wheel is at position "6" and thus at a right angle to the crown.

A strongly arched housing front part of a wristwatch.

A cap-jewel which does not have a hole used to cover the hole jewel.
This jewel is used to limit the height of the shaft, simply by mounting it above a perforated jewel.
Capped jewels will provide for more consistent performance in a wider range of positions.
In the case of high-quality and costly watch movements, escape wheel bearings and anchors are also equipped with cap-jewels.

Measurement for the indication of for example gold content in a watch.
100% pure gold has 24 carats.
If, therefore, the case of a watch is made of 18 karat gold, the actual gold content is 7500/1000, the rest consists of further alloying metals such as copper, brass or silver and is marked on the watch cases.

This minute repeater complication uses three hammers and gongs to create a melody.

This is a simple movement complication which was constructed by Danish watchmaker Bonniksen.
Due to the special design, it requires a secondary gear to turn its mechanism and is typically mounted on the fourth wheel.
In comparison, a tourbillion must be constantly in motion to ensure the watch's rate.
The first watch with the so-called carousel came onto the international market in 2001.

Also called bevelling, this term describes a process in the refinement of watch cases and bracelets. A decorative polished edge is incorporated at an angle of 45°, which usually separates 2 satined surfaces from each other.

A chaton is a circular metal piece which is used for the storage of bearings.
These were initially screwed or pressed into the movements for aesthetic reasons only.
They visually examined the entire work and brought the warehouses even more to their advantage by their usually golden color.
Later on you discovered your functional benefits, but the bearings in Chaton were much easier to change when damaged.
When the manufacture and manufacture of the bearing blocks became more precise and more formal, Chatons became increasingly oblivious since it was now possible to press the bearings directly into the bridges or blanks.
Today, only very few, especially in Glashütte-based watchmakers, use chatons to decorate the visual appreciation of your movements.

With a chiming mechanism the time can be presented acoustically. The chimes are created by a hammer hitting a resonating body.

Since its invention, the chronograph has been one of the most popular and common complications of a watch.
The function of the chronograph makes it possible to start and to reset a centralized seconds hand and to reset it to zero and thus to measure a required period of time with one or two push buttons without affecting the set time.
Furthermore, additional hands are often used to measure the minutes or hours that have already passed.
In addition, the chronograph allows so-called cumulative-split timing, since the second hand can be stopped as often as required and restarted from its last position.
The accuracy of such a measurement depends primarily on the frequency of the balance.

With the help of a so-called lagging mechanism
Two or more tasks can be stopped in parallel.
The prerequisite for this is, of course, the simultaneous start of the task to be stopped.
A separate push button allows the single hand to be stopped as often as required to read off a required intermediate value.
Pressing the button again will synchronize that hand with the other hand, which hasn't stopped moving.
As early as 1883 there were first Rattrapante chronographs in pocket watch format, only in 1920 the first wristwatch with Rattrapante function was presented.
Due to the enormous complexity of such a mechanism, a Rattrapante Chronograph remains something special today.

For a precision watch to bear the title "Chronometer", it must be tested by an official inspection body such as COSC.
This quality control takes 15 days per watch, while the watch's performance is checked in all five positions: "Crown left", "Crown up", "Crown down", "Dial up" and "Dial down", as well as three different temperatures.
To get this certification, the average daily rate must be between -4 and +6 seconds.
The mean variation shall not exceed a maximum of 2 seconds and the greatest variation in rates shall not exceed 5 seconds.
Only when all these norms can be observed can a watch be designated as a Chronometer and also be advertised accordingly.

A special form of enamel, using very thin (0.007mm -1mm) partition walls (Cloisons) by which different colored areas are separated with enamel.
The task of the “cloisonneurs” is to place these partition walls with the help of a gold wire so that a motif is formed on the dial. The resulting sections are filled with up to 5 layers of enamel (glass flow) with a goose quill.
Each color application is subjected to a firing process in which the lower and upper layers connect and thus the desired coloring is produced.
Finally, the entire surface is polished until a smooth and even surface is formed.

Watchmaker George Daniels reconstructed all the impulsive elements of a movement and managed to greatly reduce the friction in the movement.
This also resulted in the omission of oil, which over time had an effect on the amplitude of the oscillation system.
The coaxial escapement is composed of three components.
A balance roller carrying a pallet and impulse pin, an anchor with three pallet stones, the coaxial escapement wheel.
When the balance is oscillated clockwise, it receives a direct stimulus via the escapement wheel to the impulse pallet of the lever disc.
However, if the balance rotates counterclockwise, the anchor comes into play.
In this case, the latter transmits the small force impacts to the middle impulse pallet of the armature.
After each pulse, the escapement wheel is stopped by the outer anchor pads for a short time, allowing the balance to swing in all directions.

In comparison to bridges, cocks are only screwed at the edge of the plate.
There are balance cocks and escape wheel cocks.

A real coin serves as a plate for these watches.
The coin is processed so that a flat movement can fit in.

This component is also called “crown wheel” or “Swiss Castle”.
These designations are based on the design of the wheel.
It is a rotatably mounted ratchet wheel and has a complicated construction, which has 5-9 columns.
It rotates one increment with each click of the chronograph pusher, after which a mechanical finger falls between the teeth of the column wheel to activate the functions.

The column wheel is considered to be a criterion of quality and value because of its high production costs, and is always being improved over the years.

Temperature has a great influence on the components of a watch and therefore on its functionality and accuracy.
The reason for this is the change of elasticity of certain components, for example the balancing spring.
Watchmaker John Arnold from England devoted himself to solving this problem.
The result was a bi-metallic temperature compensated balance, which could almost completely solve the temperature problems.
The combination of two metals, for example brass, outside and steel inside regulated the impact of temperatures.
At higher temperatures the brass expands more than steel, so that the free ends move in the direction of the hairspring.
This, in turn, compensated the length expansion of the steel coil.
Since this is an expensive and elaborate component, they are only installed in high-quality watches.

