Montres Allison
Age of the moon: The time that has elapsed since the new moon. In some watches, the 29 1/2 days of the lunar month are indicated on a lunar dial.
Alarm: A device that makes a sound at a pre-set time. There are both quartz and mechanical alarm watches.
Altimeter: A device that determines altitude by responding to changes in barometric pressure.
Amplitude: Maximum angle by which a balance swings from its position of rest.
Anadigi Display: A display that shows the time with hour and minute hands (an analog display) as well as digital numbers (a digital display).
Analog Display: A display that shows the time by means of hands and a dial.
Aperture: Small opening. The dials of some watches (in French: montres a guichet) have apertures in which certain indications are given (the date, hour, etc.).
Arabic Numerals: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0
Assembling: Process of fitting together the components of a movement. This was formerly done entirely by hand, but the operations have now been largely automated. Nevertheless, the human element is still vital, especially for inspection and testing.
Asthmometer Scale: Graduations on the dial of a chronograph for measuring the respiration rate.
Auto Repeat Countdown Timer: A countdown timer that resets itself as soon as the preset time has elapsed, and starts the countdown again. It repeats the countdown continuously until the wearer pushes the stop button.
Automatic Watch: A watch whose mainspring is wound by the movements or accelerations of the wearer's arm. On the basis of the principle of terrestrial attraction, a rotor turns and transmits its energy to the spring by means of an appropriate mechanism. The system was invented in Switzerland by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the 18th century.
Automatic Winding (also called "self-winding" or "perpetual"): Winding that occurs due to the motion of the wearer's arm rather than due to turning the winding stem. It works by means of a rotor that turns in response to motion, therein winding up the watch's mainspring. An automatic watch that is not worn for a period of time will drain the power reserve and the watch will wind down.
Balance Spring: A very fine spring (also called a "hair spring") in a mechanical watch that returns the balance wheel back to a neutral position.
Balance Wheel: The part of a mechanical watch movement that oscillates, dividing time into equal segments.
Barrel: Thin cylindrical box containing the mainspring of a watch. The toothed rim of the barrel drives the train.
Battery Reserve Indicator: A feature of a battery-powered watch that shows how much longer the watch will operate before the battery should be replaced.
Bezel: The ring (usually made of gold, gold plating, or steel) that surrounds the watch face.
Bi-directional Rotating Bezel: A bezel that can be moved either clockwise or counterclockwise. These are used for mathematical calculations or for keeping track of elapsed time.
Bracelet: A type of watchband made of elements that resemble links.
Bridge: Complementary part fixed to the main plate to form the frame of a watch movement. The other parts are mounted inside the frame.
Cabochon: Decorative stone that has been carved into a round shape.
Calendar: A feature that shows the day of the month, and often the day of the week and the year. There are several types of calendar watches.
Cambered: Often used to refer to a curved or arched dial or bezel.
Caliber: A watch movement.
Case: The metal housing of a watch's parts. Stainless steel is the most typical metal used but titanium, gold, silver, and platinum are also used. Less expensive watches are usually made of brass and plated with gold or silver.
Chime: The bell-like sound made when a clock strikes on the hour, half-hour, etc. Two familiar chimes traditionally found in clocks are the Westminster chime made by the famous Big Ben in London, and the bim-bam, a two-note chime.
Chronograph: A stopwatch, that is, a timer that can be started and stopped to time an event. There are many variations of the chronograph. Some operate with a center second hand, which keeps time on the watch's main dial. Others use subdials to show elapsed hours, minutes and seconds. Still others show elapsed time on a digital display on the watch face. When a chronograph is used in conjunction with specialized scales on the watch face, it can perform many different functions, such as determining speed or distance. Some chronographs can time more than one event simultaneously. Do not confuse the term "chronograph" with "chronometer." The latter refers to a timepiece (it may or may not have a chronograph function), which has met specific high standards of accuracy set by an official watch institute in Switzerland. The term "chronograph" is also used to refer to any watch that includes the chronograph function.
Chronometer: A timepiece that has met certain high standards of accuracy set by the Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometeres in Switzerland.
Complication: A watch with other functions besides timekeeping. For example, a chronograph is a watch complication. Other complications coveted by watch collectors include minute repeaters, tourbillons, perpetual calendars, and split-second chronographs.
