Movements

Battery-powered precision.

A small battery sends current through a quartz crystal, which oscillates 32,768 times per second. A circuit converts the pulses into one tick per second.

Wound by your wrist.

A weighted rotor swings with wrist motion, winding the mainspring. Stored energy flows through gears to the escapement, which releases it in precise beats.

A daily ritual.

Turning the crown winds the mainspring directly. There is no rotor, so the movement can be thinner, a favorite for dress watches.

Gravity, defeated.

Invented by Breguet in 1801, the tourbillon places the escapement and balance wheel inside a rotating cage to average out gravity's effects on accuracy.

Certified precision.

Not a movement type but a rating. A chronometer has passed COSC's 15-day, multi-position, multi-temperature accuracy test.

Mechanical heart, quartz brain.

Seiko's hybrid winds like an automatic but regulates with a tri-synchro tuned by a quartz oscillator. The seconds hand glides without ticking.