Complications are additional functions for watches.
Among the best known complications is the self-winding, the chronograph, as well as equations.
Elaborate complications are for example the perpetual calendar or the tourbillion.

The coulisse lever system controls the chronograph.
Depending on the caliber used, the coulisse lever system has different shapes.
The start, stop and neutral positions are controlled via this component.
The alternatives to this system are the column wheel system and cam system.

Even Louis Abraham Breguet had to fight against plagiarism with the help of hidden secret signatures.
The problem of counterfeits or replicas is thus not only a problem of the modern age, but just as old as the watchmaking art itself.
Even though the world's leading watchmaking companies are spending enormous amounts every year to eliminate, destroy and limit the trade in counterfeit watches, this fight is unlikely to be won.
Counterfeits are becoming ever more precise and more similar to the originals, so that some counterfeits can only be detected by trained watchmakers in connection with a disassembly of the movement.
All paperwork, box certificates and certificates of authenticity are now falsified.
So, when buying a second hand watch, only trust your trusted watchmaker's word.

The crown of a watch serves as a winder, the adjustment of the time or the correction of the date display.
However, there are also screwable crowns, which prevent the penetration of water into the housing.
Some sports watches have the so-called "flank protection" which is supposed to protect the crown from bumps.

A transparent and colorless white glass, which was used for watches until the 1940s.
The serious disadvantage with this glass is the extremely high susceptibility to splinter or even break even with small impacts.

In 1726 the English watchmaker George Graham invented the cylinder escapement.
This is used in older or simple and inexpensive watches, since the pallet fork which functions as a connecting element is missing, which leads to an inaccurate accuracy performance. Only the teeth of the escapement wheel engage in the balance staff, which is hollow and cylindrical.

There are two common methods to display the date in a watch.
Analog with the help of hands, or digital, through a disc with printed numbers.
Regardless of whether the hands or disc, both move exactly one time within 31 days around their own axis.
Due to the coupling with the hand movement, they will be switched one position further every day, exactly at midnight.
One differentiates between a semi-instantaneous or instantaneous date display.
While with the semi-instantaneous display the date gradually changes, an instantaneous display changes with a jump, requiring accumulated power before releasing it at once.
Also mentionable are the so-called Panorama date or the Large date display.
Here, two date disks are arranged concentrically, one disk representing the tens, and the other the single digit of the date.
This type of date display is generally considered to be better readable and is at the same time a trademark of A. Lange & Söhne watchmaking company.

The digital time display shows the time display in digits.
This time display was used even before the invention of the quartz clocks, with discs printed with numbers as the display (see date display).
Today, so-called liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are used in quartz watches, which have replaced the previous LED displays which consumed too much energy.

According to the DIN 8306 standard, a watch can only be called a diving watch if it fulfils numerous requirements.
On the one hand, the housing must be completely watertight, the watch must also be legible under water and the possibility of setting a dive time in advance.
A rotatable ring on one side is suitable for this purpose, usually the watch's bezel. The “good readability” is defined as follows:
The set diving time, the time and the functionality of the watch must be readable or guaranteed from a distance of 25cm in complete darkness.
Should you dive regularly and use a watch intended for this purpose, it is strongly recommended to carry out a leak test at least once a year.

Watches in which two independent movements are installed, regardless of whether it is with manual winding, automatic, or quartz, to show for example different time zones.
It should be mentioned that time deviations between the two movements are indispensable, since there are always gear regulating differences and the permanent synchronization is almost impossible.

If one speaks of a double sided watch, it means that the watch has a dial on the front and back.
The best-known examples of double-sided watches are, on the one hand, the "Reverso Duo Face" by Jaeger-LeCoultre and the "Sky Moon Tourbillon" by Patek Philippe.

The word Doublé comes from the French and means doubling.
It describes the refinement of a watch case of base material with precious metals like gold or platinum.
A very thin noble metal layer (only a few microns) is applied to the housing during a rolling operation. This makes the watch appear of higher-quality as it really is.
The great disadvantage of these so-called Doublé watches is that this very thin layer is comes off very quickly from the case.

These watches are distinguished by their simple and classic design.
The main feature of a watch is the "three-hands principle" and a flat housing.
The unobtrusive design allows a dress-watch to be combined with almost every style.

Enamel is an opaque glossy substance applied as a protective coating.
In the watch industry, enamel is mainly used to decorate dials and case covers.
The main components of enamel are quartz sand and fluorspar.
These are mixed with lead oxide, borax and soda.
The mixture is then melted at a temperature of 1200 degrees Celsius and immediately quenched.
This results in grains which are later mixed with colorants.
Whereas after the turn of the century, the dial of the enamel was used almost every watch, it has now become very rare, mainly due to the costs.

Stored working capacity. A certain energy potential is required to run watches.
For example mechanical watches are operated by a mainspring harnessing the energy.
In the case of quartz watches, this potential is stored in the form of electrical energy in batteries or accumulators.

Due to the elliptical orbit of the Earth around the Sun and the inclined Earth axis, there is a difference between the shortest and the longest sunny day of the year. This difference is 30 minutes and 45 seconds. In everyday life there would be far too many problems if we were to orient ourselves to the true sun time. To counteract this, the mean solar time was defined, according to which the duration of the mean solar day is 86,400 seconds. This value, which today is also indicated by common watches, is calculated from the average length of all true Sundays.

