Watch Basic
At the present time the watch industry
is applying two parallel technologies: electronic technology, with the
analog quartz watch (sometimes combined with digital display) and the more
traditional technology of the mechanical watch which origin dates back
in the 14th century.
Almost 90% of the industry's production,
in terms of volume, is currently made up of electronic, battery-operated
watches, mainly of the analog type. Ten percent is of mechanical products
whose export value continues to be of fundamental importance, as these
watches represent more than 45% of watch exports in terms of value.
In an analog quartz watch, the heart
of the watch is the integrated circuit, made up of a large number of electronic
components grouped together on a base of only a few square millimeters.
The source of energy consists of
a miniature battery which lasts several years. The time is divided by a
quartz oscillator which is made to vibrate by the energy supplied by the
battery. Quartz watches are extremely accurate thanks to their high frequency
of vibrations (32 kHz); their annual variation is only about one minute
per year, equivalent to less than a second a day. In this field there are
two main kinds of products:
1) watches with an analog display
(hands),
2) watches with digital display;
this is fitted with liquid crystals which receive, directly from the integrated
circuit, the impulses needed to display the time. So there is no mechanical
transmission.
An Electronic Watch consists:
1) Battery, providing the power
2) Integrated circuit, controlling
the quartz and the stepping motor
3) Oscillating quartz, dividing
the time
4) Trimmer, regulating the frequency
5) Stepping motor, transforming
the electrical impulses into mechanical power
6) Gear train, activating the hours,
minutes, seconds hands
7) Analog display
These two types of products are
sometimes combined together in the same finished watch (double display,
particularly useful for measuring short time intervals).
Mechanical Watch
The traditional mechanical watch
is made up of about 130 parts assembled in the three main parts which are
the source of energy, the regulating parts and the display. The number
of component parts is much higher in so-called complicated watches (date,
phases of moon, fly-back hand, etc.). The "ébauche" (about 60 parts)
fitted with the regulating and certain other parts, forms the movement,
in other words the internal mechanism of the watch, which makes it possible
to maintain a constant tension in the spring once it has been wound manually
or automatically (by movements of the wrist) and to regulate the display
by means of the hands (hours, minutes, seconds).
A watch is said to be finished when
the movement has been fitted with a dial, hands, and case.
A mechanical watch consists:
1) Barrel/Mainspring providing the
power
2) Gear Train, transmitting the
power
3) Escapement, distributing the
impulses
4) Balance Wheel & Hairspring,
oscillating, making the division of time
5a) Winding Stem , for manual winding
and setting
5b) Oscillating Weight, for automatic
winding
6) Dial Train, activating the hours,
minutes, seconds hands
Seiko Kinetic - Latest Technology
A latest technology by Seiko uses
the combination of these two technologies recently and brings on a new
type of watch movement running like a traditional quartz movement but getting
its energy the same way as in a self-winding mechanical movement (Self-winding
watch with the quartz precision).
Its working principle is simple yet
revolutionary: an oscillating weight stretches the mainspring, which starts
a micro-generator converting the mechanical energy into electrical power.
This power is then accumulated in a capacitor. The system works later as
a traditional quartz watch, meaning that the integrated circuit controls
the power supply and provides the impulses to the stepping motor. |
