Watch movements: The heart of every watch

The heart that beats inside every watch and breathes life into it is its movement. It's not for nothing that the craftsmanship of watchmaking focuses primarily on movements and their components. Even though the development of the first mechanical movements dates back several centuries, the caliber that makes the watch run remains its most important component today. A component whose quality and functionality reveal a great deal about the manufacturer's expertise and craftsmanship. In this article, we explore different types of movements, explain their historical background, and take a look at popular luxury watch movements.

The most important things in brief

• Types of watch movements: There are mechanical, quartz and hybrid movements, each based on different functions and used in different fields.

• Brands and innovations: Well-known manufacturers such as ETA and Seiko have had a significant impact on the history of watchmaking. The same applies to innovative new developments, such as the tourbillon developed by Breguet and the Co-Axial escapements by Omega.

• Care and maintenance: Regular maintenance is crucial for the longevity and accuracy of watch movements.

History of watch movements

The history of mechanical watch movements dates back to the early 19th century, more precisely to 1810. At that time, the French watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet created the first mechanical wristwatch, which is why he is still admired today as the inventor of mechanical movements. However, the first mechanical pocket watch was designed around 300 years earlier. This visually unusual model, nicknamed the "Nuremberg Egg," featured a winding mechanism developed by the German metalworker Peter Hehnlein.

One of the most important manufacturers of watch movements in Germany was and remains Uhrenwerke Ruhla, also known as Gebrüder Thiel GmbH. The company, which had been dedicated to watch movement production since 1891, was taken away from the brothers in the postwar period and continued as the Volkseigener Betrieb (VEB) Uhrenwerke Ruhla. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the facility was demolished, sparing only one of the Gebrüder Thiel GmbH buildings. The production of watch movements continued in this building under the name "Gardé Uhren und Feinmechanik."

The bankruptcy of "Gardé Uhren und Feinmechanik" in 2019 could have spelled the end of the original Ruhla watch factory of the Thiel brothers. But things turned out differently: The watch company POINTtec took over the business and its adjacent watch museum, so that even today – some 130 years after the Ruhla watch factory was founded – high-quality watch calibers are still manufactured in Ruhla. The in-house watch assembly line occasionally produces sought-after models from the Iron Annie, Zeppelin, and Bauhaus brands.

Structure and function of a clockwork

Even among die-hard watch enthusiasts, not everyone has yet familiarized themselves with the workings of a mechanical movement. It's time to catch up! These simplified steps, which take place in the movement, make the watch run:

Step 1: Operating the winding mechanism and tensioning the spring

First, energy must be supplied to the mechanism. This is done via the winding mechanism, which winds the hairspring located in the barrel. The principle is based on the spring, which is attached to the barrel at one end and to an axle at the other. When you turn the crown on the watch case, the axle connected to it also rotates, which in turn winds the spring.

Step 2: Turning the gears

Without additional components, the spring would immediately "unwind" after winding, releasing all of its stored energy in an instant. To prevent this from happening, a gear wheel—the minute wheel—is directly connected to the mainspring barrel. This is followed by the third wheel, which rotates in the opposite direction and serves solely as a transmission, which in turn meshes with the seconds wheel. The change wheel, which moves the hour hand, is positioned at a reduced speed so that it moves twelve times slower than the minute wheel.

Step 3: Interaction of escapement and balance wheel

The escapement is the part of the movement that causes the timepiece to tick. It ensures the controlled movement of the hands and works in conjunction with the balance wheel. The balance wheel is a pendulum-like flywheel that interrupts the braking escapement with every half oscillation, allowing the second hand to move to the next position.

Step 4: Smooth movement of the hands

The meticulous arrangement and technically complex interaction of the individual components of the movement ultimately results in the reliably smooth movement of the hands.

The production of watch movements

The production of watch movements is an extremely complex and meticulous process that begins with the preparatory work performed by CNC machines. These mill, drill, and saw the individual components, laying the foundation for the subsequent work steps. Then the watchmakers get to work. They first focus on the finishing, or refinement of the individual parts, which is particularly important in the area of ​​luxury calibers. This involves, for example, polishing surfaces, graining flat components or decorating them with special grindings, beveling bridge edges, or adding engravings, all using a wide variety of tools.

The watchmaker painstakingly assembles the refined elements into a functioning movement. This process requires the utmost concentration and precision. After completion of production, the accuracy is tested, followed by the COSC tests for models destined for chronometer certification.

Types of watch movements

A fundamental distinction is made between mechanical watch movements and quartz movements. Mechanical movements, in turn, can be divided into hand-wound calibers and automatic movements. Hand-wound watches, as the name suggests, must be wound by hand using the crown. While there are many collectors who appreciate the traditional hand-winding mechanism, which is still popular in pocket watches, automatic calibers have proven themselves more practical. The reason for this is obvious: The automatic movement winds itself automatically through the movement of the arm when the watch is worn. Therefore, watches with automatic movements do not need to be wound manually if worn regularly.