The acquisition of time display itself represents the deviation of the mean from the true solar time.
This complication was already invented in the 17th century, but is now only rarely used.
From a technical point of view, the respective difference between the true and the mean solar time is incorporated into the circumference of a kidney-shaped disc, which rotates around the axis once a year.
To reproduce this on the dial, a very complicated and complex mechanism is required. It scans the equation and transmits it to the display by means of the hands.

This gear can recognized by the asymmetrically arranged teeth. It lies in the movement between the gear train and the balance. The connection is established by the anchor.

The escapement relays the energy stored in the mainspring to the balance and balance spring in small force thrusts. It also prevents uncontrolled movement of the movement.
The main components of the escapement are the escape wheel gear, balance wheel and the anchor itself.
For high-quality watches, the Swiss lever escapement has prevailed.
The escapement itself and the escapement system as a whole have an enormous force. Thus, an escapement with a frequency of 28,800 A/h moves the gear train 691,200 times.

Watchmakers who manufacture watches from finished components rather than producing in-house are called etablisseur.

In the so-called angling of the edges, the edges of the steel and brass parts are ground.
Ideally, these edge surfaces must be placed at an angle of 45 degrees.

During the fine adjustment, all disturbing factors affecting the accuracy of the watch are removed and corrected.
The higher the price of a watch and the more exclusive the manufacturer, the higher the degree of fine tuning.

As a rule, the regulation of the rate of a watch is carried out by shifting the so-called regulator, but this requires the watchmaker to have the highest precision and, above all, a great deal of fingertip sensitivity.
To make this process easier, fine-tuning was invented. These are now available in 2 variants.
One is the Swan Neck regulation and the other the Tompion's regulator.

The term fineness describes the ratio or the proportion of a precious metal (platinum, gold, etc.) in an alloy.
The fine content is usually indicated either in thousandths or in carats.
Thus, pure gold corresponds to 1000/1000 or 24 carats.
It follows that a carat corresponds to the value of 1/24, without fractional numbers thus 41.6667.
So for example 18 carat equals 750/1000 or 750 gold.

Last cut before the completion of a watch.

Invented in 1675 by Christian Huygens, this type of spiral rarely finds application in the segment of luxury watches today.
The starting points on the balance staff of the balance cock are on one level, but the disadvantage of this type of construction is the not exactly concentric development of the spiral in expansion and coalescence. This adversely affects the rate precision.
However, by means of a special shaping, this disadvantage can be counteracted.

A movement can be called a form movement if it is not round in its basic form.
They may be round, rectangular or baguette-shaped. However, all these forms are hardly represented in the modern world.

Vibrations per unit of time measured in Hertz (Hz).
The speed control of grandfather clocks for example takes place via the pendulum.
This needs exactly one second from the turning point to the turning point.
This results in a frequency of 0.5 Hz or correspondingly 1.800 half-oscillations per hour A/h.
This is, of course, not sufficient for the precision of the pocket watches, which are controlled by a balance instead of a pendulum.
Initially, a frequency of 12,600 A/h was established, which in the course of time increased to 18,000 A/h (2.5 Hz).
This frequency was also used to manufacture the first wristwatches. But in order to increase the precision the frequencies of the balance had to be increased.
As a result, today the most widespread frequencies of 21,600 A/h (3Hz), 28,800 A/h (4Hz) and even 36,000 A/h (5Hz) were developed.
These high frequencies and thus also extreme rotational speeds were only possible with the development of modern lubricants and the further development of the mainsprings.
Modern quartz watches work with a frequency of 32.768 Hz.

Greenwich mean time, world or universal time, or UTC (Universal time coordinated), this time expresses the mean time at the zero meridian of Greenwich.
This universal time is now used as an international standard in navigation and radio traffic.

The standard watch with manual winding consists of 5 gear trains. It is a collection of toothed wheels and pinions, interacting with each other to transfer energy, and transmits torque from the barrel to the escapement.

One of the most popular and at the same time one of the most elaborate decorations of the bridges. They are only used for very high-quality calibers.

On December 6, 1886, a law on the voluntary quality control of pocket watches was passed.
This law forms the legal basis for the "Geneva Seal".
It clarifies the quality requirements for the production of Geneva watches.
In 1957, this provision was detailed and enormously tightened.
From that year, all candidates had to submit eleven quality requirements.
Only watches which met all eleven requirements received the seal. Accuracy was also one of the test points.
It is different today, as the last version from 22nd December 1994 is limited to the quality of the individual parts, the processing and the technical execution, the rate accuracy is no longer checked or normalized.

The main criterion and the main requirement is the production and presentation of the submitted watch in the Canton of Geneva.

One distinguishes between four different types of glasses in the watch industry.
The first wristwatches were equipped with crystal glasses, although this type of glass is relatively scratch resistant, but very prone to bumps and cracks quickly.
At the beginning of the 1940s the crystal glass was replaced by the new plastic glasses called Plexiglas.
These again were unbreakable, but they scratched very fast. Today mainly mineral glass is installed, these have a hardness of 5 Mohs and are much more robust than Plexiglas.
All high-quality watches from the luxury segment are delivered with sapphire lenses, which has a hardness of 9 Mohs and is thus almost scratch-resistant.

Composed of a copper alloy with about 3% beryllium content, the Glucydur balance has a hardness of 380 Vickers.
For comparison: a nickel balance has a hardness of 220, and a brass balance only 180.
Precisely for this reason, these balances can be very well riveted, balanced and fine-tuned.
Because of the easier processing and the resulting precise accuracy, these balances replaced the bimetallic compensating balance.
In a movement one can easily recognize them by means of their golden color.

Gold is known to be a precious metal. The specific density of this noble metal is 19.5.
In the watch industry gold is predominantly used for the production of housings, bracelets and hands. Rare and in very high-quality watches, elements such as, for example, jewel frames, gears, and more rarely even whole movements are made of gold.

