Watch 102: Watch Movements

First, let’s take a look at mechanical movements. In general, mechanical movements are highly valued by collectors as the embodiment of fine watchmaking traditions. To craft mechanical movements, craftsmen are required to assemble numerous intricate, moving components, skillfully and meticulously.

There are mainly two types of mechanical movements: manual and automatic. In simple words, manual movements require winding by hand, while automatic movements generate energy from the natural motion of the wearer’s wrist. Now, let’s take a closer look at the features of both types.

A manual movement, also referred to as a hand-wound movement, is the most traditional form that originated in the 16th century. It requires daily wounding to function properly.

As the oldest type of mechanical movement, it is typically found in classic and high-end fine watches.

Built to last a lifetime, they are ideal heirloom pieces, also because they do not require battery replacement. Many luxury fine watches feature a power reserve indicator complication, which shows the time left before the watch needs to be wound again.

An automatic movement, also called a self-winding movement, introduced in the early 20th century, generates its power on the wearer’s wrist. As the wearer moves, a semi-circular metal weight inside the watch, known as the watch rotor, spins freely. This motion, transferred into energy, winds the mainspring automatically. Because of the rotor, automatic movements are often thicker than manual ones, allowing extra space for the winding mechanism.

Picture from Patek Philippe: The Twenty~4 Automatic Ladies Collection

Unlike manual movement, automatic movement spares the daily winding, as long as the timepiece is worn regularly. Also, it offers the wearer the benefits of manual movement as well, as an automatic movement watch can also be wound manually using the crown.

For collectors who prefer sports watches, automatic movement would be a suitable orientation.

Vacheron Constantin Saltarello Limited Edition 200EX sold for €39,060 in Green Auctioneers. LINK

Van Cleef & Arpels Night and Day sold for €60,480 in Green Auctioneers. LINK

In a timepiece with a quartz movement, a battery sends electricity through an integrated circuit to a quartz crystal, converting the electrical impulses into mechanical energy to power the watch. The electrical pulses are transmitted to the dial train one pulse per second, which then moves the watch’s hands.

This creates the distinctive ticking motion of quartz watches and makes quartz movement the most accurate type currently produced.

Picture from Cartier: La Panthère de Cartier Watch

Piaget Possession Wristwatch sold for €4,536 in Green Auctioneers.LINK

For those new to luxury timepieces, especially fine ladies who are lazy to wind up their manual movement watches or fed up to wear the same watch every day, a quartz movement watch is an excellent choice as it demands very little maintenance. These watches are generally more reliable and accurate due to their circuit board mechanism.