A watch is a machine which is used to tell time and is worn on the wrist of the person, with a strap. With the advancement in technology, watches are not only used to display time, but they have a wide range of functions now; you can know the day, date, month and year. On some watches, special features are present like calculator and video games.

Self winding watches are the oldest watches ever made and are the prototype of what we see today. It has a heavy, semi circular metal piece, which is the spirit of an automatic watch. Due to its weight, it gets affected by gravity and moves as the watch moves; this metal piece moves in a way that it keeps itself pointing towards the ground. As you move, this metal piece moves back and forth with the movement of your swinging arm. The metal piece is attached to a series of gears all way down, and these gears are attached to a spring. Every movement of your arm winds this spring as much as it can; it gets easily wounded as your arms keep moving all the time. The spring of the watch stores enough energy to keep the watch working for one and a half day, if you leave it on your table.

There was a little problem with automatic watches; they were not as accurate and were expensive too. Then, the era of quartz started. The quartz crystal is possibly thousand times better than a self-winding mechanism. The property of discharging voltage on its surface, when it is bent or compressed, makes it an electronic miracle, and this phenomenon is known as piezoelectric effect. In the same fashion, if voltage is applied to the quartz crystal, it will change its shape a bit.

Most of us are unaware of the working of a watch. Fascinating mechanisms are involved, which are based on straightforward functions. Power to run a watch can be taken from a battery, or a winding mechanism maybe placed. Battery is changed in specific time period. Winding watches require low maintenance but not many have the time and endurance to wind it with the miniature gears.

Mechanism for watch-making is the movement that calculates the passage of time and display the current time. Movements can be categorized into three types, totally mechanical, totally electronic and a mix of the two. Most of the watches that are used today work on electronic movements with mechanical mechanisms, working on the face to indicate the time. Electronic watches are more reliable than mechanical as mechanical watches are prone to errors of seconds and can be affected with temperature and position. Their production cost is higher, with more effort and time required for maintenance and adjustment. Escapement mechanism is used to control the unwinding of the spring.

Smart watches provide access to internet through Microsoft Instant Messenger, Microsoft Outlook and other services.

"Piezoelectric effect" is the foundation of electronic movement. They entail few or no moving parts. Timekeeping mechanism is precise and run at constant regularity. The quartz crystal in them forms a quartz oscillator, vibrating at a constant rate. Be it digital or analogue, the basic purpose of a watch is to display time. Principle is the same for their working. All parts of the watch should be accurately functioning for smooth running. Appropriate care of watches cannot be over looked in this regard. Keeping them away from water and electric waves is a must. If proper care is not taken along with insufficient maintenance, they may get sluggish and eventually get out of order.

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Related posts:

1. Mechanical Time Piece And Its Function
2. Watch Winder – Why you need one
3. Kinetic Watch And Its Technical Functions
4. Watch Maintenance
5. Guide in Buying a Watch Winder

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