The heart that beats inside every watch and breathes life into it is its movement. It is no coincidence that the craftsmanship of watchmaking is essentially focused on the movements and their components. Even though the development of the first mechanical movements dates back several centuries, the caliber that makes the watch run is still its most important component today. A component whose quality and functionality reveal much about the competence and craftsmanship of the manufacturer. In this article, we look at different types of movement, explain the historical background and take a look at popular luxury watch movements.
The most important facts in brief
Types of watch movements: There are mechanical, quartz and hybrid movements, each based on different functionalities and used in different areas.
Brands and innovations: Well-known producers 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 Omega's Co-Axial escapements.
Care and maintenance: Regular maintenance is crucial for the longevity and accuracy of watch movements.
History of watch movements
The history of mechanical movements dates back to the early 19th century, more precisely to 1810, when the French watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet produced 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. The model, which took some getting used to visually and was nicknamed the “Nuremberg Egg”, worked with a winding mechanism from the think tank of German locksmith Peter Hehnlein.
One of the most important manufacturers of clock movements in Germany was and still is Uhrenwerke Ruhla, also known as Gebrüder Thiel GmbH. The company, which was dedicated to the production of clock movements from 1891, was taken away from the brothers in the post-war period and continued as a state-owned enterprise (VEB) Uhrenwerke Ruhla. After the fall of communism, the plant was demolished, sparing only one of the buildings of Gebrüder Thiel GmbH. 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 meant the end of the Thiel brothers' original Ruhla watch movements. But things turned out differently: the watch company POINTtec took over the business with its adjoining watch museum, so that even today - around 130 years after Uhrenwerke Ruhla was founded - high-quality calibers for watches are still being produced in Ruhla. The company's in-house watch assembly facility also produces popular models of the Iron Annie, Zeppelin and Bauhaus brands.
Structure and function of a movement
Even among die-hard watch fans, not everyone is familiar with how a mechanical movement works. Time to catch up! These simplified steps, which take place in the movement, ensure that the watch runs:
Step 1: Actuating the winder and tensioning the spring
First of all, energy must be supplied to the mechanism. This is done via the winder, which tensions the balance spring 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. If you now turn the crown on the watch case, the axle connected to it also turns, which in turn tensions the spring.
Step 2: Turning the gears
Without any other components, the spring would quickly “uncoil” once winding is complete, releasing all the 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 is used exclusively for transmission, which in turn meshes with the fourth wheel. The change wheel, which moves the hour hand, is positioned in a reduced position 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 makes the timepiece tick. It ensures that the hands move in a controlled manner and works together with the balance wheel to achieve this. The balance wheel is an oscillating 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 movements
The production of watch movements is an extremely complex and detailed process that begins with the preparatory work carried out by CNC machines. These take over the milling, drilling and sawing out of the individual components, thus laying the foundation for the subsequent work steps. Then the watchmakers get to work. They first deal with the finishing, i.e. the refinement of the individual parts, which is particularly important in the luxury caliber sector. In this process, for example, surfaces are polished, flat components are beaded or decorated with special cuts, bridge edges are beveled or engravings are applied using a wide variety of tools.
The watchmaker painstakingly assembles the refined elements into a functioning movement. This requires the utmost concentration and precision. Once production is complete, the accuracy of the movement is tested, followed by the tests carried out by the COSC for pieces that are to receive a chronometer certificate.
Types of movement
We make a fundamental distinction between mechanical movements and quartz movements. The mechanical movements can in turn be divided into hand-wound calibers and automatic movements. Hand-wound watches must - as the name suggests - be wound by hand using the crown. Although there are a large number of collectors who appreciate manual winding, which is still popular for pocket watches in particular, in the spirit of tradition, automatic calibers have proven their worth from a practical point of view. The reason for this is obvious: the automatic movement winds itself automatically when the watch is worn as a result of the arm movements made. Watches with an automatic movement therefore do not need to be wound manually when worn regularly.
