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Self-winding
An automatic watch, also known as a self-winding watch or simply an automatic, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to wind the mainspring, making manual winding unnecessary if worn enough. It is distinguished from a ''manual watch'' in that a manual watch must have its mainspring wound by hand at regular intervals. Operation In a mechanical watch the watch's gears are turned by a spiral spring called a mainspring. In a ''manual watch'' energy is stored in the mainspring by turning a knob, the ''crown'' on the side of the watch. Then the energy from the mainspring powers the watch movement until it runs down, requiring the spring to be wound again. A self-winding watch movement has a mechanism which winds the mainspring using the natural motions of the wearer's body. The watch contains an oscillating weight that turns on a pivot. The normal movements of the watch in the user's pocket (for a pocketwatch) or on the user's arm (for a wristwat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-winding Wristwatch (transparent Backside)
An automatic watch, also known as a self-winding watch or simply an automatic, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to wind the mainspring, making manual winding unnecessary if worn enough. It is distinguished from a ''manual watch'' in that a manual watch must have its mainspring wound by hand at regular intervals. Operation In a mechanical watch the watch's gears are turned by a spiral spring called a mainspring. In a ''manual watch'' energy is stored in the mainspring by turning a knob, the ''crown'' on the side of the watch. Then the energy from the mainspring powers the watch movement until it runs down, requiring the spring to be wound again. A self-winding watch movement has a mechanism which winds the mainspring using the natural motions of the wearer's body. The watch contains an oscillating weight that turns on a pivot. The normal movements of the watch in the user's pocket (for a pocketwatch) or on the user's arm (for a wristwat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Automatic Watch
An automatic watch, also known as a self-winding watch or simply an automatic, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to wind the mainspring, making manual winding unnecessary if worn enough. It is distinguished from a ''manual watch'' in that a manual watch must have its mainspring wound by hand at regular intervals. Operation In a mechanical watch the watch's gears are turned by a spiral spring called a mainspring. In a ''manual watch'' energy is stored in the mainspring by turning a knob, the ''crown'' on the side of the watch. Then the energy from the mainspring powers the watch movement until it runs down, requiring the spring to be wound again. A self-winding watch movement has a mechanism which winds the mainspring using the natural motions of the wearer's body. The watch contains an oscillating weight that turns on a pivot. The normal movements of the watch in the user's pocket (for a pocketwatch) or on the user's arm (for a wristwat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wristwatch
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or other type of bracelet, including metal bands, leather straps or any other kind of bracelet. A pocket watch is designed for a person to carry in a pocket, often attached to a chain. Watches were developed in the 17th century from spring-powered clocks, which appeared as early as the 14th century. During most of its history the watch was a mechanical device, driven by clockwork, powered by winding a mainspring, and keeping time with an oscillating balance wheel. These are called ''mechanical watches''. In the 1960s the electronic ''quartz watch'' was invented, which was powered by a battery and kept time with a vibrating quartz crystal. By the 1980s the quartz watch had taken over most of the market from the mechani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abraham-Louis Breguet
Abraham-Louis Breguet (10 January 1747 – 17 September 1823), born in Neuchâtel, then a Prussian principality, was a horologist who made many innovations in the course of a career in watchmaking industry. He was the founder of the Breguet company, which is now the luxury watch division of the Swiss Swatch Group. In his lifetime he was considered the leading watchmaker of his day, and he built up a clientele that included many leading public figures and members of the European nobility. Alongside his friend and contemporary John Arnold, Breguet is now widely acknowledged as one of the greatest horologists of all time. One of his famous ancestors was Jean Breguet (who died in 1593) a Protestant pastor in Neuchâtel very much influenced by the ideas of John Calvin. Life Breguet was born in Neuchâtel to Jonas-Louis Breguet and Suzanne-Marguerite Bolle. Breguet's father died in 1758 when he was ten, and his formal schooling ended when he was 12. Breguet's mother remarri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Harwood (watchmaker)
John Harwood (1893–1964) was a British watchmaker who invented a Automatic watch, self-winding wristwatch. Early life Harwood was born in Bolton, Lancashire. During World War I he served as an armoury staff sergeant, developing an Machine pistol, automatic pistol and a screwdriver whose blade turned on impact. Career After the war he served a watchmaking apprenticeship with Hirst Brothers and Co of Oldham. In 1922 he moved to the Isle of Man to set up his own watch repair business. In 1923, supported by a local businessman, he developed a self-winding wristwatch and applied for a patent in Switzerland, which was granted in September, 1924. His design ensured that the watch could be hermetically sealed against the ingress of water or dust. The hands could be reset by a rotating bezel. After four years, supported by funds from two Manchester brothers, Louis and Philip Alexander, he persuaded Swiss watch manufacturers Anton Schild S.A. and Walter Vogt of Fortis (Swiss watchmake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manual Winding
A mechanical watch is a watch that uses a clockwork mechanism to measure the passage of time, as opposed to quartz watches which function using the vibration modes of a piezoelectric quartz tuning fork, or radio watches, which are quartz watches synchronized to an atomic clock via radio waves. A mechanical watch is driven by a mainspring which must be wound either periodically by hand or via a self-winding mechanism. Its force is transmitted through a series of gears to power the balance wheel, a weighted wheel which oscillates back and forth at a constant rate. A device called an escapement releases the watch's wheels to move forward a small amount with each swing of the balance wheel, moving the watch's hands forward at a constant rate. The escapement is what makes the 'ticking' sound which is heard in an operating mechanical watch. Mechanical watches evolved in Europe in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. Mechanical watches ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolex
Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of its watches in 1908 and became ''Rolex Watch Co. Ltd.'' in 1915. After World War I, the company moved its base of operations to Geneva because of the unfavorable economy in the United Kingdom. In 1920, Hans Wilsdorf registered ''Montres Rolex SA'' in Geneva as the new company name (''montre'' is French for wristwatch); it later became ''Rolex SA''. Since 1960, the company has been owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private family trust. Rolex SA and its subsidiary Montres Tudor SA design, make, distribute, and service wristwatches sold under the Rolex and Tudor brands. History Early history Alfred Davis and his brother-in-law Hans Wilsdorf founded ''Wilsdorf and Davis'', the company that would eventually become ''Rolex SA'', in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mechanical Watch
A mechanical watch is a watch that uses a clockwork mechanism to measure the passage of time, as opposed to quartz watches which function using the vibration modes of a piezoelectric quartz tuning fork, or radio watches, which are quartz watches synchronized to an atomic clock via radio waves. A mechanical watch is driven by a mainspring which must be wound either periodically by hand or via a self-winding mechanism. Its force is transmitted through a series of gears to power the balance wheel, a weighted wheel which oscillates back and forth at a constant rate. A device called an escapement releases the watch's wheels to move forward a small amount with each swing of the balance wheel, moving the watch's hands forward at a constant rate. The escapement is what makes the 'ticking' sound which is heard in an operating mechanical watch. Mechanical watches evolved in Europe in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. Mechanical watches ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glycine Watch SA
Glycine Watch SA, or simply Glycine (), is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1914 in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, where its manufacturing and headquarters remain today. In 1930, Glycine released the first mass-produced automatic watches, and in 1959, it developed vacuum-sealed cases, allowing for more durable and water-resistant timepieces. The Glycine Airman, the first watch capable of tracking two 24-hour time zones, has been used extensively in commercial and military aviation, as well as in spaceflights; notable examples include its use by United States Air Force pilots during the Vietnam War and astronaut Pete Conrad during the Gemini 5 and Gemini 11 spaceflights. History 1891–1940: Early history Eugène Meylan was born in 1891 in Le Chenit, Switzerland, and attended watchmaking school at School Of Arts Appliqués (''Ecole d'arts appliqués'') in La Chaux-de-Fonds from 1910 to 1911. Meylan was noted to be a gifted student, receiving top rating for a watch he submitted to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eterna
Eterna is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in Grenchen, Canton Solothurn, on 7 November 1856 by Josef Girard and Urs Schild. The company is now owned by Hong Kong-based Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Limited, an investment holding company formerly known as China Haidian Holdings. History On 7 November 1856, Dr. Joseph Girard and Urs Schild, a 28-year-old school teacher, founded the ébauche factory "Dr. Girard & Schild“. Eight years later the enterprise set out the mutual rights and obligations of employees and employers in writing. Urs Schild became a National Councilor in 1882. Six years later, he died at the age of 58. After the death of Urs Schild, his son Max took over the company and soon made a business trip to the United States. He returned to introduce machinery to the craftsmen. Max Schild was ahead of his time and his ideas were unpopular. Discouraged, he left the company and handed power over to his brother Theodore, with whom Eterna entered a prosperous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortis Uhren AG
FORTIS Watches AG (formerly FORTIS Uhren AG), located in Grenchen is a luxury Swiss watches manufacturer that was founded by Walter Vogt in 1912. The brand is particularly known for robust, highly precise, automatic tool watches. The owner and CEO of Fortis is Jupp Philipp. History Fortis was founded by Walter Vogt in 1912. Twelve years after its establishment, Vogt set up production with John Harwood, inventor of the automatic wristwatch. In 1926, Fortis released the patented Harwood Automatic, the first self-winding wristwatch, at Baselworld. In 1937, Fortis commemorated the company's 25th anniversary by manufacturing and marketing its first chronographs, including the Rolls and the Autorist. The Autorist was also designed by John Harwood and used the movement of the strap to power the watch. By 1943, Fortis introduced some of the world's first waterproof watches with the Fortissimo models. In 1962 the Spacematic automatic was constructed to hold up in extreme condition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mainspring
A mainspring is a spiral torsion spring of metal ribbon—commonly spring steel—used as a power source in mechanical watches, some clocks, and other clockwork mechanisms. ''Winding'' the timepiece, by turning a knob or key, stores energy in the mainspring by twisting the spiral tighter. The force of the mainspring then turns the clock's wheels as it unwinds, until the next winding is needed. The adjectives wind-up and spring-powered refer to mechanisms powered by mainsprings, which also include kitchen timers, metronomes, music boxes, wind-up toys and clockwork radios. Modern mainsprings A modern watch mainspring is a long strip of hardened and blued steel, or specialised steel alloy, 20–30 cm long and 0.05-0.2 mm thick. The mainspring in the common 1-day movement is calculated to enable the watch to run for 36 to 40 hours, i.e. 24 hours between daily windings with a power-reserve of 12 to 16 hours, in case the owner is late winding the watch. This is the nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