Just like an automatic movement, a quartz movement does not require manual winding, as these calibers draw their power from a battery. The battery supplies energy to an integrated quartz crystal, causing it to oscillate and move the hands. Customers who prefer quartz watches often cite the precision of the movements, their high accuracy, and their longevity. Another advantage: quartz watches are extremely easy to care for and, thanks to their much simpler construction, are less susceptible to damage and malfunctions. Nevertheless, many watch enthusiasts deliberately choose mechanical watches, often precisely because they, with their significantly more complex technology, are considered an expression of the finest watchmaking.

And then, of course, there are the hybrid movements. While these are rather rare, they should not be completely ignored. Examples of these special calibers include Kinetic movements, which store the energy generated from the wearer's wrist movements in a battery, as well as solar-powered quartz movements.

Special watch movements and their manufacturers

When it comes to the construction of particularly complex, innovative, or multi-component watch movements, several companies have distinguished themselves over the past decades and centuries. Among them is the Swiss manufacturer ETA SA, which has been active in the industry since 1793 and produces both mechanical products and quartz movements. The company's watchmakers created, among other things, the caliber 940.111, an ultra-thin quartz movement with three hands, and the caliber 255.241 with two motors. The experts at Seiko have proven at least as inventive. For example, the watchmaker's forge produced the caliber 8R48, which realizes the chronograph function using a column wheel and vertical clutch. The vertical clutch, which prevents the hands from jumping when starting and stopping, was first used by Seiko in a watch movement in 1969.

As the epitome of Japanese watchmaking, Miyota cannot be left out here. The two most well-known models – the Miyota 8215 and Miyota 9015 calibers – combine automatic and hand-wound mechanisms and are valued primarily for their immense precision and exceptional value for money. Also worth mentioning here is the previously mentioned company Uhrenwerke Ruhla, which, after being founded by brothers Georg and Christian Thiel, developed from a small metal goods factory into a true brand that still enjoys great prestige today and enriches the market with high-quality movements.

One of the greatest innovations in watchmaking is undoubtedly the tourbillon , introduced to the public by Breguet in 1805. The co-axial escapement, on the other hand, originated with Omega. To this day, the integration of the co-axial escapement into wristwatches is considered one of the company's greatest achievements. If you continue to browse through the many magnificent "firsts" in the development of complications and mechanisms in watch movements that are still used today, you quickly realize that the industry's major players are constantly collaborating. For example, it was the watch giant Rolex that launched the first watch with a date window in 1945.

The importance of watch movements for the price and quality of a watch

The price of watches often depends largely on the caliber used. The quality of the movement can have a significant impact on prices, and its cost impact should therefore not be underestimated. One thing is clear: even inexpensive movements often perform reliably well these days. However, if you don't want to compromise on accuracy and precision, expect a long service life from a product, and are enthusiastic about technical masterpieces and complex mechanisms, watches with inexpensive movements will not meet these requirements. In this case, investing in a timepiece with a high-quality in-house caliber is worthwhile.

Care and maintenance of watch movements

Mechanical calibers, in particular, require regular maintenance to ensure they run reliably for as long as possible. Maintenance is therefore an important part of watch care and should be performed by a specialist at regular intervals – typically every two to five years. Maintaining regular maintenance schedules reduces the risk of overlooking easily repairable damage and malfunctions, which could then cause expensive consequential damage.

During maintenance, the watchmaker inspects the timepiece externally and also closely examines the movement. During a "major overhaul," the caliber is disassembled—meaning it is taken apart into its individual components—cleaned, and reassembled. If damage to individual components is discovered, they can often be replaced with minimal effort. Finally, a check for functionality and accuracy is performed.

Maintenance costs vary from provider to provider and also depend on the specific work required and the caliber involved. Not every watchmaker has the expertise to devote themselves to these highly complex, iconic calibers. Maintenance of simple mechanical watches without the need for repairs starts at around €40, with no upper limit.

Luxury watch movements

To round off this article, we would like to briefly introduce some particularly well-known and popular luxury watch movements from major brands:

• Rolex: The company is known for its robust and extremely precise caliber 3135, an automatic movement with high reliability.

• Omega : As a pioneer of the Co-Axial escapement system, which minimizes friction in the movement mechanism and increases the lifespan of watches, Omega has secured its place among the most innovative watchmakers.

• Patek Philippe : The company is famous for its highly complicated calibers, such as the caliber 240 Q, which combines numerous complications (perpetual calendar, day of the week, date, month, leap year cycle and 24-hour display).

• Audemars Piguet : Audemars Piguet watches are sought after, among other things, because of their ultra-thin movements (e.g. the caliber 2121, which is used in the Royal Oak collection).

Conclusion

Whether quartz or mechanical automatic caliber, the movement inside a watch is always the heart of the timepiece and largely determines its value and quality. It's no wonder, then, that the functionality, structure, and complex design possibilities of watch movements delight watch lovers around the world. Watch collectors, in particular, who invest in expensive products with expensive calibers, should have their watches serviced regularly and consult a qualified expert with the necessary expertise. Luxury watch movements are generally extremely complex—a fact that explains the fascination they evoke in us.