Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
0 Updates :)
An automatic or mechanical watch is a device for keeping time, which uses the energy from a wound spring, and keeps time through the highly regulated release of that energy through a set of gears (the wheel train) and an escapement. It differs from the typical quartz watch in that it uses purely mechanical components to keep time. Mechanical watches typically can run for about 35-45 hours on one full winding of the mainspring, with a few designs available with up to 8 days, or even 10 days, of power reserve.
The basic design of mechanical watches has not changed very much in the past fifty years. What has changed is the use of high technology and modern materials in the design and manufacture of watches. Even with the fusion of CAD/CAM, electrospark erosion in the manufacturing, and titanium nitride cases; the pinnacle of watchmaking is still an expression of elegance of design, attention-to-detail in finishing and assembly, and the art of hand-tweaking movements for optimum performance.
All self-winding watches work on the principle of converting arm motion (kinetic energy) into the winding of the mainspring (potential energy). Usually, this is performed by a half-disc of metal weighted at the edge called a rotor, which spins when the wearer's arm is accelerated unpredictably (that is, when moved normally in the course of everyday life). This rotary motion is then geared down to wind the central arbor of the mainspring.
All automatic watches have an overwind protection mechanism of one sort or another, to prevent breaking the mainspring once fully wound. In a typical system, the mainspring, which is wound at the central arbor of the barrel, is not rigidly attached to the outside of the barrel. Instead, there are a series of detents along the outer edge of the barrel that allow a stiffly constructed mainspring part called the bridle to slide along when an attempt to overwind is made. On some watches, a faint click can be heard when this happens, on others, it cannot be heard. It should be noted that this overwind protection is critical to avoid damage to the watch, and is reported to be one of the more tricky things to get right during a watch service because of the special lubricant needed to ensure proper operation.
While mechanical watches are an anachronism, they are also the ultimate refinement of "low" technology; collectively they are an obsession shared by watch enthusiasts.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
