How a Vertical-Clutch Chronograph Works
A discreet mechanism In the world of chronographs, the “vertical clutch” represents a decisive innovation for the precision and user comfort of a modern chronograph, even though it remains largely…
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 Is a 904L Steel Watch Case?
A Steel Unlike Any Other In watchmaking, steel is everywhere. From accessible sports watches to the most coveted haute horlogerie pieces, it forms the raw material for the majority of…
What Is a Bridge in Watchmaking and What Is It Used For?
The bridge: an invisible yet essential architecture Deep within a mechanical movement, the watch bridge plays a role that is almost never noticed—unless you take the time to turn the…
What Is a “California” Dial?
The mystery of the “California” dial, between watchmaking culture and deliberate oddity In the refined world of haute horlogerie, few aesthetic codes provoke as much curiosity—and perplexity—as the “California” dial.…
Why some watches use mineral crystal instead of sapphire
A Less Noble Choice… Really? Sapphire crystal feels like the obvious choice when buying a watch. Harder, more scratch-resistant, virtually impervious in daily wear—it’s often seen as the unquestioned standard…
What Is a Doctor’s Watch (Pulsometer)
Long before optical sensors, smartwatches and electronic oximeters, mechanical watchmaking had already found an elegant solution to a very practical problem: measuring heart rate. This is the origin of the…
What is a hairspring and why is it crucial to precision
The hairspring, the invisible spring that decides everything In a mechanical watch, precision does not hinge on a single closely guarded “secret,” but on balance. At the heart of…
What Is a Variable-Inertia Balance Wheel
Before even talking about escapements, “free” hairsprings or marketing feats, we need to return to the most vital organ of a mechanical watch—its beating heart. The variable inertia balance is…
How a Dual Time Zone Watch Works
Travelling with Time on Your Wrist: Why the Dual Time Zone Changed Watchmaking Some complications are born of aesthetic whim, others of pure necessity. The dual time zone watch…
How a Stop-Seconds Mechanism Works
Hacking Seconds: The Art of Stopping Time (Just Long Enough to Set It Better) The gesture is familiar to anyone who enjoys setting their watch with near-ceremonial care. You pull…
Why Not All Vintage Watches Have a Central Seconds Hand
The detail that changes everything: where do the seconds go? On a modern watch, the central seconds hand has become so obvious that we barely notice it. It glides,…
How a Column-Wheel Chronograph Works
There are two schools in watchmaking: those who trigger a chronograph the way you hit “start” at the gym, and those who want to feel, under the fingertip, that crisp…
How a Striking Watch (Minute Repeater) Works
The striking watch—and, more specifically, the minute repeater—is one of watchmaking’s most poetic, and most unforgiving, complications. Poetic, because it turns time into music. Unforgiving, because inside the case nothing…
Why Some Watches Have a Sandwich Dial
A dial that plays with depth At first glance, you notice a sense of relief, an almost graphic legibility, as if the numerals and markers had been cut straight…
Why Some Watches Have Flame-Blued Hands
You notice them at first glance: that deep blue, sometimes almost electric, that catches the light and shifts in tone depending on the angle. It immediately conjures up a…
What Is a Regulator Watch?
What exactly is a regulator watch? A regulator watch is a watch whose display separates the indications of time: most often, the minutes take centre stage, while the hours…