Countdown Timer: A function that lets the wearer keep track of how much of a pre-set period of time has elapsed. Some countdown timers sound a warning signal a few seconds before time runs out -- these are useful in events such as yacht races, where a sailor must maneuver a boat into position before the start of a race.
Crown: Button on the outside of the case that is used to set the time and the calendar, and, in the mechanical watches, to wind the mainspring.
Crystal: The transparent cover on the watch face made of glass crystal, synthetic sapphire or plastic.
Day/Night Indicator: A colored or shaded band on a world time clock that shows which time zones are in daylight and which in darkness.
Depth Alarm: An alarm on a diver's watch that sounds when the wearer exceeds a pre-set depth. In most watches it stops sounding when the diver ascends above that depth.
Dial: The watch face.
Digital watch: A watch that shows the time with digits rather than with a dial and hands display.
Dual Timer: A watch that measures current local time as well as at least one other time zone. The additional time element may come from a twin dial, extra hand, subdials, or other means.
Elapsed Time Rotating Bezel: A graduated rotating bezel used to keep track of periods of time. The bezel can be turned so the wearer can align the zero on the bezel with the watch's second or minute hands. The wearer can then read the elapsed time off the bezel. This prevents the wearer from having to perform the subtraction that would be necessary if the watch's regular dial was used.
Engine Turning: Decorative engraving, usually on the watch face.
Escapement: Device in a mechanical movement that controls the rotation of the wheels and thus the motion of the hands.
Face: The visible side of the watch where the dial is contained. Most are printed with Arabic or Roman numerals.
Flyback hand: A second hand on the chronograph that can be used to time laps or to determine finishing times for several competitors in race.
Gear Train: The system of gears that transmits power from the mainspring to the escapement.
Gold plating: A layer of gold that has been electro-deposited onto a metal; its thickness is measured in microns.
Grande Sonnerie: A type of repeater that sounds the hours and quarter hours when the wearer pushes the button.
Guilloche: type of engraving in which thin lines are interwoven, creating a patterned surface.
Hard Metal: A scratch resistant metal comprised of binding several materials, including titanium and tungsten carbide, which are then pressed into an extremely hard metal and polished with diamond powder to add brilliance.
High-Tech Ceramic: Used as a protective shield for spacecraft reentering the earth's atmosphere, high-tech ceramic is polished with diamond dust to create a highly polished finish. Because the ceramic can be injection molded, pieces can be contoured. It has a very smooth surface and is usually found in black, but can be produced in a spectrum of colors.
Horology: The science of time measurement, including the art of designing and constructing the timepieces.
Index: An hour indicator on an analog watch dial, used instead of a numeral.
Integrated Bracelet: A watch bracelet that is integrated into the design of the case.
Jewels: Synthetic sapphires or rubies that act as bearings for gears in a mechanical watch, reducing friction.
Jump Hour Indicator: A jump hour indicator takes the place of an hour hand. It shows the hour by means of a numeric window on the watch face.
Lap Memory: The ability, in some quartz sport watches, to preserve in the watch's memory the times of laps in a race that have been determined by the lap timer. The wearer can recall these times on a digital display by pushing a button.
Lap Timer: A chronograph function that lets the wearer time segments of a race. At the end of a lap, the wearer stops the timer, which then returns to zero to begin timing the next lap.
Liquid-Crystal Display: A digital watch display that shows the time electronically by means of the liquid held in a thin layer between two transparent plates.
Lugs: Projections on the watchcase to which the watch band/bracelet is attached.
Main Plate: Base plate on which all the other parts of the watch movement are mounted.
Mainspring The driving spring of a watch or clock contained in the barrel.
Marine Chronometer: Highly accurate mechanical or electronic timekeeper enclosed in a box (hence the term "box chronometer"), used for determining the longitude on board a ship. It is necessary for marine chronometers with mechanical movements to be mounted on gimbals so that they remain in a horizontal position.
Measurement Conversion: A feature, usually consisting of a graduated scale on a watch's bezel, that lets the wearer translate one type of measurement into another; for example, miles into kilometers, or pounds into kilograms.
Mechanical movement: A movement powered by a mainspring, working in conjunction with a balance wheel.
Micron: Unit of measure of the thickness of the gold-plating. 1 micron = 1/1000mm.
Moon-phase: A window in a watch face that shows the current phase of the moon.
