Among the many new and endless innovations in the watch world, mechanical watches still occupy a significant position and affirm their unshakable values. So, where is the attraction of this type of watch, how does a mechanical watch operate? Please see the following article.
What is a mechanical watch? Characteristics of mechanical watches
Mechanical watches, simply put, are watches that operate based on mechanical principles, often known by the mainspring mechanism in the watch.
Currently on the market there are two main types of mechanical watches: Handwinding – manually wound and Automatic – automatically wound. There are also watches that can be both automatically wound and manually wound.
What are the outstanding features of mechanical watches:
Complex structure
Because it is necessary to ensure the operation of interconnected parts, the accuracy of each part affects the accuracy of the overall watch, so the mechanism of a mechanical watch will be more complex and composed of many components. its cousin – the quartz watch.
Energy comes from within
Mechanical watches operate due to energy from inside the engine, so users do not need to worry about running out of energy like quartz watches.
Smooth movement
The second hand of a mechanical watch conquers many watch enthusiasts because of its smooth, smooth movement.
Classic, sophisticated beauty
Because there are more parts and details, mechanical watch manufacturing also requires a higher level of skill and precision, so it can be seen that mechanical watches often receive more care in design and appearance. shows the sophisticated, elaborate and classic beauty of timepieces.
Better water resistance
Because the details in the watch are tightly linked and assembled in perfect harmony with each other, it is more difficult for water to penetrate, making this type of watch water resistant.
However, mechanical watches also have their own disadvantages of a detailed watch mechanism that need to be taken care of:
Accuracy in timekeeping: because the operation of a mechanical watch is determined by the wheel mechanism inside it, there will often be larger errors, about -5 – 10 seconds/day.
Less durable: a machine with many details is both a strength and a weakness of a mechanical watch as the watch will have less durability and be more susceptible to impact.
Difficult maintenance: It is not easy to maintain a mechanical watch because of the complex mechanism inside it, you can only go to a skilled watchmaker or the maintenance department of a genuine store.
How do mechanical watches work?
Components of mechanical watch movements
The main components in the apparatus that make up the movement of a mechanical watch include:
Winding gear: responsible for transferring energy to the mainspring and ratchet mechanism. If you look closely, you can easily see the winding gear connected to the mainspring, placed perpendicular to the drive wheel.
Mainspring: is a twisted steel spring that acts as the power source of the motor.
Ratchet mechanism: transfers energy from the mainspring to the winding gear and is located below the mainspring.
Central wheel: after receiving energy from the mainspring, they connect to the wheel (including a set of 4 separate wheels) to move the hour and minute hands.
Hour wheel, minute wheel: responsible for the operation of the hour and minute hands.
Tread wheel: has the role of transferring energy from the movement to the balance wheel through the pallet.
Pallet: the oscillation of this part leads to the movement of the balance wheel and is controlled by the hairspring.
Hair: pallet control and clock speed control through connection with the balance wheel.
Balance wheel: plays a role in regulating the operation of the entire watch mechanism, considered the heart of a mechanical watch.
How do mechanical watches work?
When the watch is wound, that energy is transmitted to the central wheel through the ratchet mechanism. The ratchet wheel will rotate counterclockwise so that the mainspring winds tightly, and the energy from the mainspring’s expansion ensures a slow release to keep the watch running.
The mainspring connects to the central wheel, transmitting energy to the tread wheel, which in turn transmits force to the balance wheel via the pallet. After the balance wheel has received enough energy and is operating, the hair will now play the role of controlling the operation of this wheel.
From there, the balance wheel spreads energy to the entire system and causes the hour and minute wheels to move based on its oscillation frequency.