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Annual calendar
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The automatic allowances for the different lengths of each month of a year in the
calendar module of a watch. This type of watch also usually shows the month and
date, and sometimes the day of the week (like this one by
Patek Philippe)
and the phases of the moon.
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Antimagnetic
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Mechanical movements are easily influenced by the magnetic fields often found in
common everyday places. This problem is generally solved by the use of anti- or
nonmagnetic components in the movement. Some companies, such as Sinn, IWC, and Bell
& Ross, take things a step further and encase movements in antimagnetic cores
such as the one shown here from
Sinn's Model 756,
the Duograph. Here the inner core is easily recognizable, as are the dial, movement
holder ring, and second case back. These precautions make the watch antimagnetic
to
80,000 a/M –
far exceeding the norms demanded by DIN and ISO.
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Antireflection
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A film created by steaming the crystal to eliminate light reflection and improve
legibility. Antireflection functions best when applied to both sides of the crystal,
but because it scratches, some manufacturers prefer to have it only on the interior
of the crystal. It is mainly used on synthetic sapphire crystals. Dubey & Schaldenbrand
applies antireflection on both sides for all of the company's wristwatches such
as this Aquadyn model.
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IWC's automatic Caliber 50611
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Automatic winding
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A rotating weight, set into motion by moving the wrist, winds the spring barrel
via the gear train of a mechanical watch movement. Automatic winding was invented
during the pocket watch era in 1770 by
Abraham-Louis
Perrelet, who created a watch with a weight swinging back and forth (that of a pocket
watch usually makes vertical movements contrary to a wristwatch). The first
automatic-winding
wristwatches, invented by John Harwood in the 1920s, utilized socalled hammer winding,
whereby a weight swung in an arc between two banking pins. The breakthrough automatic
winding movement via rotor began with the ball bearing
Eterna-Matic
in the late 1940s, and the technology hasn't changed fundamentally since. Today
we speak of unidirectional winding and bidirectionally winding rotors, depending
on the type of gear train used.
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Balance
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The beating heart of a mechanical watch movement is the balance. Fed by the energy
of the mainspring, a tirelessly oscillating little wheel, just a few millimeters
in diameter and possessing a
spiral-shaped
balance spring, sets the rhythm for the escape wheel and pallets with its vibration
frequency. Today the balance is usually made of one piece of antimagnetic glucydur,
an alloy that expands very little when exposed to heat.
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Bar or cock
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A metal plate fastened to the base plate at one point, leaving room for a gear wheel
or pinion. The balance is usually attached to a bar called the balance cock. Glashütte
tradition dictates that the balance cock be decoratively engraved by hand like this
one by Glashütte Original.
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Beveling
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To uniformly file down the sharp edges of a plate, bridge, or bar and give it a
high polish. Edges are usually beveled at
a 45° angle.
As the
picture
shows, this is painstaking work that needs the skilled hands and eyes of an experienced
watchmaker.
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Blued screw
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Traditional Swiss and Glashütte watchmaking dictates that a movement should
contain blued screws for aesthetic reasons. Polished steel screws are heated (or
tempered, as it is known in watch parlance)
to 290°C.
This process relaxes the steel, turning it a deep blue in color. Only a few manufactures
still put the tempering process into effect with actual heat, others preferring
the chemically induced version that assures an even color every time. Jaquet Droz
and a few other brands even use blued screws as design elements on their dials.
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Bridge
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A metal plate fastened to the base plate at two points leaving room for a gear wheel
or pinion. This vintage
Favre-Leuba
movement illustrates the point with three individual bridges.
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