Another term for Doublé housing.

Watches with at least 3 complications such as chronograph, perpetual calendar and minute repetition.

Depending on the design, this large striking mechanism chimes the full, half and quarter hours autonomously.
This function can, of course, also be turned off by means of a pusher or slide.
In order to meet this comparatively great demand for energy, a separate mainspring barrel is installed.
More and more frequently, the "Grande Sonnerie" is combined with a repetition striking mechanism.

The influence of gravity on a mechanical watch is of great relevance and must not be underestimated.
Because of it, the balance centre shifts over time, which in turn affects the accuracy of the watch.
Particularly susceptible to this are usually pocket watches, which are mainly carried in a vertical position.
To avoid this, the so-called Tourbillon was developed, which can be also found in wrist watches.

Since the Julian calendar introduced in 45 bc showed a small error (the year was around 0.0078 days too long), Pope Gregory XIII introduced on the 15th of October, 1582, the Gregorian calendar.
In order to eliminate the error of the Julian calendar, three leap days have now been dropped within 400 years. This occurs in all the years of the full century, which can not be divided by 400. In other words, this means that the years 2100, 2200 and 2300 will not have a February 29.

Engraving with the help of machine tools.
With the help of this technique, highly artistic and visually attractive patterns are engraved predominantly on dials.

Another revolution in the unceasing development of the balance.
In the early 1950s, some watchmakers of the manufacture Patek Philippe came to the conclusion that omitting the radially inserted mass and regulating screws would increase the radius and thus increase the moment of inertia with approximately the same weight.
This would result in a better performance. The basic principle of the "Gyromax balance" was protected by patent law on 31 December 1951.
Now, the regulating elements were rotatably mounted in axial slots, in which eight slotted discs were arranged.
This development is regarded as the forerunner of the modern screwless ring balance.

The hairspring or balance spring is the heart of every mechanical watch, for it connects the inner and outer end the balance wheel with the balance cock.
With its length it determines the moment of inertia and its oscillation duration, and ensures uniform oscillation of the balance.
Thus, in most watches, a so-called stud can be found, with which the length of the balance spring can be adjusted.
The accuracy of a watch is therefore strongly dependent on this component, because if it is too short the watch goes too fast, if it is too long the watch will go too slow.
However, it is not only the length but also the material and shape of this component that is significant, because ultimately it has to stretch and contract 200.000.000 times a year.
A hairspring weighs about 2 thousandths of a gram and still withholds a 600 gram resistance.

A housing type with a jump cover and a circular opening in the centre.
This kind of housing type was mainly used in pocket watches to facilitate the reading of prehistoric times.
Until the invention of break-proof glass, the half hunter was also used in some wrist-watches.

Hallmarks are control marks that show results of testing of the material as well as where and when it was hallmarked..
Reference and serial numbers can also often be found in the form of hallmarks.

Timepiece, in which the mainspring must be wound by hand.

If the production of a product does not take longer than 60 seconds, the production capacity of a serial production can be determined by means of a hectometre scale.
For this, the chronograph is started at the beginning of production and stopped at the end of the process.
A hand on the dial then indicates how much pieces of the product are produced per hour.

The classic hour hand is replaced by a disc rotating around its own axis.
This disc is printed with the numbers 1-12 and made visible to the observer by a cutout in the dial.
As soon as the minute hand passes the "12", the disc jumps jerkily one hour and displays the next digit for the next 60 minutes.

If a movement to increase accuracy has a frequency of 28.800 or 36.000 half oscillations per hour, it is referred to as a high-beat movement.

A separate pointer on the dial which counts and displays the hours passed after the chronograph is activated. With an hour counter, up to 12 hours are counted and zero is set via the zero pusher of the chronograph.

A type of shock protection for mechanical watches.
As a result of the fact that this shock-absorbing device could be installed in almost every movement, this invention enjoyed a very fast and, above all, large-scale distribution in the watch industry.

Regulatory system where, instead of the usual regulator hand, the balance spring is clamped between two moving rollers.
One of these two roles can be adjusted, which ultimately also leads to regulation.
The principle whereby the timing rate is regulated, by the lengthening or shortening of the hairspring. Only the way in which this process happens is different.

Display of the functions of a clock or watch

The drive of the indirect central second takes place outside the wheel mechanism's flux.

Alternative name for the Swiss lever escapement.

The inner cover is used for pocket watches to protect it from dust and other contamination. "Cuvettes" were also used for wristwatches with hinged housings.

According to international agreement, the date line is understood to be a border line which corresponds approximately to the 180 degree line of longitude.
This date limit runs across the Pacific Ocean in close proximity to New Zealand and the Fiji Islands.
If you cross this limit in a western direction, you have to skip a day and a date.
However, if you cross the same border to the east, you must count one day and one date twice.
Only in this way is it possible to compensate for the occurrence of the date differences.

A synthetic stone, usually a ruby with a hole and a cylindrical shape.
These stones are used to prevent wear and tear and reduce friction.
They are used on the plate, bridges, as well as pistions.
Filigree watches also have such stones, but they have a round shape, which is referred to as the olive hole.
The rounded shape reduces the contact surface of the pins, the movement of which takes place in the stones.
In addition, the cones have greater freedom of movement with a round stone.

All the stones used in a movement are internationally known as 'Jewels'.

The more complicated a watch, the more stones or jewels are used.
In a high-quality watch with manual winding at least 15 jewels are used, which are divided as follows:
The balance has two hole bearings and two endstones (jewel holes and cap jewels) for the balance staff, a jewel as the impulse pin and two jewels for the lever pallets that lock the escape wheel, giving 7 jewels in total.
They also have jewels for the bearings of the lever pivots and the pivots of the train wheels. There are two jewels for the lever pivots, and two each for the third, fourth and escape wheel pivots.
When 18 stones are used one speaks of an optimal equipment.
If the watch has an automatic winding system and other complication, it is necessary to use more stones.

