Timepieces & Knives

The manual movement is the oldest type of watch movement and is wound by hand

Automatic, or self-winding, movement watches contain a mechanical movement, eliminating the need for daily hand winding.

A quartz watch uses a battery for its source of power and does not require winding.

A combination of the automatic movement and the quartz movement.

Sapphire is known as the second hardest known element right after the diamond. This extremely scratch resistant crystal has exactly the same chemical composition of natural sapphire, but at a fraction of the price.

Crystals made of mineral are simply made of glass. These crystals have been used in watchmaking for hundreds of years primarily because there was no alternative until the 20th century. Mineral crystals are relatively easy to scratch and the scratches cannot be buffed out. However, mineral crystals are inexpensive in comparison to sapphire crystals and can cost less than one hundred dollars to replace if damaged.

The most affordable type of crystal, but also the most prone to scratching and may crack if impacted. Minor scratches on acrylic can be buffed out and it can also be molded into elaborate shapes, while sapphire and mineral crystals cannot. Acrylic crystal is also a nice way of saying plastic.

The case contains the watch's middle, bezel and back. The purpose is to product and house the movement inside.

The dial is the face of the watch. Examples include arabic, stick and roman numerals.

The sundial is a small dial that is set within the main dial that is used as a chronograph, seconds or date.

The crown connects the internal parts of the watch through the case. It allows you to wind, set and set functions such as date and time.

The bezel is used to keep the crystal in place.

The rotor is used in automatically winding pieces. It turns freely as the user moves to wind the mainspring, which stores and transmits the energy needed to power the watch.

A chronometer is a type of watch according to Swiss law may not be called a chronometer until it has passed a series of tests and measurements for quality and precision.