10 Interesting Facts About Automatic Watches

The world of horology is amazing enough and when backed by the incredible presence of timepieces and their movements, it is mind-blowing. Automatic watches are one of the most sought-after movements amongst avid watch collectors.

Automatic, also known as self-winding, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides wind and energy to the mainspring. If worn enough, manually winding it is no longer necessary.

The movement has fascinated many watch wearers, aficionados, and enthusiasts for several decades now due to its elegance and complexity. 

Want to know more about automatic watches? Here are 10 Interesting facts you would love to know about this popular watch movement.

Automatic watches, as mentioned above, are self-winding and this mechanism is supported by the natural movement or motion of the wrist. This motion will then be turned into energy which will wind the mainsprings and in turn move the gears. The gears ultimately move the watch hands.

The math is simple. If you want your automatic watch to be powered, wear it.

If you are new to this movement, the last paragraph might confuse you. Does it mean you have to wear your watch at all times and never remove it just so it stays powered?

The answer is no. The automatic movement is based on the traditional hand-wound mechanical movement. If an automatic watch is not worn for quite some time, it may stop. It doesn’t have a battery, and you might be so confused that your watch is already broken, but it is not. You just have to wear it again or manually wind it up for the power to resume.

When the automatic movement was first invented, it was deemed to be unreliable. It was not until after World War I that this movement started to gain popularity and was favored by the public when technology has advanced enough.

Modern automatic movements are among the most reliable movements today. Thanks to the continuous progress of the world of watchmaking.

For a long time, pocket watches were very popular and people with pocket watches were even deemed to be quite well-off and respected back then. It is an important piece that most men used to wear along with their waistcoats and distinctive hats. 

The movement was first introduced into pocket watches. At the time, when wristwatches were invented, they were designed for women because they usually don’t wear garments with pockets so pocket watches are not good for them. Then, wristwatches are not often worn by men, so they placed the movement on pocket watches.

Abraham-Louis Perrelet was a Swiss watchmaker. It’s been said that he invented the automatic movement. He created mechanical watch devices that can transform the wearer’s hand movement into energy to power the timepiece. It can be powered up to 8 hours a day which is basically similar to how the modern automatic watches work. 

However, the first inventions could not hold as much power as our new watches today could. That is totally understandable, though. But, this invention is a huge deal as it paved the way for continuous horological developments.  

The name may be famous enough back in the day. Abraham-Louis Breguet bought Perrelet’s automatic movement design and worked around it. He used them in pocket watches yet they fell out of popularity with European customers in the 1800s.

Like all gadgets, automatic watches are not immortal. Even your Titanium Automatic Mechanical Watch still needs to be regularly serviced to make sure that the gears are aligned and the overall watch is in tip-top shape.

Undeniably so, automatic watches are a remarkable symbol of exemplary watchmaking ability. It takes a very skilled and knowledgeable watchmaker to build a precise automatic watch. It is a true work of art that required high-level skills.

Automatic watches are always in! They are functional, practical, and have so many uses. This unbelievable technology is a unicorn in the world of batteries. Prestigious automatic watches like Sapphire Automatic Watch for Men are collect-worthy.

Wishing you could pass on a special watch to your kids and the next generations to come? Well, an automatic watch is sturdy and long-lasting and a perfect heirloom. It can come back to life over and over again as opposed to battery-operated watches.