 Since
more than 40 years now, the Illustrated Professional Dictionary of
Horology (usually called Berner Dictionary) represents the
reference book for watch professionals and lovers all over the world.
Its new compact version brings together 4,790 terms within a single
bound copy of some 1,300 pages. For more information, click here.
Available in four languages (French, German, English, Spanish),
it can be ordered through our E-shop or by contacting
us.
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Aperture
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Small opening. The dials of some watches (in French: montres à
guichet) have apertures in which certain indications are given (e.g.
the date, the hour, etc).
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Applique
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Applique or applied chapters are numerals or symbols cut out of
a sheet metal and stuck or riveted to a dial.
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Assembling
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Process of fitting together the components of a movement. This
was formerly done entirely by hand, but the operations have now
been largely automated. Nevertheless, the human element is still
primordial, especially for inspection and testing.
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Assortiment
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French term for the parts used for making an escapement.
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Automatic Watch
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A watch whose mainspring is wound by the movements or accelerations
of the wearer's arm. On the basis of the principle of terrestrial
attraction, a rotor turns and transmits its energy to the spring
by means of an appropriate mechanism. The system was invented in
Switzerland by Abraham-Louis Perrelet in the 18th century.
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Balance
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Moving part, usually circular, oscillating about its axis of rotation.
The hairspring coupled to it makes it swing to and fro, dividing
time into exactly equal parts. Each of the to-and-fro movements
of the balance ("tick-tack") is called an "oscillation".
One oscillation is composed of two vibrations.
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Bar, lug
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In wristwatch-cases, a thin metal rod fixed between the horns,
for attaching the wristlet.
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Barrel
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Thin cylindrical box containing the mainspring of a watch. The
toothed rim of the barrel drives the train.
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| Bridge |
Complementary part fixed to the main plate to form
the frame of a watch movement. The other parts are mounted inside
the frame (part of the "ébauche"). |
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Calibre
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Originally used to mean the size of a watch movement, this term
now denotes a type of movement (men's calibre, automatic calibre,
etc). When a calibre number is accompanied by the manufacturer's
mark, it serves as an indication of origin.
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(Watch-) Case
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Container that protects the watch-movement from dust, damp and
shocks. It also gives the watch as attractive an appearance as possible,
subject to fashion and the taste of the public.
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Casing (up)
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Process of inserting and fixing a watch movement into its case.
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Chablon
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French term for a watch movement (not including the dial and hands),
of which all or part of the components are not assembled.
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Chronograph
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Watch or other apparatus with two independent time systems: one
indicates the time of day, and the other measures brief intervals
of time. Counters registering seconds, minutes and even hours can
be started and stopped as desired. It is therefore possible to measure
the exact duration of a phenomenon. Not to be confused with the
timer, the stopwatch and the chronometer.
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Chronometer
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Watch which has undergone a series of precision tests in an official
institute. The requirements are very severe: a few seconds per day
in the most unfavourable temperature conditions (for mechanical
watches) and positions that are ordinarily encountered.
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Crown
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Knurled knob located on the outside of a watch case and used for
winding the mainspring. It is also used for setting the hands to
the right time and for correcting thecalendar indications.
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| Date |
Ordinal number referring to a day of the month: the
10th February. Date-watch: watch indicating the date, the month and
sometimes the year and the phases of the moon. Also called a calendar-watch
or calendar. Perpetual calendar: watch indicating leap years as well
as the date. |
| Dial |
Indicating "face" or plate of metal or other
material, bearing various markings to show, in ordinary watches and
clocks, the hours, minutes and seconds. Dials vary verymuch in shape,
decoration, material, etc. The indications are given by means of numerals,
divisions or symbols of various types. |
| Direct-drive |
Refers to a seconds-hand that moves forwards in little
jerks. Trotteuse, French term for a direct-drive seconds-hand, especially
a centre seconds-hand. |
| Display |
Indication of time or other data, either by means of
hands moving over a dial (analogue display) or by means of numerals
appearing in one or more windows (digital or numerical display); these
numerals may be completed by alphabetical indications (alphanumerical
display) or by signs of any other kind. Example: 12.05 MO 12.3 = 12
hours, 5 minutes, Monday 12th March. Such displays can be obtained
by mechanicalor electronic means. |
| Ebauche |
French term (but commonly used in English-speaking
countries) for a movement blank, i.e. an incomplete watch movement
which is sold as a set of loose parts, comprising the main plate,
the bridges, the train, the winding and setting mechanism and the
regulator. The timing system, the escapement and the mainspring, however,
are not parts of the "ébauche". |
| Escapement |
Set of parts (escape wheel, lever, roller) which converts
the rotary motion of the train into to-and-fro motion (the balance). |
| Etablissage |
French term for the method of manufacturing watches
and/or movements by assembling their various components. It generally
includes the following operations: receipt, inspection and stocking
of the "ébauche", the regulating elements and the
other parts of the movement and of the make-up; assembling; springing
and timing; fitting the dial and hands; casing; final inspection before
packing and dispatching. |
| Etablisseur |
French term for a watch factory which is engaged only
in assembling watches, without itself producing the components, which
it buys from specialist suppliers. |
| Factory, works |
In the Swiss watch industry, the term manufacture is
used of a factory in which watches are manufactured almost completely,
as distinct from an "atelier de terminage", which is concerned
only with assembling, timing, fitting the hands and casing. |
| Fly-back Hand |
In a chronograph with analogue display, an additional
centre second hand which can remain superposed on the other one as
it moves, can be stopped independently and then made to "fly
back" so as to catch up with the other hand, can be stopped and
reset to zero together with the other hand. In chronographs with numerical
display, a "function" having the same effect. |
| Glass, Crystal |
Thin plate of glass or transparent synthetic material,
for protecting the dials of watches, clocks, etc. |
| Hand |
ndicator, usually made of a thin, light piece of metal,
very variable in form, which moves over a graduated dial or scale.