Mother-of-Pearl: Iridescent milky interior shell of the freshwater mollusk that is sliced thin and used on watch dials. While most have a milky white luster, mother-of-pearl also comes in other colors such as silvery gray, gray blue, pink and salmon.
Movement: The inner mechanism of a watch that keeps time and moves the watch's hands calendar, etc. Movements are either mechanical or quartz.
Pedometer: A device that counts the number of strides taken by the wearer by responding to the impact of the wearer's steps.
Perpetual Calendar: A calendar that automatically adjusts for the months' varying length and for leap years.
Platinum: One of the rarest of precious metals, platinum also is one of the strongest and heaviest, making it a popular choice for setting gemstone jewelry and watches. It has a rich, white luster, and an understated look. Platinum is hypoallergenic and tarnish resistant. Platinum used in jewelry and watches is at least eighty-five to ninety-five percent pure. Many platinum watches are produced in limited editions due to the expense and rarity of the metal.
Power Reserve Indicator: A feature of a mechanical watch that shows how much longer the watch will operate before it must be wound again.
Pulsimeter: A scale on a chronograph watch for measuring the pulse rate.
Push-piece: Button that is pressed to work a mechanism. (Push-pieces are on chronographs, striking watches, alarms, etc.)
Quartz Crystal: A tiny piece of synthetic quartz that oscillates at the rate of 32.768 times a second, dividing time into equal segments.
Quartz Movement: A movement powered by a quartz crystal to vibrate.
Repeater: A device that chimes the time when the wearer pushes a button.
Rose (or pink) Gold: A softly hued gold that contains the same metals as yellow gold but with a higher concentration of copper in the alloy. A popular color in Europe, rose gold in watches is often seen in retro styling or in tricolor gold versions. Some 18k red gold watches achieve their color from additional copper in the alloy.
Rotating Bezel: A bezel (the ring surrounding the watch face) that can be turned. Different types of rotating bezels perform different timekeeping and mathematical functions.
Rotor: The part of an automatic watch that winds the movement's mainspring.
Sapphire Crystal: A crystal (the cover that protects the watch face) made of synthetic sapphire, a transparent shatter-resistant, scratch-resistant substance.
Screw-Lock Crown: A crown that can be screwed into the case to make the watch watertight.
Second Time-Zone Indicator: An additional dial that can be set to the time in another time zone. It lets the wearer keep track of local time and the time in another country simultaneously.
Shock Absorber: Resilient bearing which, in a watch, is intended to take up the shocks received by the balance staff and thus protects its delicate pivots from damage.
Shock Resistance: As defined by the U.S. government regulation, a watch's ability to withstand an impact equal to that of being dropped onto a wood floor from a height of three feet.
Skeleton Case: A case with a transparent front or back that allows the wearer to view the watch's movement.
Slide Rule: A device consisting of a logarithmic or other scale on the outer edge of the watch face that can be used to do mathematical calculations.
Solar Compass: A compass that allows the wearer to determine the geographical poles by means of a rotating bezel. The wearer places the watch so that the hour hand faces the sun. Then, the wearer takes half the distance between the position and 12 o'clock, and turns the bezel until its "south" marker is at that halfway point. Some quartz watches have solar compasses that show directions on an LCD display.
Solar Powered Batteries: Batteries in a quartz watch that are recharged via solar panels on the watch face.
Split Seconds Hand: Actually two hands, one a fly-back hand, the other a regular chronograph hand. When the wearer starts the chronograph, both hands move together. To time laps or different finishing times, the wearer can stop the fly-back hand independently while the regular chronograph hand keeps moving, in effect 'splitting' the hand(s) in two.
Stainless Steel: An extremely durable metal alloy (chromium is a main ingredient) that is virtually immune to rust, discoloration and corrosion; it can be highly polished, to look like a precious metal. Because of its strength, stainless steel is often used even on case backs of watches made of other metals.
Stepping Motor: The part of a quartz movement that moves the gear train, which in turn moves the watch's hands.
Sterling: A white and highly reflective precious metal. Sterling silver refers to silver that is 92.5 percent pure, which should be stamped on the metal, sometimes accompanied by the initials of the designer or the country of origin as a hallmark. Although less durable than stainless steel and other precious metals, sterling silver is often employed in watches that coordinate or look like sterling silver jewelry. A protective coating may be added to prevent tarnish.
