Watch Terminology 101
If you’re just getting into watch collecting or just buying your first expensive timepiece, you may hear words that you might not have a clue what it means. Here are a few words that you may hear thrown around from time to time.
For example the first thing you should know in terminology is 14K gold. I’m sure most of you know what this means, but why were watches made in 14K? Between 1933 and 1974 the U.S. citizens weren’t allowed to own 18k or 24k in bullion form due to the laws that were put in place to prevent hoarding precious metals. The U.S. went and placed a gold standard for their currency and placed a high import tax on many forms of 18k or higher pieces of jewelry and watches. After 1974, the law was repealed and the citizens could buy and own 18k and finer. So lots of the 14k gold Swiss watches were made for sale in the U.S. during those years.
Other terms that are thrown around are 555, 750, and 925. This is an indication of purity of the metal that has been used. It’s similar to the karat rating. These numbers represent the parts per thousand of the pure metal in the alloy.
An authorized dealer is a watch seller who is linked up with the manufacturer of the watch. The watches they sell have the full warranty of the company. If you were to have any problems with the dealer, you have the option to get the manufacturer to side with you.
As for balance, this is the most important part of the watch that makes the watch move. This includes the balance wheel that spins back and forth and the balance lever. The lever is the ratchet that makes the ticking sound of the watch and converts the balance wheels motion into precise increments of movement, which runs the watch.
The bezel is the upper part of the watch body. It’s usually referred to the ring around the outside of the crystal. On jewelry watches, the bezel could contain a ring of diamonds. And as for sports watches, the bezel may have markings and can rotate.
The crown is the knob that’s on the watch. It’s usually located at the 3 o clock position and is used to wind and set the watch.
The hack is a feature that stops the second hand when you pull the crown out all the way so you can set the time. This makes it much easier to set a mechanical watch to the second when you’re trying to synch a watch for accuracy.