Luxury Watch Terminology A-Z
A
Alarm – A complication that sounds at a preset time.
Altimeter – A function that measures altitude, often found in pilot’s watches.
Annual Calendar – A complication that automatically adjusts for months with 30 or 31 days, requiring manual adjustment only once per year in February.
Anti-magnetic – A watch designed to resist magnetic fields that can affect accuracy.
Aperture – A small opening in the dial that displays information like date or moon phase.
B
Balance Spring – The fine spring that regulates the oscillation of the balance wheel in a mechanical watch.
Balance Wheel – The part of a mechanical movement that oscillates to divide time into equal segments.
Barrel – The cylindrical box containing the mainspring which powers the watch.
Bezel – The ring surrounding the watch crystal, often rotatable and marked with scales for various functions.
Breguet Hands – Elegant, hollowed-out moon-shaped watch hands designed by Abraham-Louis Breguet.
C
Caliber – The specific designation of a watch movement (e.g., Caliber 321).
Chronograph – A watch with stopwatch functionality, typically with subdials to measure elapsed time.
Chronometer – A precision watch that has been tested and certified to meet certain accuracy standards.
Complication – Any function in a watch beyond simple timekeeping (date, chronograph, etc.).
COSC – Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, the official Swiss chronometer testing institute.
Crown – The knob on the side of the watch case used for setting time and winding the watch.
Crystal – The transparent cover protecting the watch face, made of mineral glass, sapphire, or acrylic.
D
Deployment Clasp – A folding buckle that secures the watch band and allows easy on/off.
Dial – The face of the watch displaying time and other information.
Diver’s Watch – A watch designed for underwater diving with water resistance of at least 200m and specific safety features.
E
Ébauche – A basic, unfinished watch movement that will be completed and decorated by a manufacturer.
Escapement – The mechanism in a mechanical watch that controls the release of power from the mainspring.
F
Flyback Chronograph – A chronograph that can be reset and restarted with a single push of a button.
Frequency – The speed at which a watch’s balance wheel oscillates, measured in vibrations per hour (vph).
G
Geneva Seal – A quality certification for watch movements made in the Canton of Geneva.
Guilloché – An intricate decorative pattern mechanically engraved into metal watch dials.
H
Hacking Seconds – A feature that stops the second hand when the crown is pulled out for precise time setting.
Haute Horlogerie – “High watchmaking,” referring to the highest quality, often hand-finished timepieces.
Helium Escape Valve – A feature on professional diver’s watches that allows helium to escape during decompression.
I
In-house Movement – A watch movement designed and manufactured by the brand itself rather than sourced externally.
Index – The markers on a watch dial indicating hours (as opposed to numerals).
J
Jewels – Synthetic rubies used as bearings in mechanical movements to reduce friction.
K
Kif – A type of shock protection system used in high-end watches.
L
Lugs – The projections on the watch case to which the strap or bracelet is attached.
Luminous – Material applied to hands and markers that glows in the dark for visibility.
M
Mainspring – The coiled spring that powers a mechanical watch movement.
Manual Wind – A mechanical watch that must be wound by hand using the crown.
Marine Chronometer – A highly accurate timekeeping device used for navigation at sea.
Moon Phase – A complication that tracks and displays the lunar cycle.
N
NATO Strap – A durable, nylon watch strap originally designed for military use.
O
Oyster Case – Rolex’s patented waterproof case design introduced in 1926.
P
Perpetual Calendar – A complication that automatically adjusts for months of varying lengths and leap years.
Power Reserve – The length of time a watch will operate after being fully wound.
Q
Quartz – A type of watch movement powered by a battery and regulated by a quartz crystal.
R
Rattrapante – A “split-seconds” chronograph with two second hands for timing multiple events.
Retrograde – A display where the hand moves along an arc then jumps back to the start.
Rotor – The oscillating weight in an automatic watch that winds the mainspring.
S
Sapphire Crystal – An extremely hard, scratch-resistant crystal used in high-end watches.
Skeleton – A watch with parts of the movement cut away to reveal the mechanism.
Small Seconds – A seconds display on a subdial rather than the main dial.
Spring Bar – The small, spring-loaded rods that attach the strap to the watch case.
T
Tachymeter – A scale on a chronograph used to measure speed based on travel time.
Tourbillon – A complex mechanism that counters gravity’s effect on accuracy by rotating the escapement.
U
Unidirectional Bezel – A diving watch bezel that only rotates counterclockwise to prevent accidental extension of dive time.
V
VPH – Vibrations per hour, a measure of a watch’s frequency.
W
Water Resistance – The depth to which a watch is guaranteed to resist water entry (measured in meters/ATM).
Winding Stem – The shaft connected to the crown that winds the mainspring and sets the time.
X
X1 – A grade of Super-LumiNova, a modern luminous material used on watch hands and markers.
Y
Yacht Timer – A countdown function used in regatta timing.
Z
Zulu Time – Another term for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), featured in watches with GMT complications.
Luxury Watch Terminology Guide | © 2023 Watch Enthusiasts
