Have you ever heard someone refer to the number of jewels in a watch? It usually doesn’t mean bling, it means the number of jewels inside the watch.
Watches can be separated into two major categories, those with mechanical movements and electronic movements. Electronic timepieces are fairly inexpensive and are usually very accurate, using the reliable frequency of a quartz to measure time. Mechanical watches are intricate machines that mechanically keep time, most commonly by measuring the movements within driven by a spring.
With anything that is mechanical, you have gears, posts and moving parts. Moving parts mean wear, and a worn part can lead to inaccurate time. However, there are watches that are hundreds of years old and keep near perfect time.
One secret are jewels within the watch. At critical places where tiny posts, axles or escapements must move, watchmakers use a bearing made out of a jewel, such as a sapphire or ruby. Modern mechanical watches use synthetic stones, while vintage timepieces will use natural stones.
Making bearings out of natural or synthetic jewels is a common practice in making precision instruments. In creating timepieces, the more precise the craftsmanship, the more precise the time it keeps.
Jewels are very rugged, not prone to problems caused by temperature changes and are resistant to corrosion. The more jewels a watch, clock or chronograph has, the more durable bearing points it will have, and the longer it will likely be able to perform its work. The number of jewels is often displayed on the face of a timepiece.
If you are interested in a finely crafted mechanical watch, visit Jewels On Hampton to see our inventory of fine modern and vintage timepieces. We have something for your wrist, pocket wall or mantle that is waiting to be your family’s heirloom.
Comments are closed