Common Watch Terms You Should Know [Part 2]

Here is the last part of the watch glossary that you must learn:

J

Japanese Automatic Movement – manufactured by Seiko or Miyota; among the known Japan Seiko movements are NH35 and NH38 which are all utilized by Grayton Automatic Watches.

Jewels - made from synthetic materials (either ruby or sapphire), jewels are used as bearings in points of wear and tear in a watch mechanism. These are also used to reduce friction and increases the lifespan of a movement.

L

Luminous – a term often associated with indices and hands that can reflect glowing light while in a dark environment. Such indices and hands are usually coated with a photoluminescent material (e.g. Super LumiNova).

Lugs – the both ends of a timepiece where the two strap parts are attached.

M

Main Plate – the base plate where a movement is assembled.

Mainspring – Aa coiled spring that is the source of power for mechanical watches.

Manual Wind Movement – a type of winding mechanism wherein a mechanical watch is wounded manually by turning its crown until a resistance is reached.

Mechanical Movement – a watch with a mechanical movement means that it is not battery-operated (quartz). Instead, it utilizes a movement that is not automatic; in the sense that it needs manual winding to function once its stored energy is used.

Movement – the motor of a watch. It is an extensive assembly of various parts that keep a watch’s time accuracy.

P

Power Reserve – refers to the span of time that a mechanical watch can function if it is fully wound. For many watches, the power reserve is about 40 hours.

R

Rotor – an oscillating part of an automatic watch that winds the mainspring.

S

Strap – allows a watch to stay on the wrist. It can be made of either leather, fabric, canvas or rubber.

Swiss Made – watches that bear the “Swiss Made” label is basically made in Switzerland and the following criteria must be true:

  • The movement is cased up in Switzerland.
  • The movement is Swiss.
  • The final quality control inspection is done in Switzerland.

Other important points are:

  • The watch’s production cost as a whole must be 60% in total and is Swiss-based.
  • For a mechanical Swiss watch, at least 80% of the operations must be conducted in Switzerland.
  • For Swiss made quartz, 60% of the production cost must be done in Switzerland.
  • The technical development of a Swiss Made and Swiss watch movement including the smartwatches must occur in Switzerland.

T

Tang Buckle – a traditional belt type buckle with a loop and a pin.

W

Water Resistance – the ability of watches to resist water penetration. Instead of using “waterproof,” it is now widely accepted to use the term “water resistant” for these types of watches.

Winder – in watches, a winder is a device used to keep automatic watches functioning even without the help of the wearer’s natural movements.

Winding – the process by which mechanical watches that need manual power are recharged by turning the crown of the watch in a clockwise direction until a resistance is reached.