Time Keeper

Your watch. It is an accessory, it is an investment, it is your most truthful friend. Whether you have it safely put away in a pocket, pinned to your chest or on your wrist; it is yours and, hopefully, just the way you want it. The working mechanism of a watch depends on the movement and there are a few of them to choose from. Even if you cannot see it at first glance, the movement play a definite part when pin pointing the characteristics of the watch you are wearing. At Alfies Antique Market you can find any of the different watch movements mentioned below.  

Mechanical Watches

 

What characterize a mechanical watch is the mainspring. The mainspring is a spring that gradually unwinds and transmits energy. You have to wind up your mechanical watch yourself, which makes it very traditional and creates a nice contact with your watch. Most models require a wind up every 24 hours, so a mechanical watch asks for some attention to be drawn from you every day. In other words, some time spent in order to see the time. 

A Cyma watch from the 1920s, mechanical wind up (offered by Moe Heidarieh)

1920s watch, mechanical wind up (offered by Moe Heidarieh)

Automatic Watches

 

The difference between a mechanical and an automatic watch is that automatic watches are self winding, so they do not need  to be wound manually. This is possible through a small weighted rotor that has to oscillate in order to wind up the mainspring inside the watch. When you wear the watch motion is created from the wrist and arm and so your movement translates into energy that powers the watch’s gears to wind up the mainspring. 

An automatic watch from the 60s (offered by Moe Heidarieh)

 

Quartz and Electronic Watches

 

These movements are more modern and are now widely used timekeeping technologies. Electronic movements are driven by battery and generally come without any moving parts. A quartz watch is powered by an electronic oscillator regulated by quartz crystal to keep time. Because the crystal oscillator can create a signal with very precise frequency, quartz clocks are slightly more accurate than mechanical clocks. The frequency is broken down through an integrated circuit where power is being released through a small stepping motor setting the watch in motion. 

A Garrard Quartz watch (offered by Moe Heidarieh)

A Jaquet Girard Quartz watch from the 70s (offered by Pari's Jewellery)