Movement
Essay by 24 • November 30, 2010 • 505 Words (3 Pages) • 1,261 Views
A mechanical watch movement comprises the following parts: [2]
Winding-mechanism: mechanism that winds the mainspring
Setting-mechanism: usually connected to the winding-mechanism by common parts for altering the position of the hands of a watch. Originally, the hands had to be pushed directly by hand to set the watch to the right time; later, a key was used to shift them.
And by the Indicating Organs:
Dial: indicating "face" of the watch, a plate of metal or other material, bearing various markings to show at least the hours, minutes and seconds. Dials vary greatly in shape, decoration and material. The indications are given by means of numerals, divisions or symbols of various types, printed, raised, applied and/or combined with other skills like "cloisonnй" enamel, diamond-set or "pavй" decoration.
Hands: Indicator, usually made of a thin, light piece of metal, variable in form, which moves over a graduated dial or scale. Usually for each indication of time one specific hand is needed. The earliest watches had only an hour hand. The English horologist Daniel Quare is believed to have introduced the minute hand about 1691, though it did not come into general use until the early 18th Century. The earliest hands were strong and heavy, there still being no glass to protect the dial. In the late 18th Century, they became more slender and more elegant; they were made by hand, with the file and graver and the holes were cut out in the turns with a bow and ferrule. About 1764, they were first cut out of a strip of metal by means of a punch and hammer. Later on, about 1830, they were stamped out in the fly-press. They were often adorned with precious stones. In watches of the finest quality, the Breguet hand, then the Louis XV and Louis XVI hands were made of delicately chased gold. Modern hands are turned out in a great variety of styles, qualities and colours.
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