Collecting watches can be an incredibly rewarding hobby, as these accessories can often be as decorative as they can be functional.

Not only can watches be beautiful but many love them as they are incredibly intricate pieces of exquisite engineering. With such precise engineering comes a lot of parts and plenty of complexity. 

If you are a novice to the watch enthusiasts community, you will be confronted with many unfamiliar expressions. This guide will help you understand all the terms an avid watch lover should know.

Get ready to become a watch expert!

Automatic: Unlike many mechanical watches that employ the classical twist to the crown mechanism, automatic watches are simply wound up by the motion of the wearer’s wrist. The action moves the rotor, which acts as a counterweight that pushes the hands to move forward.

Balance Wheel: The watch’s gear needs a weighted wheel to move forward. This mechanism is balanced by its oscillation at a constant rate, around one time per fraction of a second.

Balance Spring: A balance spring (or hairspring) is a very fine spring. It is the part of a watch that regulates the oscillation of the balance wheel. It’s usually made of metal or silicone.

Barrel: A cylindrical, enclosed fixture that houses the watch’s mainspring. Equipped with geared teeth, the barrel can be replaced or expanded.

Bezel: A metal or ceramic ring surrounding the crystal. On dive watches, bezels rotate and contain different measurements. On other devices, the bezel is in a fixed position and serves only decorative purposes.

Bridge: The frame of the watch houses the inner mechanisms and is mounted to the main plate. A bridge is a small bar that’s part of this frame and is also fixed on the plate.

Caliber: This term is used by manufacturers when they refer to a specific model name for the movement used by a watch.