In order to avoid unnecessary friction in the bearings of a mechanical watch, stones or jewels are used on the anchor pallets and the ellipse.
In high-quality watches, precious jewels such as rubies or sapphires are used, but also synthetic ones are often used.
These stones are subdivided as follows:
Hole jewels
Pallets
Impulse pin
Capstones
The quality of jewels used in a watch is not necessarily tied to the quality of the work.
Often, many such jewels are used to allegedly increase the quality, but this is usually flawed because the jewels are used in the wrong places where they have no function.

As is well known, the Julian calendar has three so-called normal years, each with 365 days, and a fourth leap year, which has 366 days. This type of calendar was added by Julius Caesar.
Comparing this with the astronomical year, however, an inaccuracy against the astronomical year of 0.0078 days is noted.
This error, though minor, was illustrated by the calendar reform of Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582 by the introduction of the Gregorian calendar.

With this type of watch, winding is done via the crown, without separate keys.

LCD is the abbreviation for „Liquid Crystal Display“.
LCD has the property of reflecting light due to an electric field and is often used in digital quartz watches.
Due to economical advantages, the LCD system has replaced the LEDs.
The reason for the economical advantaces of energy is based on the fact that LCDs do not produce their own light, but only scatter the incident light. The result is a durable display with low power consumption.

LED stands for "Light Emitting Diodes"
In the 70s of the 19th century, LEDs were used in quartz watches to indicate the time.
Because this function had a high power consumption, the indicator was activated via a special push button.
Over time, LEDs have been replaced by LCDs.

This is a polishing process with which surfaces or edges are polished or ground, resulting in an optical revaluation.

Following the Julian calendar, every fourth year has an extra day, February 29th, and thus 366 days.

Invented by George Graham in 1710 and further developed by his student Thomas Mudge, this invention is still a very important component of any mechanical watch.
There are a few variations of the lever escapement, however, the Swiss one is the most widely used in the luxury segment.
Others, such as pin-lever escapement, are only installed in very cheap watches.

A dial which can be read even in the dark, in which indexes, numbers and hands are coated with a luminous material.
In 1905, the Büchler & Co. quinine factory published luminous dials using the radium discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898.
Radium has high radiation intensity and is therefore no longer used today.
The use of tritium, which also has a high radiation intensity, has also been used.
One can see the use of tritium on a note on the dial: "Swiss Made-T"

In modern watches, other non-hazardous illuminants are used, but for watch enthusiasts, tritium remains very popular and a true rarity.

A lunation lasts 29.5 days.
During this period, the moon passes through the following phases:
New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, Last Quarter, New Moon.

This caliber is characterized by its design.
The wheels stand with the balance in a plane, under the bridges and pistons, and the adjusting crown for the hands stand in a line with the second hand.

In the 15th century the mainsprings were developed and constantly improved. They are spiral, elongated and wound steel strips, which are used as energy storage in mechanical watches.
The torque reaches its peak when the mainspring, which is housed in the barrel, are fully tightened.
Watches with an automatic winding movement, a continuous build-up of this tension takes place, which ensures a stable speed and constant torque.
Over time the so-called Nivaflex mainsprings have been developed. These are S-shaped and made of a special alloy, which makes them more elastic and durable and allows for even power transmission.

The mainspring barrel is the cylindrical housing of the mainspring.
The edge of the housing is toothed. Free, mounted on a shaft, it engages in the first drive of the gear train and is responsible for the transmission of the energy stored in the spring to the rest of the movement.

An accurate timepiece should be serviced every 4-5 years by a professional watchmaker, as a watch runs 24 hours a day and during this time, wear and tear or impurities occur.
Similar to other mechanical devices, a regular oil change and the replacement of worn parts is necessary to ensure perfect functionality.
If the regular maintenance is not done, long-term damage cannot be ruled out.

The Maltese Cross is the trademark of Vacheon Constantin.
However, the Maltese cross has a very special function: the cross serves to balance the drive in the mainspring barrel of a watch and compensates for differences in torque.
A very filigree function, which is used with particularly fine watches.

If in the production of a watchmaker's own facility their own so-called ébauche are produced, this manufacturer may be titled as a manufactory, this is the rule of watchmaking.
Among the best known manufactories are the houses of Audemars Piguet, Roger Debuis, Rolex, Patek Philippe, A.Lange und Söhne, Girard-Perreguax, Glashütte Original, Zenith, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Chopard and Piaget.

When different parts are combined from different watches, one speaks of “marriage”.
If one has two equal watches, and some individual components are exchanged, for example, to repair one of the watches, the marriage occurs.
A qualitative fusion of different components is difficult to discover, but the value of the watch is greatly reduced.

The drive for such watches occurs by means of a mainspring or a special weight.
Gear regulation can be ensured by means of the balance with a spiral spring or a pendulum.

One megahertz is one million vibrations per second.

The micro rotor was invented to make flat and elegant self-winding watches even more accurate. The micro motor is located in the movement, not atop like a standard rotor.
The first micro rotor was patented by Büren Watch Co in 1954.
This type of rotor can be found for example in the classical Laliber 240 by Patek Philippe.
The micro rotor used here is made of 22 carat gold and has a height of 2.4 mm.

Micron is the unit of measurement in which the thickness of the gold plating is indicated in 'Double' watch cases.
Previously, the normal value was 20μ, but today 5μ is common.

