Movement Madness!
When I receive a client who is looking for a watch, I ask several questions, one of which being the type of watch movement they would prefer. This is when the client asks me what a watch movement is. This question is then followed by my detailed explanation. There are three main types of watch movements in the industry and a couple of novelty types. We will be focusing on the main three, the first of which is the manual wind type.
Manual Wind
The manual wind watch movement marked the first time that timekeeping was mechanized in order to keep time more accurately and anywhere you go. This was done by creating a movement that had to be hand-wound everyday, and was housed in a casing to form what we know as the pocket watch. Most pocket watches these days contain quartz movements, but we will get into this type a little later. These manual wind pocket watches were later further miniaturized in order to be worn on the wrist, and thus the watch was born. The movement below is a manual wind piece from a prestigious watch company named Glashutte. This particular movement is highly ornate and complicated, as you would expect from a luxury-brand watch, but not all such movements have the same appearance. In a nutshell, manually winding the watch from the crown (the little knob on your watch that is primarily used to adjust the time) will tighten the hairspring coil, thus giving you your power reserve, which will in turn cause the balance wheel to oscillate at a controlled frequency, and allowing the gears and other components to move accordingly, and finally producing a readout on the dial of the watch which we call “time.”
Sound complicated? Well don’t worry, because it is. Luckily, this is not something that you have to worry about as all that is required on the part of the wearer is to remember to wind the watch every day. Failing to do so will cause the watch to stop completely once the power reserve runs out. Sounds scary when you hear it like that, but nothing actually bad happens other then being required to reset the time after you have wound the watch. Perhaps this sounds too tedious a task in these modern times, which is why manual wind watches are a nearly extinct breed of timekeeping, however, watch enthusiasts and purists downright absolutely love the ritualistic routine of waking up in the morning and winding their watch, just like in the times of old. These movements are completely mechanical and involve no electricity, and most watches that contain manual wind movements actually contain what is called an exhibition case back, which is a fancy way of saying, “window on the back of your watch,” so you can actually see what the movement looks like and watch it work. In fact, this is the main reason for making a pretty-looking movement such as this one.
Automatic
The automatic movement is the natural evolution of the manual wind movement. If the manual wind movement was a technological marvel for its time, then the automatic movement is to the manual wind movement what the automatic transmission in your vehicle is to the manual transmission. This movement replaces the need to manually wind your watch at the crown every day with a rotor (the piece that is covering half the movement in the image below). In a sense, automatic watches could still be considered “semi-manual,” as there is still need for wearer input in the form of kinetic motion. While no longer required to wind the crown, an automatic watch must be worn on the wrist as the watch registers your natural arm and wrist movement as a power source via the rotor. As you move your arm and wrist, the rotor rotates, which then tightens the hairspring coil and providing a power reserve, and again causing the balance wheel to oscillate and make the gears and other components move in order to produce the time readout on the dial.
The automatic movement is essentially a modified manual wind movement in that the same basic horological concept is kept, with only the means of obtaining power being different. The movement seen in the image above comes from a Rolex Daytona chronograph. While almost all automatic watches contain exhibition case backs, Rolex is an exception where all automatic movements are covered. Rolex movements are considered “workhorse movements,” and are made to play the timekeeping role exceptionally well as opposed to looking pretty. They are made strictly for getting the job done and nothing more. A secondary factor that compliments this Rolex philosophy involves water resistance. Non-exhibition case backs produce better water resistance than exhibition case backs, or so it is said. Rolex prides itself on being “the” waterproof watch, which is also why you won’t see any engraving or stamping of any kind on the case back of a Rolex watch, lest the water resistance factor becomes compromised, again according to Rolex’s design philosophy. There is no point in putting a beautiful movement inside of a watch that is completely sealed off and unable to be viewed.
Automatic movements command the most respect among watch enthusiasts, with manual wind movements following closely. The only downfall of either movement is that when you don’t wear or wind them, they will stop. If you are the type of person that will wear a watch every day, this may not be an issue for you. Some automatic and manual wind movements have power reserves that last as long as 80 hours, though most will last around 40 hours. This does give you some leeway when it comes to not wearing the watch. Some people have a whole collection of watches, so it wouldn’t be possible to keep them wound continuously by wearing them. This is why devices called “watch winders” exist. A watch winder is a cradle to place your watch in while not in use. The winder is plugged into an electrical outlet and turned on, and will rotate the watch in your absence in order to keep the watch wound, preventing it from stopping. Watch winders are only useful for automatic watches however, as they rely on kinetic motion for power, whereas manual wind watches can only be wound by rotating the crown by hand.
Mechanical watches tend to be on the pricier side of the spectrum, but they will also last the longest when properly maintained, and will afford you some clout within the watch community, as they are generally seen as a status symbol, or at the very least, conveys the message that a mechanical watch owner has some semblance of appreciation for fine timekeeping. It is generally suggested to maintain your mechanical watch by having it serviced every few years in order to ensure that it is functioning properly. Many high-end watches are considered investments, and will always carry a certain level of value. The more pristine the watch is, the more value it holds. You will be pleased to know that mechanical watches, be they manual wind or automatic, will never require watch battery replacement.
Quartz Movement
Quartz movement watches are the most common type of watch. They are extremely affordable, and the movements themselves are simple to manufacture. A quartz movement contains the fewest components of any watch movement, and is basically an electrical circuit that is completed and powered when a cell battery is inserted. Quartz movements are known as being the most accurate type of watch movement in terms of timekeeping, despite the lack of interest for this movement from watch enthusiasts. Quartz movement allow for the most versatility when it comes to watch design, as these movements can come in all shapes in sizes. Some quartz movements are only a few millimetres in thickness, allowing watch manufacturers to take more liberties when designing timepieces. Mechanical watches, on the other hand, contain many moving parts and therefore tend be primarily on the bulkier side. Quartz movement watches, however, can be designed in any which way.
As seen in the image, the quartz movement is the least aesthetically pleasing of the bunch. Therefore, this movement is concealed from view on almost every watch. Batteries must be replaced in this type of movement, typically on an annual basis, though it is common for a brand new watch which has never had a battery replaced in it before to run for at least a couple of years before needing to be replaced.
It is very simple to determine whether a watch has a mechanical or quartz movement. If all you had to look at were the hands, with all other indicators being covered up, you would still be able to tell if a watch has a quartz movement or not 100% of the time. Mechanical watches always have a seconds hand. This seconds hand behaves differently than that of the seconds hand on a quartz watch in that it sweeps smoothly around the dial. A quartz movement watch will have a seconds hand that stops every one second in a “tick-tock” fashion. One exception to this is the quartz movement from Bulova’s Precisionist collection, where the seconds hand has the smoothest sweep out of all watches.
When it all comes down to it, every watch tells time. The only watch that doesn’t is a broken one. Everyone has a preference when it comes to watches, whether someone is buying based on design, prestige, or technical aspects. If you are someone that knew very little about watches, then I hope this article has enlightened you. Now you can go and shop in confidence! Go to your local jewellery store, pick out a watch, and don’t be afraid to ask questions! And if you are interested in purchasing a new watch, please consider visiting our online store and see what we have to offer. And as always, be sure to follow us on social media. Links and information are below.
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-Joseph
