The Watch Lexicon

A watch winding mechanism in which the movement keeps the mainspring constantly wound, without the watch owner having to do it manually.

Station clocks are wall clocks distinguished in particular by their size, simplicity, and distinctive design.

Bridge movement; consisting of a main plate with bridges and cocks instead of a full-plate movement, under which the wheels, etc. are in some cases mounted individually. The bridge movement was developed by Jean Antoine Lépine

In this type of clock, a mercury barometer is used, in which the mercury falls or rises as air pressure changes. This falling and rising winds the spring. Johann Joachim Becher, German chemist and physician, developed this clock around 1680.

A chronograph is a mechanism that can measure the duration of a specific process. It eliminates the need to keep looking at the time when measuring short intervals.

A Comtoise clock is a French pendulum clock from the French region of Franche-Comté. It was produced from about 1680 until the end of the 19th century and was hardly known outside France until around 1950. It is now considered a popular collector's item among antique enthusiasts, and its loud hourly strike is characteristic.

A special double case for pocket watches. The watch, which sits in an open case, already forms an independent unit, but it can be inserted into an outer case, turning it into a hunter-case watch.

For wristwatches the reversible case is also known as a cabriolet case. The dial crystal is protected by allowing the watch to rotate within a fixed frame connected to the strap.

A digital watch displays the time using numbers instead of conventional hands.

The double chronograph is also referred to as a double-hand chronograph or split-seconds chronograph. The rattrapante hand is a second stopwatch hand that can be stopped independently of the central chronograph hand.

A recoil anchor escapement for pendulum clocks whose anchor is shaped like a saddle roof. A distinction is made between small roof anchors for mantel clocks and large roof anchors for grandfather clocks. They engage 7 - 9 and 9 - 10 escape wheel teeth respectively.

A clock that supplies electricity using its driving energy. This drive is provided either by an electric motor or an electromagnet. Indirect electric drive refers to converting electrical energy into mechanical winding energy, for example to tension a mainspring or lift a weight.

Pilot watches are easy to read even under adverse conditions. They are distinguished above all by their myth of precision and high technology.

A mechanical wheel clock driven not by a weight, but by the tension of a spirally coiled steel spring. Unlike the drive of weight-driven clocks, this type of drive is completely independent of gravity. It also works in any location. This spring drive was what first made the development of portable watches possible

A so-called flyback reset allows the stopwatch hand to be instantly returned to zero during an ongoing timing operation with just one push of a button.

Guilloché is a special pattern or ornament consisting of several interlaced and overlapping lines. The individual lines form asymmetrical, closed ellipses or circular paths.

The duration for which a clock continues to run beyond its actual running time. However, timekeeping performance is reduced due to the severely limited driving force. In some cases, the terms running time and power reserve are used synonymously

The escapement is the assembly in wheel clocks that forms the connection between the gear train and the regulating organ, i.e. the pendulum. It generally consists of the escape wheel and the pallet. Via the pallet engaging with the escape wheel, the regulating organ causes the periodic stopping ("locking") of the gear train and thus the regular running of the clock. In the process, a pendulum is periodically "lifted".

This term refers to a pocket watch with a sprung cover featuring a circular opening in the center, allowing the time to be read even when the cover is closed. Enamelled numerals are usually found on the cover, and the hour hand almost always has a second visible tip in the area of the opening

Indices are any devices on a clock or watch that can be used to display the passage of time. Examples include baton indices, dot indices, or numerals such as Roman and Arabic numerals. It is also possible for a watch to have no indices.

Term for the transmission of energy from the escapement to the regulating organ in mechanical movements

An annual clock is a mechanical clock in which one winding provides a running time of at least one year.

Popular kinetic watches are powered by the wearer's own body movement.

General term for a practically independent mechanism (striking mechanism, alarm mechanism, calendar, chronograph), which is combined with the basic going train.

On watches, a moon phase display refers to the rotating disc beneath a cut-out in the dial. As the name suggests, it shows the phase of the moon. This appears as an indicator on the dial in addition to the time.

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A pendulum clock is a clock whose timekeeping element is a mechanical pendulum, formerly also called a perpendicle.

A quartz clock is an electromechanical or fully electronic clock whose timekeeping element is an electronic quartz oscillator; its frequency is maintained with the help of a watch crystal. Quartz clocks without a direct display, typically built into computer systems, are referred to as a real-time clock.

The dead seconds, or "jumping seconds", is a special function in mechanical watches. The seconds hand remains on each second and only jumps to the next second once it has elapsed.

Grandfather clocks are large clocks that can be up to 3 m high. They stand on the floor and operate with a weight-driven mechanism using the pulling force of hanging weights, as well as a pendulum as the time standard.

Terms for watches assembled in Switzerland and also regulated there by the manufacturer.

Watches with sweeping seconds are particularly quiet. The seconds hand moves continuously, preventing the watch from making a "ticking" sound.

Diver's watches show the wearer the remaining time for the dive. They have existed for more than 70 years.

Tourbillon watches are particularly high-quality watches. They operate using a mechanism that causes the entire escapement assembly to rotate around its own axis within the movement.

A full calendar is the display of all relevant calendar data such as the date, the day, and the month. Unlike a perpetual calendar, these movements must be adjusted once a year.

Watches are described as water-resistant if they are resistant to sweat, water droplets, rain, etc. Water resistance is not a permanent property and should therefore be checked annually. The resistance is indicated in bar and noted on the case back.

World time watches provide the local time at the destination at any time. They can display multiple time zones.

For a sports watch the yacht timer is indispensable. Especially important for sailing enthusiasts, as it offers valuable functions. Among others, it features an integrated yacht countdown that can be set for a period of up to 10 minutes. An audible signal indicates the remaining time until the race starts. A yacht timer is, of course, also water-resistant to 100 meters.

A distinction can be made between a central seconds hand and a small seconds hand. With central seconds, unlike small seconds, the seconds are displayed exactly in the center of the dial.