The minute counter is an index where you can read the elapsed minutes of a watch that has a chronograph.
The minute counter is activated and stopped with the push of the chronograph.
The most widely used minute counters count 30 and 45 minutes, but there are also 15 and 60 minute counters.
After finishing the measurement and resetting the position of the chronograph by means of the push-button provided, the minute counter jumps back to the initial position, or runs counterclockwise to the initial position.

With this function the hours, quarter hours and minutes can be reproduced acoustically with chimes.
In most cases two small hammers are used which, upon activation, strike a sound spring or gong.
Hours are played back with a low tone and minutes with a higher tone.
When the quarter-hours are played, alternating deep and high notes are produced in the form of double strings.
The minute repetition is a true masterpiece in the art of watchmaking and the mechanical process behind it is extremely complicated and elaborate in its approach and attitude.

A module is a component of a watch which can often be found in modern chronograph watches with self-winding mechanisms.
These modules are installed on the front side of a movement. In this case, the force transmission takes place via friction.
But even with watches with an perpetual calendar such modules are used.
The whole calendar is mounted on a separate plate and attached to the movement via the dial.

These displays show the number of days that have passed since the last new moon.
The period between two new moons is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds in a synodic month.
On this display are two opposite full moons and she has 59 teeth.
Within two lunations this plate rotates once around its own axis and the status can be read in the dial.
However, such a display is extremely inaccurate and deviates from the standard approximately 8 hours per year.

The lunation of a moon phase amounts to approximately 29.5 days.
The moon passes through the phases new moon, first-quarter moon, full moon, third-quarter moon, new moon.
There are many watches which have a lunar phase, which is usually indicated by a separate index on the dial.

French term for movement.

An extremely transparent watch, but the movement is not visible.

Noon is defined as the point at which a vertically erected rod throws the shortest shadow.

The first clocks were equipped with only one hour hand.
The most famous example of this rare type of watch is the legendary "Souscription" by Breguet.
Due to the missing minute hand, the time can only be read out approximately.
Today one hand watches are very rare, but very popular with collectors.

This is a movable disc which, in automatic watches, is linked to the barrel and turns freely in both directions to wind the mainspring.

The continual rotation of the oscillating system around its own axis, the balance and the balance spring are not affected by gravity.
This happens through milling, drilling or adjusting screws.
However, the perfect balance and the related accuracy is not of long duration. This can be explained by the physical influences of the watch.
The centre of gravity gradually migrates back from the centre of the balance.

It is one of the most complicated parts of a mechanical watch.
Its shape is reminiscent of a ship anchor - hence the alternate name “anchor escapement”.
The pallet fork consists of the anchor body, anchor shaft and the anchor pallet.
The primary function of this component is to transfer the resulting force from the escape wheel to the balance and thus to maintain the vibrations.
Secondary, the pallet fork prevents the uncontrolled winding down of the wound up escape wheel.

Translated: Parachute
Abraham-Louis Breguet thus described his own impact protection.
In this case, bearing blocks were inserted into a springy steel frame in order to protect the pins of the balance shaft.

Compared to the repeater, the passing strike is completely autonomous.
Depending on the structure, the hours, as well as quarter of an hour, are chimed acoustically. However, an additional pusher can also be used to chime hours, quarters and minutes.

This type of self-winding watch uses a pendulum, which swings up and down when the watch moves.
In this process, the kinetic energy is transferred to the mainspring and stored.
The type of winding was used until the 1950s.

A perpetual calendar which does not need manual adjustment until the year 2100, as leap years and months with 30 or 31 days are taken into account and are controlled automatically as long as the clock has kinetic power in the movement.

A watch that has a self-winding movement.

Compared to other escapements, pin pallet escapements have vertically protruding steel pins which protrude from the anchoring plane and engage the escape wheel teeth.

A thin layer of gold on the watch case.

The plate is also known as the "work surface".
It carries the bridges, piston and other components of a watch, with the pointer on the dial page.
On the back you can find the complete gear train, the important mainspring barrel, as well as the oscillation and escapement system.
The board has numerous holes for the screws, locating pins and much more.

This high quality precious metal is often used in the production of watch cases.
The precious metal is very expensive, which is due to the rarity, as well as the elaborate extraction process.
In order to produce one gram of platinum one needs 300 kg of ore.
In comparison, 1 gram of gold requires only 100 kg of ore.
The handling process is also extremely complex, since the metal reaches its melting point only at 1,773 degrees Celsius.
A platinum case is about 35% heavier than the same case made of gold.

Wristwatches, in comparison to pocket watches, are worn in different positions.
One differentiates between the following positions:
"Crown down"
"Crown right"
"Dial top"
"Dial down"
In the case of precise timepieces, the verification of accuracy is carried out in in these positions.

Energy potential which extends beyond the usual winding interval of a watch of 24 hours.

From the marine Chronometer production, it serves as an indication of the remaining power reserve.
The loss of the exact time remaining shown on the Chronometer on high seas could often end deadly.

With the aid of this indication, the wearer of the watch is always informed about the tension position of the mainspring, and thus indicates at which time the watch must be wound.
This minimizes the risk that the watch will stop.
One could think that with the advent of automatic winding, this function would no longer benefit, but in this case, the power reserve not only indicates the tension position of the mainspring, but also provides information on the proper function of the self-winder.

Precious metals such as gold, platinum or silver are often used to manufacture watch cases.
There are different types of gold which are distinguished by the fine gold content contained in the alloy.
Today, most cases of luxury watches are made of 750 (18 carat) gold, but there is also gold with a fine gold content of 333/1000 (8 carat), 585/1000 (14 carat) and many other gold alloys.
Often winding rotors are made of 24 carat gold.
By adding other metals for example copper, the colour of gold is influenced.
For platinum, the fine content is usually 950/1000.
Simpler and cheaper watches are produced with silver, but these have the great disadvantage that they are very soft and may oxidise.
In order to enhance these optics, they are often gilded. See Doublé casing.