Watches usually have three hands showing the hours, minutes and seconds.
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| Jewel |
Bearing, endstone or pallet used for reducing friction.
Generally made of synthetic material, except for the precious or semi-precious
stones (ruby, sapphire, garnet) which are sometimes used in "de
luxe" watches. |
| Main Plate |
Base plate on which all the other parts of a watch
movement are mounted (part of the "ébauche"). |
| Mainspring |
The driving spring of a watch or clock, contained in
the barrel. |
| Manufacture d'horlogerie |
French term for a watch factory which itself produces
the components (particularly the "ébauches") needed
for the manufacture of its products (watches, alarm and desk clocks,
etc). |
| Marine Chronometer |
Highly accurate mechanical or electronic timekeeper
enclosed in a box (hence the term box chronometer), used for determining
the longitude on board ship.Marine chronometers with mechanical movements
are mounted on gimbals so that they remain in the horizontal position
is necessary for their precision. |
Middle
(of watch-case) |
Middle part of the case, in which the movement is fitted. |
| Movement |
Assembly consisting of the principal elements and mechanisms
of a watch or clock: the winding and setting mechanism, the mainspring,
the train, the escapement, the regulating elements. "Anatomically",
the movement consists of the "ébauche", the regulating
elements and the other components. |
| Regulating Elements |
Set of parts comprising the regulating system (sprung
balance) and the escapement (escape wheel, lever and roller). |
| Repeater |
Watch that strikes the hours by means of a mechanism
operated by a push-piece or bolt. There are various types of repeaters.
Quarter-repeater: sounding a low note for the hours and a "ding-dong"
for each of the quarters; Five-minute repeater: striking the hours,
quarters and five-minute periods after the quarter; Minute-repeater:
striking the hours, quarters and minutes; Grande sonnerie (grand strike):
striking the hours and quarters automatically and repeating when a
push-piece is pressed down; Chiming repeater: in which the quarters
are struck on three or four gongs of different pitch. |
| Rotor |
Half-disc of heavy metal, which is made to rotate inside
the case of an automatic watch by the energy produced by the movements
of the wearer's arm. Its weight tends always to bring it back to the
vertical position. Demultiplied by a specially designed device, its
rotations continually wind the mainspring of the watch. |
| Second |
Basic unit of time (abbr. s or sec), corresponding
to one 86,000th part of the mean solar day, i.e. the duration of rotation,
about its own axis, of an ideal Earth describing a circle round the
Sun in one year, at a constant speed and in the plane of the Equator.
After the Second World War, atomic clocks became so accurate that
they could demonstrate the infinitesimal irregularities (a few hundreths
of a second per year) of the Earth's rotation about its own axis.
It was then decided to redefine the reference standard; this was done
by the 13th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1967, in
the following terms: "The second is the duration of 9,192,631,770
periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the
two hyperfine levels of the fundamental state of the atom of caesium
133". Conventionally, the second is subdivised into tenths, hundredths,
thousendths (milliseconds), millionths (microseconds), thousand-millionths
(nanoseconds) and billionths (picoseconds). |
| Setting (to time) |
Process of bringing the hands of a watch or clock to
the position corresponding to the exact time. |
| Shock Absorber |
Resilient bearing which, in a watch, is intended to
take up the shocks received by the balance staff and thus protects
its delicate pivots from damage. |
| Skeleton |
Skeleton watch: watch in which the case and various
parts of the movement are of transparent material, enabling the main
parts of the watch to be seen. |
| Stopwatch |
Timekeeping instrument which can be used for measuring
intervals of time. When this is done, the time display is partly or
wholly lost until the hands are reset. |
| Striking-work, Striking-Mechanism |
In a watch or clock, automatic or hand-operated mechanism
that strikes the hours, etc, or rings an alarm-bell (v. repeater). |
| Tachometer |
Instrument for measuring speed. In watchmaking,
a timer or chronograph with a graduated dial on which speed can be
read off in kilometres per hour or some other unit (see timer). |
| Terminage |
French term denoting the process of assembling watch
parts for the account of a producer. |
| Termineur |
French term for an independent watchmaker (or workshop)
engaged in assembling watches, either wholly or in part, for the account
of an "établisseur" or a "manufacture",
who supply the necessary loose parts. |
| Timer |
Instrument used for registering intervals of time (durations,
brief times), without any indication of the time of day. |
| Tourbillon |
Device invented to eliminate errors of rate in the
vertical positions. It consists of a mobile carriage or cage carrying
all the parts of the escapement, with the balance in the centre. The
escape pinion turns about the fixed fourth wheel. The case makes one
revolution per minute, thus annulling errors of rate in the vertical
positions. |
| Vibration |
Movement of a pendulum or other oscillating element,
limited by two consecutive extreme positions. The balance of a mechanical
watch generally makes five or six vibrations per second (i.e. 18,000
or 21,600 per hour), but that of a high-frequency watch may make seven,
eight or even ten vibrations per second (i.e. 25,200, 28,800 or 36,
000 per hour). |
| Watch Material |
Loose parts, components either for producing watches
or for repairing them. In the latter case, they are often called "spare
parts" or "repair material". |
| Water Resistant |
Made to prevent water from entering. Water-resistant
case, watch-case whose joints are made to prevent moisture from entering. |
| Winding |
Operation consisting in tightening the mainspring of
a watch. This can be done by hand (by means of the crown) or automatically
(by means of a rotor, which is caused to swing by the movements of
the wearer's arm). |
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