Anti-magnetic

Describes a watch that is protected against magnetic fields.

Battery

A device that transform the energy created by a chemical reaction into electrical energy. Typically, a battery lasts for two to five years. Its lifespan will depend on the type of watch, its size...

Calibrated

Describes a number of identical step-cut stones with the same, usually square, shape which will be closely set in adjacent rows.

Dumortierite

A blue to violet ornamental stone silicate mineral that is used as used for watch dials. Dumortierite has a hardness of 7 - 8.5 and a specific gravity of 3.3 - 3.4.

Engine turn

To cut metal with decorative engraving by hand or using an engine turning machine.

Fancy cut

Fancy cut stones are cut in any form other than a brilliant cut. Some fancy cuts include the heart, oval, marquise, navette, kite, and triangle.

Gild

To cover an object with a thin layer of gold, generally by electroplating. In a watch, the case but also the movement's plate and bridges can be gilded.

Incabloc®

A resilient bearing to dampen shocks on the balance-staff pivots. Also known as shockproofing. The majority of watches today use the Incabloc® system. Designed to absorb shocks...

Jumping hour

A means of display in which the hour, shown through an aperture, instantly changes every 60 minutes.

Kunzite

A transparent pink or light purple gemstone and is a variety of spodumene. The colour of some kunzite can be enhanced by irradiation. Kunzite has a hardness of 6-7 and a specific gravity of 3.1 -...

Lépine watch (Open-face)

In a pocket watch, a structure in which the seconds hand is positioned in line with the winding stem, as opposed to the hunter calibre in which the seconds hand is at a right angle to the winding...

Mohs scale

A relative scale of hardness established by the Austrian mineralogist Friedrich Moh that measures a substance's resistance to scratching. The scale ranges from 1 to 10; diamond being the hardness...

Nephrite

A family of the jade group of ornamental gemstones. Nephrite is slightly softer that jadeite and is often veined.

Oil sink

A cavity in bearings for a drop of oil.

Perpetual calendar

Devised to incorporate the specificities of the Gregorian calendar. It is perpetual because it automatically adjusts to months with 30 days and to the 28 or 29 days in February. For this, it...

Quartz

Silicon dioxide. Also called rock crystal. Quartz has the specific property of vibrating at a very high frequency (32 MHz) placed under electric current. Under certain conditions, it...

Regulator

A clock with non-coaxial hour and minute hands. The size of the hands and their position reflect their importance: the minute hand is always the larger and is positioned in the centre of...

Skeleton movement

A movement whose plate and bridges have been cut away to expose the wheels, leaving only the substance which the watch needs to function. The movement is placed between two sapphire crystals to be...

Time zone

In order to standardise time measurement in each country, since 1883 the Earth has been divided into twenty-four time zones, the first of which is intersected by the Greenwich meridian,...

Ultra-complicated watch

Any function other than the indication of hours, minutes and seconds, regardless of whether the mechanism is hand-wound or self-winding, mechanical or electronic, and of movement height. The...

Vibration

Movement of a pendulum or oscillating body between two extreme positions (A' and A''). The balance of a mechanical watch generally makes five vibrations per second, equivalent to 18,000...

Water clock

Water clock: clepsydra with a system of gears.

Year

A four-digit indication of the current year that changes automatically at midnight on December 31st.

Zinc

A metal applied by electrodeposition (electroplating) to protect iron and steel.