Guide to Mechanical Watches

Emily Smith7 Min ReadMar 2 2021

When looking at purchasing a watch, knowing what kind of movement you want is a good place to start. You should distinguish between different types of mechanical movements and what your preferences are for winding versus a quartz watch where a battery would need to be replaced every few years. Technology over the years has allowed for advances in technology within watchmaking, and compared to original bulky movements, watchmakers today battle it out to see who can make complicated ultra-thin mechanical movements.

What Is A Mechanical Watch?

A mechanical watch uses a clockwork mechanism to measure time, while a quartz watch utilizes a battery. There is the mainspring which gets wound and holds the force which then goes on to power the balance wheel. The gear train transmits the force and also calculates the swings totaling the seconds, minutes and hours. From there the escapement releases the wheels forward, moving the hands at a constant rate. The escapement is what makes the ticking noise sometimes audible in mechanical watches.

A mechanical movement features a sweeping seconds hand, compared to a quartz watch which has the individual ticks. Some luxury mechanical watches are specially designed to feature this ticking in a mechanical movement showcasing watchmaking technology, but this is not normally found.

A mechanical watch will also feature jewels, typically garnet, quartz, sapphire or ruby and in modern watches these are synthetic. These jewels will help reduce friction within the movement which provides an increase in accuracy. They also help to extend the life of the different components. Through exhibition case backs, the jewels can be seen scattered around the movement.

How Long Do Mechanical Watches Last?

With the help of these jewels reducing friction within the movement, and a well taken care of watch without hard drops or water damage, a mechanical watch can last for multiple lifetimes. Patek Philippe is known for their Generations’ Campaign; “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”

Even a damaged watch can be repaired and still continue working for years to come. Watch manufactures train watchmakers to repair watches and provide regular servicing to ensure the long lifetime. Most current production watches have parts that are easily accessible to replace as needed. For vintage watches, original parts can be harder to get. The more complications the watch has, the more attention in maintenance it will need.

The Difference Between Mechanical Movements

Automatic and manual wind watches are both considered mechanical watches. The movements feature mainsprings which must be wound periodically.

Winding the Movement in Automatic and Manual Wind

In automatic movements there is a rotor, which is an oscillating weight attached to the movement. Typically the rotor is half the size of the exhibition caseback. However, over the years brands have started introducing micro rotors. A micro rotor is set into the movement rather than sitting on top allowing for a thinner movement. You can see a micro rotor in brands such as Bulgari and Patek Philippe. In an automatic watch, the winding happens with the rotor moving as the watch is worn, and is seen through the exhibition case back.

For a manual wind watch, this winding happens with the user turning the crown, manually winding the mainspring. These traditional movements are the oldest found in watches and can be referred to as a hand-wound movement.

Automatic watches also have the ability to be manually wound, and it is recommended that if the watch comes to a complete stop before wearing it, wind it approximately 20-40 times to start the movement before putting it back on the wrist.

Avoiding Watch Damage When Winding The Movement

It is possible to damage your watch when winding the movement, you should only wind until you feel the resistance. No matter the type of movement, the watch should never be worn while winding. You are less likely to feel the resistance when the watch is on your wrist and by winding at an angle you can damage the stem.

In a manual wind watch, you will feel the resistance once the mainspring is fully wound and the winding stem should stop moving.

In an automatic movement, it is possible to damage by overwinding. In most modern automatic movements, there is a protection built in and once the mainspring is full you can continue to turn the crown and the winding mechanism will decouple from the mainspring. Older watches and movements do not have this added protection and damage can happen. By wearing your watch regularly and the rotor winding the mainspring, you shouldn’t have to wind an automatic watch unless it stops. The rotor will not overwind the watch and will continue to oscillate after fully charging the mainspring.

Power Reserve: Automatic vs. Manual Wind Watches

Another main difference between automatic and manual wind watches is that being manually wound provides a longer power reserve. Typically a fully wound automatic watch features a 36 – 42 hour power reserve. A manual wind watch can have a power reserve of 48 hours – 15 days.

There are exceptions to this, with the Lange 31 featuring a 31 day power reserve and the Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari featuring a power reserve of 50 days. To maximize power reserve, the watches typically feature more than two mainsprings, most watches only have one. The Hublot has an impressive 11 mainspring barrels.

What Is A Good Mechanical Watch?

There is no bad mechanical watch. Many factors come into play when deciding on a mechanical watch to own and wear. You’ll want to take into account:

Movement type: do you want automatic or manual winding?
Price point
Brand
Case size and thickness
Complications
How you will be wearing the watch

Mechanical watches can come in all different price points, from under $500 to over $600,000 depending on the brand and complications. Here are some of our favorite watches under $5,000, introducing different mechanical models.

Knowing which brand you want to own is also important. Each brand offers unique options and models and price points. An automatic winding watch will typically be slightly thicker than a manual wind watch, due to the space needed for the rotor. The more complications a watch has, the thicker the case size can be depending on the manufacturer.

Will you be wearing the watch diving? In this case you’ll want to only look at automatic watches. Is the watch going to be worn only for more formal occasions? Maybe look to a dress watch that is manually wound to have a thin profile on the wrist. Plan to wear the watch casually every day? In this case, it really comes down to personal preference and if you have any favorite models or a certain price point.

Top Mechanical Watches For Men and Women

Some of our favorite top mechanical watch models include:

There are hundreds of different mechanical watches from the best luxury watch brands. Finding just one perfect watch is never easy and different models speak to the wearer for different reasons. What is your favorite mechanical watch?