This expands and contracts, allowing the balance wheel to oscillate and return to the pallet fork. Hairspring – A small, thin strip of coiled metal attached to the balance wheel. In combination with the hairspring, it oscillates back and forth to help click the pallet fork into the correct place.Ĭomplications – Additional features can be added to a watch to give more information to the wearer these are known as ‘complications’.Įscape wheel – An unusually shaped gear that receives momentum from the mainspring and combines with the balance wheel, hairspring and pallet fork to create the escapement assembly regulating the timing of the movement. The escapement assembly not only utilises jewels to reduce friction and wear, but also houses a shock absorbent mechanism, to prevent it being thrown out of position if the watch is impacted.īalance wheel – A hollow rotor-like structure that forms part of the escapement assembly (see below). The frequency of this process is also what determines the beat-rate of the watch indicating how many times the second hand moves per second. Each time the pallet fork switches and locks the escape wheel, it makes a clicking sound which is audible if you put your ear to the watch. The escapement assembly is easily visible in most mechanical wristwatches and is usually the most obvious moving component. This all happens within a fraction of a second. This process restricts the movement of the escape wheel to a very short distance, rather than allowing it (and the other gears) to spin freely. The rotation of the balance wheel is kept in check by the hairspring, which contracts to oscillate the wheel back towards the pallet fork.Īs the balance wheel returns, it clicks the pallet fork into a second position, releasing the escape wheel for a brief moment before holding it in place once more with the other fork prong. The rotation of the escape wheel pushes against the pallet fork, which in turn flicks a section of the balance wheel. It ensures that the mainspring doesn’t release all of its power at once.įorce is transferred from the mainspring to the escape wheel from the mainspring via the gear train. Most watches also feature a hand-winding capability, allowing the user to rotate the crown (at a set length) to manually tighten the mainspring and provide power to the movement.Įscapement Mechanism – Positioned at the end of the wheel train and the most delicate part within any watch movement, the escapement assembly controls the flow of power from the mainspring. The crown mechanism is connected to the motion works to enable features such as time adjustment. This part is connected to the winding stem and can be pulled out to varying lengths to access different settings clicking the setting lever into different slots on the setting jumper as it does so. The crown typically features a grooved exterior (hence its name), to aid grip. However, this guide will certainly provide you with a solid baseline of fundamental knowledge about the important components.Ĭrown Assembly – Visible from the exterior, the crown is often the only point of contact between the wearer and the watch movement. Well, in this quick guide, I’ll be running through each of the main parts of a mechanical watch movement to give you a basic understanding of how a wristwatch works.īy no means is this a comprehensive list, covering every aspect of every movement out there each will be slightly different when it comes to components and arrangement. While it’s amazing to look inside the intricate mechanisms, have you ever wondered what each piece actually does? Mechanical watch movements are some of the most fascinating and complex machines on earth packing battery-free time telling capacity into a device that fits on your wrist.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |