Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In today's video, we'll be discussing the
different types of wristwatch assemblies known as movements, their construction,
and history, and which type might be right for you.
While many men will consider or purchase a new wristwatch based solely on the
looks of its exterior, the true connoisseur will give equal attention to
its internal mechanisms. Such internal workings are collectively referred to as
the movement or caliber of a wristwatch and they're the subject of today's video.
The movement drives the hands on the face of a wristwatch and also powers its
other features, known in the trade as complications. These would include such
things as the calendar, chronograph, or alternate time zones. There are two
overall categories and three individual types of watch movements. The two
categories are mechanical and quartz and within the mechanical category, the two
individual types there are manual and automatic. But before we get into these
specifics about what those terms mean, here's a bit of general information on
what movements look like. Watch movements can come in many different shapes and
sizes in order to fit into the different shapes and sizes of watch cases that are
available. As such, a watch movement could be round, rectangular, oblong, elliptical,
and so on. The thickness of a watch movement is measured either in
millimeters or in an old French unit called Linea in the case of French and
Swiss watchmakers. One linea is equal to about two point two five six millimeters.
The individual parts of a watch movement are situated between two plates; the
front plate which sits just behind the face of the watch has the same shape as
the movement overall as well as the case in general. The back plate, however, can
have a few different shapes. It can be a full plate to match the front one,
a 3/4 plate or a series of smaller plates referred to as bridges. In the case of
these latter two, it's so that the individual parts of the movement can be
more easily accessed when the watch needs to be repaired. Now that you know
what a movement is in general, let's get into the discussion proper starting by
discussing the general category of mechanical watch movements. Speaking
broadly, the mechanical category simply means that the watch in question isn't
powered by a battery. All mechanical watches, meaning both of the types we're
about to cover, will contain the following types of parts. The crown is
the wheel on the side of the watch that is used to set the time, it can also be
turned to wind the watch to run it. The mainspring is the power source of the
movement and the kinetic energy from winding the crown is transferred to the
coil shaped mainspring which stores the energy by getting tighter and tighter.
The gear train transmits the stored energy from the mainspring to the
escapement through a series of small gears. The escapement, also referred to as
the escape wheel, is responsible for taking the energy from the mainspring
and transferring it to the balance wheel in equally apportioned amounts. The
balance wheel is essentially the heart of the watch movement; receiving the
energy that it needs to run from the escapement. The balance wheel beats or
oscillates in a circular motion between five and ten times per second. A
watchmaker can make the balance wheel oscillate faster or slower which in turn
makes the watch run faster or slower. Also of note here are the jewels,
these are usually synthetic rubies that are set at points of high friction
within the movement to reduce wear and improve performance. Rubies are used
because they absorb heat well and they're also extremely hard and
therefore durable. Why are mechanical movement watches so prized by style
aficionados then? Simply put, the intricate small parts inside of the
movements as well as the craftsmanship that goes into assembling them
makes these movements pieces of art. Many European produced mechanical movement
watches will sell for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars at
auction. Though as with anything else, some of that price is due to brand name
value. Aside from just the considerations of artistry though, there are also
practical benefits to mechanical movement watches. For one thing, with
proper care, watches like this can last a lifetime and you won't have to worry
about constantly replacing batteries. On the other hand though, mechanical watch
movements can get dirty and the lubricants inside can dry up so they
should be maintained by disassembling them and cleaning them every three to
five years or so. So that's the mechanical movement category broadly
defined. Now we can jump into the specifics of the two kinds of mechanical
movements starting with the manual watch movement. A manual movement, also
frequently referred to as a hand wound movement, is the oldest type of watch
movement made. It dates back to the 16th century. Most manual movements will need
daily winding in order to keep time accurately but some higher-end models
can store energy efficiently enough to only need winding every few days. Some
watches will feature a complication known as a power reserve indicator which
tells the wearer how long they can go before they actually need to wind the
watch again. With this said though, men who prefer to wear manual movement
watches generally get into the habit of winding them daily often at a set time,
usually before they go to bed, for example. Because manual movements are the
most traditional type of movement available, they're typically found in
conservatively styled expensive and collectible watch models. Here are some
important aspects to consider when purchasing a manual movement watch. First
of all, you will need to get into the habit of winding your watch regularly. If
you don't do this, the watch will wind down and it won't keep time accurately.
