Time ticks by…hour by hour, and day by day, but it’s never too late to learn what makes your watch tick. Let’s review some watch terms too, so we are all “speaking watch.”

The Heartbeat

The key to bringing the heartbeat of your watch to life is the movement. This mechanical masterpiece is essential to time-keeping. The movements may be manual (wound by hand), automatic (winds itself), quartz (battery-operated), or kinetic (rechargeable capacitor).

Antique, and most vintage, watches are manual, meaning they need to be wound every day to keep running, along with the occasional service of course (that’s cleaning done by a professional).

Structure or Frame

The external structure or frame of the watch is called the case. Cases may be made of many materials, usually metal, including gold, sterling, platinum, and steel. This strong structure provides a safe, clean home for the movement to continue ticking.

There are many different pieces of the watch case that serve a variety of purposes. Let’s take a quick look at these terms to broaden our watch vocabulary.

Crystal

The crystal is the clear covering over the face of the watch, which can be made of sapphire, glass, or plastic. The crystal is essential to keeping dust, debris, and water out of the interior of the watch.

Bezel

The watch’s bezel is the round frame that secures the crystal to the case. Bezels can sometime be a plain piece of the frame, other times it may be quite decorative, encrusted with diamonds or other gemstones.

Dial

The face of the watch is called a dial. Dials can have Roman or Arabic numerals, or may have other types of markers to denote the separation of the hours.

Hands

The hands are moved around the dial by the movement, so you know the hour, minute, and sometimes even the second!

Crown and Stem

The stem extends from the movement out the side of the case which is terminated by a crown (the knob, which you pull to wind and set your watch). Crowns are usually have ridged edges for better grip and may exhibit the logo of the watch company on the end, or even a gemstone such as a sapphire!

Lugs

The lugs secure the strap or bracelet to the watch case. They resemble four horns, two at each end of the case.

Now it’s time to take your new-found vocabulary and apply it to your favorite vintage watch. Solvang Antiques has a broad collection of vintage wrist watches from some of the best watchmakers in the world. Our watches have been restored and serviced. They all come with warranties, most being 18 months long!

See all our antique, vintage, and estate watches.