Mechanical watches are one of the most precise machines in the world.
Modern watches with a Chronometer certificate have an accuracy deviation of less than 0.005 percent.

With this device, which is fixed on the balance cock, the adjustment of the regulator is possible.
An example of this is a swan neck device with an adjustment screw.

A precision timepiece is a watch which has an pallet fork escapement or a Chronometer escapement.
The precision timepiece has complex components such as the temperature-compensated oscillation system and at least 15 functional jewels.

Deriving from the Greek language meaning “primitive form” , “first” or “original”.
In reference to the watch world, the prototype of a watch is a sample which is produced in elaborate handwork before the watch goes into series production.

A pulsometer is function to facilitate pulse rate measurement, which is usually used for medical purposes.
Depending on the design, the chronograph can be started and after 20 or 30 pulse beats and once the chronograph is stopped, the corresponding pointer points to the calculated pulse rate per minute.

With this case part the functions of the clock can be started or controlled.
For example for starting or resetting of the chronograph.

This is a final inspection of a finished watch that checks, among other things the gear, before it leaves the factory.

In the case of watches with a quartz movement, oscillating quartz is used as a regulating device.
The quartz movement is electronically driven. The usual frequency of a quartz clock is 32,768 Hz.
With such a high frequency, quartz watches have a higher accuracy compared to mechanical models.

The reference number is a manufacturer-based combination of numbers and letters for the purposes of model identification.
The watch type, case material, movement, dial, hands, bracelet and equipment with precious stones are often indicated in this reference number.
Each manufacturer uses his own combinations with different lengths of the reference number.

A regulator watch has all of it's time registers separated, allowing the seconds to be read without any discomfort.
The first wristwatches with such a dial appeared in the thirties of the nineteenth century.

A type of marking which watchmakers use to verify the activities carried out after a repair or inspection. These marks are mostly noted on the case back.

An elaborate complication of a mechanical watch that tells the time via acoustic signals.
There are several types of repetition: hour, quarter, one-eighth, 5-minute and minute.
If the push-button provided for this purpose is pressed, the mechanism receives energy and the result is an acoustic reproduction of the time.
It is important to ensure that the push-button is fully pressed, otherwise not enough force is produced and the time may be repeated incompletely.
In the case of costly and very precise designs, the so-called "all-or-nothing" switch ensures that the repetition takes place properly or not at all.

A Retrograde Dial display can be used in connection with displaying the time, the date or the days of the week. The special feature of this dial is that as soon as the pointer reaches the last position in a linear fashion along an arc, it jumps back to the initial position.

This galvanic refinement is added for optical change, giving the surface a radiant shine. Rhodium plating also protects the surface, preventing corrosion.
Rhodium is a metal obtained from the platinum metals group and increases the hardness of the surface.

The rotating cage is made either of steel, but now also made of titanium and aluminum.
It is used to absorb and protect the balance and escapement systems of watches with Tourbillon.
As a rule, the entire rack moves once per minute around its own axis.
The manufacture of such a cage is among the most elaborate and laborious work of a watchmaker.

The rotor is a flexibly mounted component which is used in automatic watches. A distinction is made between a central rotor and a micro-motor.
Depending on the design of the self-winding mechanism, the mainspring is wound in one of the two directions, clockwise and counterclockwise, of the rotor.

Fatio de Duillier together with watchmakers Peter and Jacob Debaufre came up with the idea of putting rubies as jewel bearings which extend the life of watches and increased precision.
In 1902 the first synthetically produced rubies were used and provided the advantage of hardness and easy, cheaper processing.
The only difference to a true ruby lies in its production, but the composition is the same.

A very scratch-resistant material used in watch glasses.
It has the hardness of 9 Mohs

Fine, silky and matt finish on metal surfaces.

A type of watch case in which there is not only a back cover, but also a hinged metal lid over the crystal, which should protect it.

Here the crown and the winding stem are at a 90 degree angle to each other, resulting in the position of the sub seconds dial at 6:00.

The term of the second, and thus also its duration has been changed several times over the years.
Nowadays the duration of one second is defined as follows:
A second corresponds to 9,192,631,770 electromagnetic vibrations in an electron shell of the caesium atom. This figure was established in 1967.

The second hand shows, as the name already indicates, the seconds via a large hand.
This function was developed by Jost Bürgi in 1597 and we can't imagine a watch world without it.

The dead second can be found in common mechanical calibers.
A mechanism counts five semi-oscillations at a frequency of 18,000 (half-vibrations per hour) and releases the second hand which now jumps forward 1 second.

An alternative designation for automatic winding mechanisms.

The balance wheel's pivots are especially delicate and tend to break even from light impacts.
To protect these pivots, shock protection was developed.
The balance staff jewel bearings are held in place by light springs, allowing the jewels and pivots to move slightly as well as a stronger part of the balance staff contracts a fixed part of the housing, thus allowing the watch to take the shock..
The requirement for shock protections are that if a watch falls on an oak floor after a fall of 1 meter without suffering serious damage to the balance and shows no serious accuracy deviation.
Among the best-known manufacturers of such shock absorbers are „Incabloc“ and „Kif“, which are constantly continuing development of shock absorbers, as these are indispensable for the modern watch world.

In a skeleton watch almost all components are minimized so that from bridges, plates, and wheel trains only the components necessary for the functionality are retained and the watch becomes virtually transparent.
A skeleton watch requires delicate and time-intensive handwork and is therefore a masterpiece of watchmaking.
This art is particularly reflected in the collision of the faceted edges. Three types are crucial:

A retracted corner in which two opposing facets form an inwardly inclined corner. A straight line is formed, which can not be reached with a machine.

