Watch Terms:

Balance cock – this forms the upper pivot of the balance and either partly or fully covers it. In early watches, this was heavily pierced and engraved, during the 19th century they became smaller (only partly covering the balance) and usually only engraved, sometimes they are completely plain.

Chronometer – a description that is applied to many types of watches, usually indicating that the watch has a large centre seconds hand. The watch often has some sort of stop work, were by the train can be stopped and started. A variation on this idea is the fly-back chronometer, where the centre seconds hand (and a subsidiary minute hand) are controlled separately from the main train and can be started, stopped and return to zero without upsetting the running of the watch. This type of watch is often very complicated.

Cylinder – A type of escapement designed by George Graham in about 1725. Later to become the most common type employed by Swiss and French makers during the 19th & 20th century.

Detached lever – a type of escapement designed by Thomas Mudge in the late 18th century, in which impulse to the balance is only given once for each rotation of the balance. This reduces the friction on the balance and hence improves the accuracy of the watch. The most common form on English watches of the 19th century is the table roller lever.

Fusee – a device to regulate the uneven force of the main driving spring, as it runs down. It consists of a spiral grove cut into the side of a cone. This is linked via the fusee chain, to the spring barrel. Because of the varying diameter of the fusee, the force acting on the watch train is balanced against the weakening force from the spring as it runs down.

Gilding – A thin layer of gold applied to a base metal, in watch cases, usually brass. This was originally done by applying an amalgam of gold and mercury to the case and then heating it in an open fire, driving off the mercury as a vapor and leaving a thin deposit of gold. This is not to be recommended, as mercury vapor is highly poisonous. During the 19th century this process was replaced by gold plating also known as rolled gold or gold filled.

Gold Filled is a process of taking 2 Bars of Solid Gold and  placing them either side of a bar of base metal all 3 being of equal length and width. The 3 Bars are then bonded together under extreme pressure at very High Temperature The are then sent through rolling mills under extreme pressure and repeated until the desired thickness is reached. The new sandwich type is now in a sheet where the desired shapes can be punched out. Watch cases are usually 10Karat or 14Karat Gold Filled Warranted. This should not be confused with Gold Plating which has no law to guarantee the Gold content- whereas Gold Filled is Governed by Law and must contain Pure Solid Gold. A Gold Filled item has Gold content and is far more durable than Gold Plating. It also has the advantage of being more robust than pure gold.

Going barrel – Because of improvements in the manufacture of steel springs, it became possible to do away with the fusee. This meant that the spring barrel drives directly onto the train.

Hunter Case – a design of watch case where the whole of the dial is covered by a metal cover which flips open when the pendant button or crown is pressed. A variation on this is the half-hunter where the front cover has a small opening (less than the diameter of the dial) through which the hands can be viewed without opening the cover. The front of the cover is usually marked with the hours.

Jewelling – The pivots of the wheels (cogs) are made to run in jewels which have had small holes drilled through them. This arrangement reduces friction and ware; therefore the operation of the watch is usually more reliable.

Keyless – an arrangement that allows the watch to be wound up via a crown protruding from the top of the watch. By pulling the crown out, the hands can also be set. A variation on this is known as ‘pin set’ where a small pin near the crown, is pressed in to allow the hands to be set.

Marine Chronometer – this refers to a very accurate type of watch used to measure time at sea with the purpose of determining longitude. John Harrison designed the first really accurate watch for this purpose in the 1760s. Most marine chronometers use some variation on the Dentent escapement.

Motion Work – an arrangement of wheels (cogs) under the dial that dive the hour and minute hands.

Pendant – the protuberance on top of a watchcase usually carrying a ring or bow to allow the watch to be fixed to a chain. Later this became the winding crown in keyless watches.

Regulator – this is a device that allows the rate (accuracy) of the watch to be adjusted by changing the effective length of the balance spring (hair spring). The longer it is, the slower the rate of the watch, and the shorter it is, the faster the watch will go. There are several ways in which this can be done. In old verge watches this is either by a Tompion or Bosely type under the balance. On later watches this often moved to the balance cock. It became increasingly complex, particularly in early 20th century American watches.

Repeater – this is a watch where the hours, quarters and sometimes the minutes, are struck on gongs or rods within the watch, much the same as a Grandfather clock. They usually have a button that can be pressed to repeat the chimes, hence the name repeater.

Verge – The first escapement to be used in watches. Known as a frictional rest type of escapement because the drive is constantly in contact with the balance.

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