Watchionary

The hour markers are the actual labels or indexes that are used to show the time on the dial; these are numerals from 1 to 12 or 12 indices. Arabic and Roman numbers are mostly used.

The hands, tiny needles on a watch dial that point to the hour markers to determine time, are among the simplest components of a watch to recognise. The seconds hand is the thinnest while the hour hand is often shorter than the minute hand.

It is a type of watch that displays time using a single, continuously rotating hour hand, with the hour indicated by a window or an aperture on the dial. The minute hand is typically displayed in the traditional way, using a hand that moves round the dial in a continuous motion. Jumping hour watches are known for their clean, minimalist design, as they only have one hand on the dial.

The luminous, phosphorescent illuminating solution that's used on watch dials is referred to as lume.

The tiny metal links or ‘horns’ that connect and fasten a watch case to the strap or the bracelet are known as lugs. Depending on the strap, a lug's design may be basic or ornamental. In order to buy a new strap, it is also necessary to understand how to measure the width of a watch's lug.

A minute repeater plays hours, quarters and minutes on command. When a sliding lever on the watchcase is pressed, the timepiece rings out the time with a sequence of chimes. Repeaters assist the visually impaired with telling time. Before the introduction of electricity, repeaters assisted in telling time in the dark.

A moonphase watch shows the illuminated portion of the moon as seen from Earth at any given time during each lunar month, which lasts for 29.5 days. That is how long it takes to move from an invisible new moon to a full moon and back again. When the moon is waxing or declining, the moonphase is visible via a crescent-shaped aperture. A moonphase watch with two twin moons perched on a disc underneath the watch face is called a ‘bosom’ moonphase watch.

A watch's power reserve indicator is a complication that serves as a gauge for the amount of energy still in reserve. It provides information on the mainspring's tension at any given time.

A ‘perpetual calendar’ watch accurately displays date, day, month and, generally, moon phases until the year 2100, accounting for leap years, 28 days in February and the difference between 30- and 31-day months. The perpetual calendar usually includes the year and moon phases.

A pusher or a push-piece controls some of the intricate features and operations of a watch, such as starting and stopping a chronograph. It rests adjacent to the watch crown. The design varies depending on the type of the watch.

It is a decorative finish that creates a unique textured impression by overlapping circles in a close-set, concentric pattern.

When an indication does not complete a full round of the dial, but instead returns to its start position and restarts after completing its whole measurement segment, the display is said to be retrograde. A retrograde dial has an arc form and may display features like date, day, power reserve and more.

A rattrapante split-seconds chronograph is a type of watch that can measure intermediate times or ‘split times’, using two second hands. One hand can be stopped independently while the other continues to run, allowing the wearer to measure the elapsed time with regard to two events that start and stop at different times. This function is activated by a button or a lever on the side of the watch case. It is often used to time multiple, simultaneous events or a series of events, such as laps in a race.

This watch part, which is linked to the movement and has a metal weight in the form of a half circle, may swing freely when the wearer swings his or her wrist. It winds the mainspring as it rotates, thanks to a complex set of gears connecting it to the mainspring.

It’s a type of watch that displays time, using separate, independently adjustable hour, minute and seconds hands. The hands are typically displayed on separate subdials, rather than on a single, central dial, like that on a traditional watch.

Sonnerie is a French word that means ‘ringing’ or ‘making sound’. The term generally refers to bell towers or bells in mechanical clocks or wristwatches (for example, grande sonnerie), but it may also refer to the sound made by a telephone.

A skeleton watch dial, sometimes referred to as an ‘openwork' display, offers a closer view of a watch's internal mechanisms. It uses unusual patterns, materials and techniques to showcase complex watch movement, mechanism and other components of a watch, making it one of the most intricate dial styles.

On a watch dial, subdials are tiny dials. Seconds, chronograph, calendar and complexities for moon phases are just a few of the features displayed on these subdials. Each watch has a different number of subdials, depending on the functions that must be performed and the watch's design. Up to three subdials are common.

A spring drive is a type of watch movement that combines mechanical and quartz technology to provide a high level of accuracy and a smooth, sweeping second hand motion. It uses a mainspring to store energy, a quartz crystal oscillator to regulate the release of that energy and a stepping motor to move the hands of a watch.

This pattern, as its name suggests, is reminiscent of the sun's rays as they radiate from a centre point, where the lines are sharpest.

It is the process that is used to create a rough, granulated texture on the surface of metal watch components. It involves using a pressurised stream of fine particles, such as sand, aluminium oxide or glass beads, to abrade the surface of a metal. Sandblasting is often used to create a matte finish on the case, the bracelet or the bezel of a watch and it is known for its rugged, industrial appearance.

A tourbillon is a mechanism that continuously rotates the escapement, the balance wheel and the balancing spring while the movement is in action. When kept in certain positions, a tourbillon counteracts the drag impact that gravity has on smaller parts of an escapement.

A tourbillon with many axes of rotation is one in which the escapement is positioned in a cage. A tourbillon that spins on three separate axes is called a triple-axis tourbillon (sometimes, it’s called a tri-axial tourbillon).

It is a printed scale on the face of a watch dial used to determine distance, depending on time. It is frequently used to calculate distances, based on visual and audible activities.

On the bezel or all the way around the dial, a tachymeter scale is frequently carved. You can determine speed, based on the amount of time spent going a specific distance when it starts at 500 units, which is often around the 7-second mark. A fixed tachymeter bezel is used in conjunction with a chronograph. It is used to convert speed for up to 60-second occurrences to seconds of elapsed time.