Glossary

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Welcome to the world of fine luxury timepieces. In order to familiarize yourself with various watch brands and its functionality, its important for you to know some of the standard terms in the industry. Here are some commonly used terms.

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Click one of the letters above to be taken to a page of all terms beginning with that letter.
a
Analog
Opposite of digital, a watch showing the time using hands.
Aperture
A small opening. Some watch dials have apertures showing the date or the watch's movement.
Automatic Watch
A watch that winds on its own.See also: Rotor
Automatic winding (or self winding)
This term refers to a watch with a mechanical movement (as opposed to a quartz or electrical movement). The watch is wound by the motion of the wearer's arm rather than through turning the winding stem. A rotor that turns in response to motion winds the watch's mainspring. If an automatic watch is not worn for a day or two, it will wind down and need to be wound by hand to get it started again.See also: Rotor