Six Simple Steps to Easily Identify the Quality of a Watch Movement

Watches have a long history, and contain a wealth of knowledge, especially in terms of understanding professional terminology and the maintenance and repair of watch movements and adjustments. Therefore, we will gradually explain watch knowledge to everyone in the future, and learn and share together.

The Movement of a Watch

Watches are one of the essential tools in our lives, and many people have the habit of wearing them when traveling. Among watches, the most valuable are mechanical watches. Mechanical watches require more care in use than custom quartz watches, especially the movements of mechanical watches.

The movement of a mechanical watch is relatively unfamiliar to ordinary people because we usually only pay attention to the appearance of mechanical watches wholesale and are not very concerned about internal movement.

However, as the quality of consumers who purchase mechanical watches becomes higher and higher, their interest in the internal movement of mechanical watches becomes stronger, and their thirst for knowledge about watches is very strong.

Identifying the Quality of a Watch Movement

To popularize this knowledge, we will teach you how to identify the internal structure and quality of the movement of mechanical watches in six steps.

When you get a watch movement, first look at its appearance on the front and back to determine whether it is a high-quality product from the appearance of each clip plate and each transmission part that can be seen inside the movement, whether the machining level is fine, and whether the decorative pattern is symmetrical, from which you can judge the design concept and manufacturing precision of the movement.

1. At this time, the watch movement is in a stopped state. You can turn the stem to wind the movement while observing the balance wheel hairspring system and the escapement system. When you rotate it one to three turns (Swiss movements generally only need one turn), the balance wheel hairspring system and the escapement system start and run.

This step is to test the starting performance of the regulating mechanism of this movement. If it cannot start normally or is delayed, it means that there are defects in the regulating system of this movement, especially the escapement mechanism part, which may require a professional watchmaker to deal with.

2. If the balance wheel hairspring system and the escapement system can start normally, you can continue to turn the stem to drive the winding system of the movement. According to custom watch manufacturers, special attention should be paid to:

① The winding should be comfortable and not feel very difficult or uneven.

② Pay attention to listening to the sound when winding, which should be even and without any noise.

③ The number of windings should not be too many, preferably around 20. This step is to test the winding system of this movement.

3. If your movement is three-position, pull out the stem to the second position. At this time, it is important to note that when the stem is pulled to the second position, the position should be clear and obvious. Then turn the stem to the quick-set function.

The function generally set is the calendar and week calendar. At this time, the key point to be checked is that the calendar ring or week wheel should jump over each tooth of the quick-set wheel rhythmically. If there is no sense of rhythm, it indicates that there is a problem with the additional function part of the movement and needs to be carefully checked.

4. Pull out the stem to the third position and turn the stem to set the hour and minute hands. The point to pay attention to is similar to when checking the winding system when checking the feeling. However, what needs to be observed more is that when the two hands overlap at the 12 o'clock position, they must point to the middle without any deviation. Otherwise, the displayed time will have errors.

5. If your watch movement has an automatic mechanism, the simplest way to test its performance is to pay attention to the position of the natural drop of the automatic disk, and then rotate the movement vertically to see if the automatic disk always keeps this position unchanged. If the automatic disk cannot maintain the same position, then the automatic wheel system of this movement may have resistance, and this part of the wheel system needs to be carefully checked.