Stopwatch: A watch with a second hand that measures intervals of time. When a stopwatch is incorporated into a standard watch, both the stopwatch function and the timepiece are referred to as a "chronograph."
Subdial: A small dial on the watch face used for any of several purposes, such as keeping track of elapsed minutes or hours on the chronograph, or indicating the date.
Swiss Made: A watch is considered Swiss if its movement was assembled, started, adjusted and controlled by the manufacturer in Switzerland using a minimum of 50% of components manufactured in Switzerland.
Swiss A.O.S.C. (Certificate of Origin): A mark identifying a watch that is assembled in Switzerland with components of Swiss origin.
Sweep Seconds-Hand: A second-hand that is mounted in the center of the watch dial.
Tachymeter: A device on a chronograph watch that measures the speed at which the wearer has traveled over a measured distance.
Tank Watch: A rectangular watch designed by Louis Cartier. The bars along the sides of the watch were inspired by the tracks of tanks used in World War I.
Telemeter: A telemeter determines the distance of an object from the observer by measuring how long it takes sound to travel that distance. It usually consists of a stopwatch, or chronograph, and a special scale, usually on the outermost edge of a watch face.
30-Minute Recorder (or register): A subdial on a chronograph that can measure time periods of up to 30 minutes.
Timer: Instrument used for registering intervals of time (duration, brief times), without any indication of the time of day.
Titanium: A "space age" metal, often having a silver-gray appearance. Because it is 30 percent stronger and nearly 50 percent lighter than steel, it has been increasingly used in watchmaking, especially sport watch styles. Its resistance to salt water corrosion makes it particularly useful in diver's watches. Since it can be scratched easily, some manufacturers use a patented-coating to resist scratching.
Tonneau Watch: A watch shaped like a barrel, with two convex sides.
Totalizer: A mechanism that keeps track of elapsed time and displays it, usually on a subdial.
Tourbillon: A device in a mechanical watch that eliminates timekeeping errors caused by the slight difference in the rates at which a watch runs in the horizontal and vertical positions. The tourbillon consists of a round carriage, or cage, holding the escapement and the balance. It rotates continuously at the rate of once per minute.
12-Hour Recorder (or Register): A subdial on a chronograph that can record time periods of up to 12 hours.
Uni-directional Rotating Bezel: An elapsed time rotating bezel, often found on divers' watches, that moves only in a counterclockwise direction. It is designed to prevent a diver who has unwittingly knocked the bezel off its original position from overestimating his or her remaining air supply. Because the bezel moves in only one direction, the diver may err only on the side of safety when timing a dive. Many divers' watches are ratcheted, so that they lock into place for greater safety.
Vibration: Movement of a pendulum or other oscillating element limited by two consecutive extreme positions. The balance of a mechanical watch generally makes five or six vibrations per second (that is, 18,000 or 21,600 per hour), but that of a high-frequency watch may make seven, eight or even ten vibrations per second (that is, 25,200, 28,800 or 36, 000 per hour).
Waterproof: The ability to completely exclude the possibility of water entering into any working portion of a watch. According to the Federal Trade Commission, no watch is fully 100 percent waterproof and no manufacturer that sells watches in the U.S. may label any of their watches "waterproof." The FTC demands that watches only be referred to as "water resistant."
Water Resistance: The ability to resist damage caused by exposure to water.
White Gold: Created from yellow gold by incorporating either nickel or palladium to the alloy to achieve a white color. Most watches made of white gold will be 18k, or 75 percent pure gold.
Winding: Operation consisting of tightening the mainspring of a watch. This can be done by hand (by the crown) or automatically (by a rotor, which is caused to swing by the movements of the wearer's arm).
Winding Stem: The button on the right side of the watchcase used to wind the mainspring. Also called a "crown."
World Time Dial: A dial, usually on the outer edge of the watch face, which tells the time up to 24 time zones around the world. The time zones are represented by the names of cities printed on the bezel or dial. The wearer reads the hour in a particular time zone by looking at the scale next to the city that the hour hand is pointing to. The minutes are read as normal. Watches with this feature are called "world timers."
Yacht Timer: A countdown timer that sounds warning signals during the countdown for a boat race.
Yellow Gold: The traditionally popular gold used in all gold, gold and stainless steel combinations, or other precious metal watches.
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