With that said though, if a manual watch is wound too tightly or wound
at an improper angle, say for example, if you try to wind it while it's already on
your wrist, this can do damage to the movement over time. Along with manual
movement watches, the other type of mechanical movement is the automatic
movement, also known as the self-winding movement. This type debuted in the early
20th century. An automatic movement harnesses kinetic energy from the
natural motion of the wearer's wrist. In other words, moving your arm around while
you're wearing the watch throughout the day will wind the mainspring. How is
this accomplished then? It's because an automatic movement contains all of the
components we covered earlier plus an additional component that's referred to
as the rotor. This is most often a semi circular metal weight that can swing
freely 360 degrees as the wrist moves. The rotor is connected by another series
of gears to the mainspring which gets wound as the rotor swings. From there, the
mechanisms of the automatic movement are the same as the manual and yes, it can
also be wound from the crown, if you so choose. Some considerations for wearing
an automatic movement watch starting with the fact that the ritual of daily
winding isn't necessary. As long as you wear the watch often and keep your wrist
moving naturally, the watch will continue to get wound on the opposite side of the
coin, however, if you go a long time without wearing an automatic movement
watch, the lack of movement will probably mean that the watch will run down over
time. Also, automatic movements are usually just a little bit thicker than
manual movements because of the room that needs to be made for the rotor and
additional gears. With that said, some gentlemen do appreciate the extra bit of
heft that this brings to the watch. The final type of movement we'll discuss
today is the quartz movement, also known as a battery-powered movement. It was
introduced to the public by the Seiko corporation in 1969. Unlike the
mechanical movements we just covered, the inner workings of a quartz movement are
made up by very different components. Firstly, the power source of a quartz
movement is a battery. It takes the place of a mainspring.
A watch battery will typically last between one and two years at which time
it should be promptly replaced to prevent any leakage of battery acid. Next
up is the integrated circuit which carries the electrical charge from the
battery to the quartz crystal and from the crystal to the stepping motor. The
quartz crystal acts in a similar fashion to the escapement on a mechanical watch.
Quartz vibrates when electricity is applied to it and this generates voltage.
The stepping motor transforms the electrical impulses into mechanical
power and the dial train functions just like the dial train that's found on a
mechanical movement. In other words, here's a brief overview of how quartz
movements work. First, the battery sends electricity through the integrated
circuit to the quartz crystal. The electric charge makes the crystal
vibrate at a rate of 32,768 pulses per second. These pulses are sent through the
integrated circuit to the stepping motor which sends every 32,768 electrical
pulse to the dial train. Ergo, this comes out to one pulse sent to the dial train
per second. Finally of course, the dial train, as it did with the mechanical
movements, moves the hands of the watch. What are the benefits of a quartz
movement watch as compared to a mechanical movement then? Firstly, because
quartz watches feature a circuit board instead of lots of individual parts
which have the potential to run down, they are the most accurate type of watch
movement currently available. And because of this, quartz movements are generally
less expensive as well and that's why you'll find them in a lot of typical
watches sold at department stores. So the essential question for today then, what
type of watch movement is right for you? In short, it really does depend on what
specifically you're looking for. If you're a true watch connoisseur and you
value the tradition and the craftsmanship that go into the
construction of mechanical watches, then a manual or an automatic movement is
probably going to be a good choice for you.
Remember though that you will probably need to be willing to spend a bit more
and that you'll have to take the additional time to make sure that the
watch is wound and running properly. If you'd rather not deal with these
additional factors, you're just getting into the watch collecting hobby, or you
just want one watch to use on a consistent basis, a quartz movement might
be a better choice for you. You don't have to feel that a quartz movement is
inferior to a mechanical movement either. After all, they are the most accurate
type of movement in the long run and there are still plenty of handsome
styles of watch that contain quartz movements. As a side note here, if you've
got an old or broken watch with a mechanical movement, say for example a
timepiece you inherited, you do have options when taking it to a watchmaker.
You can try to get the original mechanical movement restored depending
on its condition or you could also have a new mechanical movement installed or
go a different route and have the watch retrofitted with a quartz movement which
is available, in some cases, pardon the pun. So then, that's our overview of the
three different types of watch movements. We'd like to know what were you most
surprised by in today's video? You can share with us in the comments section
below and as always don't forget to subscribe to the channel and hit the
little bell icon so that videos like these can come straight to your inbox. my
outfit in today's video is centered around my wristwatch it's a Timex watch
with a quartz movement and it features complications for the hour of the day in
military time as well as for the day of the week and the day of the month it has
a simple silver case and a plain black leather band nothing flashy but that's
because I wear it often and it goes with a great many different outfits to echo
it's simple color scheme then I'm wearing a black cardigan sweater over a
button-up shirt that features fine gray and white stripes the shirt does have
French cuffs but I'm wearing them configured in a barrel style today to
accommodate the sleeves of the sweater and as such the cufflinks I'm wearing
are simple and unobtrusive black links my trousers are grey
and they feature a subtle pattern in their weave as do my simple charcoal
socks the outfit is capped off by my plane cap toe black derby as is
typical with these more casual types of outfits I'm not wearing a great many
accessories today but I could wear something like the sterling silver
platinum plated Eagle Claw cufflinks from Fort Belvedere featuring onyx as
the stone for a great selection of cufflinks and other accessories you can
check out the Fort Belvedere shop here