A protrusion corner, wherein the interfaces from an outwardly inclined corner.

Rounded corner, in which, compared to the first variations, the sharp edges are missing and are rounded.
A machine can also achieve this result, which makes this type not so high-quality. The first skeleton watch appeared in the mid-1930s.

A decentrally placed second hand as a standalone index on the dial.
In the Savonette design, the small second is at the right angle to the crown and is at position "6".
With the Lepine design, the small second and the crown are placed on a line and thus placed at the position "9".

This thin bar is used to fix the bracelet to the watch case.
On both sides is a spring bar with movable pin-shaped ends.
These moving parts are spring loaded. In order to fit a bracelet, the ends must be pressed in and guided between the lug holes. There, the spring bar snaps into the holes.

The stud is fastened either to the plate or the balance cock.
This is a small piece of metal which is attached or glued to the outer end of the balance spring.

As components of watches one finds springs of various sizes, designs and functions, such as, for example, locking and holding springs.

An alloy of steel, nickel and chromium, plus molybdenum or tungsten.
The advantages of these are the rust resistance and the resilience, furthermore, stainless steel is non-magnetic.
Also in the class of luxury watches, this material for the production of housings finds increasingly more enthusiasts.

This function allows stopping of the second hand and and thus the exact time setting in seconds. This requires the crown to be released when the second hand is on the “12”. After pushing the crown, the second hand moves back into motion.

Compared to a chronograph, a classic stopwatch hss no time display and is very easy to use.
By pressing the push buttons, the stopwatch is started and stopped again. As a result of such a process, the time between the start and the end of the measurement can be recorded and read.

There are two types of watches with a central second.
In the case of the direct sweeping second, it lies directly in the force flow, and in the case of the indirect sweeping second, it lies outside of that flow.
The sweeping second is positioned at the centre of the dial. In order to provide enough space for watches with a sweeping second, the minute wheel shaft is drilled.

Swiss Made is a strictly defined and regulated title, which can only be used by a watch (dial and / or movement), if the watch comes from Switzerland.
In addition, assembly, adjustment and final inspection must be carried out in Switzerland.
A Swiss movement is understood to mean a watch whose components are from Swiss manufacture and represent at least 50% of its value (assembly costs are not taken into account).
If, therefore, a watch which is made entirely of materials and components originating from Switzerland, is assembled and checked at a different location, it is forbidden to give this watch the title “Swiss Made”.

A widespread wording on plagiarised watches, which is meant to give the illusion of Swiss watchmaking art, or replace “Swiss made”. However, this wording can also be found on genuine watches, which were not made in Switzerland, but still have a Swiss movement or individual Swiss components.

The Swiss lever escapement is used for small watches and is distinguished by the fact that the piston-like teeth of the escape wheel protrude outwards. The balance wheel oscillates freely after leaving the anchor. There are also English and Glashütte lever escapements.

This scale allows the calculation of the average speed and is mostly used in sports watches.
This scale is usually calibrated to a distance of one kilometer or mile.
The chronograph is started at the beginning of the route to be measured and stopped at the end.
Now the chronograph pointer points to the number of the tachymeter scale at which the average speed with which the distance was traveled at can be read.

This chronograph scale is used to determine distances. The principle is based on the different velocities of the propagation of sound and light.
For example, the distance of a thunderstorm can be determined by starting the chronograph when lightning flashes and by stopping at the sound of thunder.
The scale provided for this purpose, on which the distance can then be read, is called a telemeter scale.

Stopwatches and chronographs fall under this category.
Timers are used to measure and display smaller time intervals.

The tourbillon emerged from the inventor spirit of no other than Abraham-Louis Breguet, a top-class watchmaker.
The idea behind this invention is the counteracting of the gravitational force, which strongly influenced the oscillatory system during mechanical restlessness.
In a tourbillon, the whole escapement and oscillation system is installed in a kind of cage, which usually rotates within one minute around its own axis.
This results in the cancellation of the gravitational force if the watch happens to be in a vertical position.
If the watch is in a horizontal position, the tourbillon has no influence. The first wristwatch with this additional function was presented as part of a Chronometer contest.

An electronically activated tuning fork at a frequency of 360Hz which serves as a regulating device.

With this function, every single hour 1-24 is displayed directly so that the hour hand rotates around its own axis only once per day. This needs getting used to and also makes it difficult to read the exact time. An extension of this function is that the watch has 2 hour hands. One of the hands turns in 12 hours and the other in 24 hours around its own axis.

A watch winder is a mechanical device that winds mechanical watches when they are not worn.
The watch winder simulates the natural movement of a hand. These devices are recommended for watches with complex complications, since setting a watch with these complications can be costly and time-intensive, should this stop.

The most well-known waterproofness parameter of 30 meters (3atm/3bar) is based on the DIN 8310.
A watch may be declared “waterproof” if it is resistant to splashing, perspiration or rain.
A further prerequisite is that no water may penetrate the watch at 1 meter water depth for 30 minutes.
If the description of the watch is 30m, 3 bar or 3atm, this means that the watch was subjected to corresponding test pressure.
However, it is not recommended to dive or swim with such a watch. A perquisite for such activities is a screwable crown.

The winding crown has a switching device and is used to wind the watch.
Previously, with costly timepieces, small keys were used to wind the watch.
Jean Adrien Philippe was the inventor and the patent holder for this component.
Its invention consisted of a rotatable transmission wheel, which was connected to the sliding mechanism via a toothed gearing.

This complication is very popular with business people who often travel to many countries.
Based on the Greenwich Mean Time theory, the time is shifted by 1 full hour at each 15th degree.
Germany joined this world time system in 1893, which sets 24 time zones.
A watch with world time indication shows on the dial exactly these 24 time zones, which requires an additional mechanism.