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Horology
Horology is the fine art of crafting timepieces. This art has
has a long history with many important inventions to get to where we are now. To
fully appreciate this time-honored craft, and the precision instruments it
produces, every watch connoisseur should know a thing or two about timepieces.
Following are common terms that will help facilitate this learning process:
Quartz Watch
Watches with quartz movement require the use of batteries
as a source of power. These batteries typically last from 12-18 months. The
accuracy of these watches depends a great deal on the precision of the angle of
cut of quartz (silicon dioxide) sheet with respect to the crystalline axis. Most
common watches have quartz movement.
Mechanical Watch
Mechanical watches do not use batteries, yet they are more
than accurate enough for daily use. In fact, a good mechanical watch is often
more accurate over a short period of time than a quartz watch. Mechanical
watches are very durable and are often handed down from generation to
generation.
Automatic Watch
Automatic watches are mechanical watches that are
self-winding. The movement of your wrist and body causes the rotor, (a weight
attached to an automatic winding mechanism), to wind up the watch. Automatic
watches do not need batteries. However, automatic watches will stop if not worn
for over a day, or if you have been physically inactive for an extended period
of time.
Should this happen, wind the crown 15 times clockwise to start the watch and
give it some reserve power. Set the time and date and place it on your wrist. It
is also recommended that an automatic watch be housed in a watch winder box when
not worn.
Chronograph
Chronographs are timepieces that also operate as
stopwatches. They permit the measurement of a desired interval time and feature
start/stop/reset functions. An Invicta chronograph can measure time within
intervals of 1/60 of a second.
Jewels
Jewels are the ruby stones that a watch's gear turn on to
protect the metal parts from grinding together.
Bezel
The bezel is the outer ring of the case that holds the
crystals in place. Many sport watches feature bezels that rotate to allow divers
to safely measure how long they've been under water.
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