Why Do Polished-Steel Watches Scratch More Easily Than Brushed Models?
A polished steel watch does not necessarily scratch more easily than a brushed one. It simply gives you much more to see. With the same material, the difference lies first…
Watchmaking
103 posts
Explore the technical world of watchmaking: automatic movements, complications, materials such as sapphire and titanium, and watch adjustment and maintenance. This category breaks down the mechanical and technological aspects of watches to give you a better understanding of how they work and their value.
What’s the Difference Between Radium, Tritium and Super-LumiNova?
What is the difference between radium, tritium and Super-LumiNova? The question may seem simple, but it touches on one of the most fascinating details of a watch: its ability to…
Why Can a Watch Become Magnetized Without Us Realizing It?
A watch can become magnetised without being knocked, without any visible fault and sometimes without ever having been near a refrigerator magnet. All it takes is a bag clasp, a…
Can You Really Shower with a Water-Resistant Watch?
Can a water-resistant watch really accompany you into the shower? The short answer is less comfortable than a simple “yes”: sometimes, but it is almost never a good habit. Between…
How to Recognize a Watch That Has Been Over-Polished
A watch may have been cleaned, serviced and worn with care. It may also have been put to the wheel with the enthusiasm of a hurried bodywork specialist. In both…
How Is a Movement’s Power Reserve Calculated?
The power reserve of a mechanical movement refers to the length of time a watch can run after being fully wound. On paper, the calculation seems almost childishly simple: wind…
Why Do Some Watches Have a Telemeter?
There is a scale on the dial, almost like a survivor from a vanished world. The pulsometer on medical watches mentioned earlier was also designed to calculate heart rate. The…
Why Do Some Watches Feature a Telemeter?
Some scales seem to have been placed on a dial like survivors of a vanished world. We have already looked at doctor’s watches with their pulsometer for calculating heart rate.…
Why Mechanical Movements Are Sensitive to Gravity
There is something profoundly insolent about a mechanical watch. A few grams of brass, steel, synthetic rubies and hairspring presume to divide time with regularity, even as the Earth pulls…
Deadbeat Seconds, the Most Misunderstood Tick-Tock in Mechanical Watchmaking
Why do some watches have deadbeat seconds? It is a question that comes up often, usually with a raised eyebrow and a cutting remark: “It’s quartz, isn’t it?” That is…
Why Some Watches Display the Date at 4:30
Why do some watches display the date at 4:30? Because watchmaking is rarely a matter of chance, and almost always a matter of compromise. Behind that small angled aperture, often…
What Is a Grand Feu Enamel Dial?
Grand Feu enamel dials: the unforgiving art of fire What is a Grand Feu enamel dial? Put simply, it is a dial coated with powdered glass, fired at very high…
What Is a Rose Gold Case and How Is It Made
Rose gold: an aesthetic given that is not quite so simple What exactly is a rose-gold case? The question may seem harmless, almost self-evident, given how firmly this warm hue…
Why Military Watches Don’t Have a Date Display
An Absence That’s No Accident At first glance, the absence of a date on a military watch can seem surprising. After all, in civilian life, knowing the day of the…
Why Watches with Arabic Numerals Are More Legible
In watchmaking, everything seems to be a matter of detail. A crown that’s too large, a case that’s too thick, a poorly balanced dial, and the alchemy disappears. Among these…
What Is a Lacquered Dial?
In the hushed language of watchmaking, certain terms seem simple, almost innocent. “Lacquered dial” is one of them. Two words, a vaguely glossy image—yet a far more exacting reality, almost…