Just like the automatic movement, the quartz movement does not need to be wound manually, as these calibers draw their energy from a battery. The battery supplies energy to an integrated quartz, causing it to vibrate and move the hands. Customers who prefer quartz watches often cite the precision of the movements, their high rate accuracy and their longevity. Another advantage is that quartz watches are extremely easy to care for and less susceptible to damage and malfunctions due to their much simpler construction. Nevertheless, many watch enthusiasts deliberately choose mechanical watches, mostly because they are regarded as an expression of the high art of watchmaking with their considerably more complex technology.
And then, of course, there are the hybrid movements. Although these are a rarity, they should not go completely unmentioned. Examples of these special calibers include kinetic movements, which store the energy generated by the movements of the watch wearer's wrist in a rechargeable battery, as well as solar quartz movements.
Special movements and their manufacturers
When it comes to the construction of particularly complex, innovative or frequently used movements, some companies have excelled over the past decades and centuries. These include the Swiss manufacturer ETA SA, which has been active in the industry since 1793 and manufactures both mechanical products and quartz movements. Among other things, the company's watchmakers created the caliber 940.111, an ultra-thin quartz movement with three hands, and the caliber 255.241 with two motors. The experts at Seiko were at least as inventive. For example, the calibre 8R48, which implements the chronograph function by means of a column wheel and vertical clutch, comes from the watchmaking group's forge. The vertical clutch, which prevents the hands from jumping when starting and stopping, was first used by Seiko in a movement in 1969.
As the epitome of Japanese watchmaking, Miyota should also be mentioned here. The two best-known models - the Miyota 8215 and Miyota 9015 calibres - combine automatic and manual winding mechanisms and are particularly appreciated for their immense precision and above-average price-performance ratio. The company Uhrenwerke Ruhla, which was founded by brothers Georg and Christian Thiel, has developed from a small metal goods factory into a genuine brand that still enjoys a great reputation today and enriches the market with high-quality movements.
One of the greatest innovations in the art of watchmaking is certainly the tourbillon, which Breguet introduced to the public in 1805. The Co-Axial escapement, on the other hand, originated at 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 grandiose “firsts” in the development of complications and mechanisms in movements that are still in use today, you quickly realize that the big names in the industry are all over the place here. For example, it was the watch giant Rolex that launched the first watch with a date window in 1945.
The importance of movements for the price and quality of a watch
In many cases, the cost point at which watches are offered depends largely on which caliber is installed. The high quality of the movement sometimes has a serious impact on the price and should therefore not be underestimated in terms of its cost influence. One thing is clear: even inexpensive movements often perform reliably well these days. However, if you do not 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. It is then worth investing in a timepiece with a high-quality manufacture caliber.
Care and maintenance of movements
Mechanical calibers in particular should be serviced regularly to ensure that they run reliably for as long as possible. Maintenance is therefore an important part of watch care and should be carried out by a specialist at fixed intervals - typically between 2 and 5 years. If you adhere to regular maintenance intervals, you reduce the risk of overlooking damage and faults that are actually easy to rectify, which in turn can cause expensive consequential damage.
During servicing, the watchmaker inspects the outside of the timepiece, but also takes a very close look at the movement. During a “major overhaul”, the caliber is dismantled - i.e. taken apart into its individual parts - cleaned and reassembled. If damage to individual components is detected, these can often be replaced at low cost. Finally, the functionality and accuracy are checked.
The cost of servicing varies from provider to provider and also depends on the work to be carried out in each individual case and the caliber involved. This is because not every watchmaker has sufficient expertise to devote themselves to the highly complex icons among the calibers. The maintenance of simple mechanical watches without the need for repair starts at around €40, with no upper limit.
Luxury watch movements
To round off this article, we would like to briefly present some particularly well-known and popular luxury watch movements from the 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 service life of watches, Omega has secured itself a firm 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 coveted for their ultra-thin movements (e.g. the caliber 2121, which is used in the Royal Oak collection).
Conclusion
Whether quartz movement or mechanical automatic caliber: the movement that works inside a watch is always the heart of the timepiece and largely determines its value and quality. It is therefore no wonder that the functioning, structure and complex design possibilities of watch movements fascinate watch enthusiasts all over the world. Watch collectors in particular who invest in expensive products with expensive calibres should have their watches serviced regularly and contact a professional expert with the necessary know-how. This is because luxury watch movements are generally extremely complex - a fact that explains the fascination they arouse in us.