History and Working of a Wristwatch

A wristwatch (relogios) or a watch is a kind of aElectronic Movement and Radio controlled
timepiece that a person wears for referring tomovement. The source of power used can be a
time. Watches first came into existence in 1600sspring. There are Self Winding springs also present.
as a modification of spring powered clocks.Some modern watches off the movement of the
Modern watches have a lot of other functions likewearer, some watches run with the help of the
that of a calendar in addition to the display ofbatteries, or electronic power. Some watches are
time.light powered, while some of them are powered
Most common type of wristwatch (relogios) isby the body heat.
worn on person`s wrist and is tightened with helpTime display is generally done in the form of
of a watchband that is made up of nylon, leather,Analog or Digital display. Analog display is done
any other plastic strap, metal link or sometimes,using two hands, one each for hour and minute
even ceramic. Before this, watches were pocketand sometimes another hand is used to display
watches which were carried separately.seconds. In digital display, usually there is a LCD
Watch designed was greatly improved in the 21stscreen on which the time in digital format appears.
Century due to technological advances in the fieldAll the watches (relogios) show the time in atleast
of metallurgy, physical vapor deposition andhours and minutes. Few watches also show the
composite materials. Better materials are nowdate, day and some of them even have alarms.
used for making watches which are more durable,Some more complicated watches have
more accurate, more aesthetic and more reliable.stopwatch, lunar phases, Perpetual Calendar,
Escapement is a kind of mechanism that limits andMinute repeater and equation of the time.
controls the unwinding in the watch. It converts aWhen the sales of Swiss watch makers went
simple unwinding into a periodic energy release.down, they redesigned it and produced a much
This is done by gear interlocking that switchescheaper version in end of 20th Century. With the
among `driven` and `free` state.help of some graphic designers, they also launched
Balance wheel along with the spring or Hairspringan array of Fashionable watches. Dual time
forms a harmonic oscillator. This oscillator controlswatches (relogios) for international travelers were
the gear system motion in the watch. This isdesigned. Collectable or Jewelry type watches
similar to a pendulum clock.were designed which had high miniaturization and
Tourbillon is a rotating type of frame used forprecision along with nice aesthetic look. Some of
escapement. It cancels out the effects of thethe leading companies for this kind of watches
bias in timekeeping using gravity. Otherwise, theare Papet Phillipe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Rolex. Mass
watch would have to be kept in the same positionproduction is done by companies like Omega, Tag
for a lot of time.Heurer and Breitling.
Movement in a watch is the mechanism whichOther type of watches (relogios) include
measures the time and hence helps to display thecomputerized multifunction watches with
correct current time. The movements can beelectronic items like Calculators, Digital Cameras,
mechanical, electronic and maybe, even both.Video Games, GPS receivers, Cellular Phones ad
Most of the watches use electronic timekeepingKeydrives were embedded in the watches. Some
these days even if the face of watch has arecent watches have also been marketed as
mechanical hand.Water Resistant as they are not as much
Watches (relogios) are mostly classified on basisaffected by water as other watches and are
of their movements. The classifications arecategorized on the basis of their water repelling
Mechanical Movements, Tuning Fork Movement,capability.