Archive for September, 2007
September 7th, 2007 - Jewels in Watches
The jewels that are usually used in watches are rubies, sapphires, garnets and diamonds. For ordinary consumers when they hear of watches in jewels they usually assume that the jewels referred to are the precious stones adorning the watch’s face and/or watch straps. The more visible stones adorning the watch the more valuable a watch is. While they are jewels ON watches when horologists talk about jewels IN watches what they are referring too are the jewels within the watch, which serve specfic functions.
The primary function of jewels is to help reduce friction. They are able to serve this function due to their smooth surface, which allows the metal parts to slide past them without rubbing into any rough surfaces. They are also very hard (especially diamonds) that they suffer from minimal wear and tear.
There are basically fur types of functional jewels: hole jewels, cap jewels, pallet jewels, and the roller jewel. They are differentiated not by their function since they all serve the same function, which is to reduce friction, but by their shape and the location in which they are placed. Hole jewels are, as the name implies, jewels that have holes. They are shaped like donuts and placed on wheel arbors. Cap jewels are flat and “cap” the end of arbors. Pallet jewels are rectangular bricks that are placed on the pallet fork. And last, the roller jewel is placed on the balance wheel.
Image Source: NAWCC
September 5th, 2007 - Watches: Complications
In horology, a complication is a watch with other functions besides basic timekeeping. A watch which has a date display or has an alarm is already considered to be a complication. Watches nowadays have so many features that many of the functions do not even really have anything to do with timetelling. Examples of these functions include altimeters and barometers.
Basically when designing a watch the more complications there are the harder it is to design and manufacture. There are more parts that go into the design so that the combination of difficulty in the entire process and the number of parts that go into the making of the watch adds to its value. Simply put, the more functions a watch has the more expensive a watch will be.
Furthermore when a watch has three or more complications with at least one visual indicator, astronomical indicator, and acoustic indicators that watch is considered to be a grand complication. If a watch has three complications but they fall under one category then that watch is still not considered a grand complication.
Most Complicated Watches:
- Il Destriero Scafusia - wristwatch made by the International Watch Company with 21 complications. It also boasts the most precise moon phase display in watches.
- Tour de l’Île - wristwatch made by Vacheron & Constantin as a commemmorative piece for their 250th anniversary in 2005. The watch has 16 complications. There are only 7 pieces available.
- Caliber 89 - pocket watch made by Patek Philippe as a commemmorative piece for their 150th anniversary in 1989. The watch has 33 complications.
September 3rd, 2007 - Over Wound Watches: Repairers in Over their Head
If you bring a watch to a watchmaker and they say that it is impossible for them to fix your watch because it has been “over wound” my advice is for you to get out of that place fast. Even if they do try to service you watch and say that it is possible to fix, watchmakers who believe that a watch can be over wound by you through simple everyday use cannot be trusted. The reason for this is that there simply isn’t a way for you to over wound your watch even if you wind it often. The only way this will happen is if you persist on twisting the winding crown even after it already feels really really tight. So unless you have done this, and I doubt you can turn the winding crown when it gets too tight with your fingers alone, then you know that the watchmaker is not saying the truth. The watchmaker can be lying to you intentionally, seeing that your watch is very difficult to repair and not wanting to go in the trouble of repairing it or knowing that it is beyond his skills to repair, or unintentionally, being a new watchmaker and having misconceptions thus showing ineptness. Either way, the best thing to do is to get out of the shop fast and find another watchmaker to do the watch repair job for you. However,