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Horology B
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| Back Winder |
Flat crown set into the back of the case for setting time and winding. |
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| Baguette |
Rectangular movement, with a length at least 3 times its width.
This is a popular shape for Art Deco watches. |
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| Balance / Balance Wheel |
The equivalent of a pendulum of a clock in a watch. The balance
vibrates back and forth (similar to a pendulum); the vibration produced
is determined by the size and weight of the balance combined with
the strength and length of the balance spring. The balance, vibrating
at a set frequency, controls the watch's timekeeping.
The Balance does not rely on gravity as the restoring force, it
uses a spiral-shaped spring --- balance spring.
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| Balance Spring |
Balance spring is a very thin, spiral-shaped spring which makes
the balance swinging back-and-forth and dividing time into equal
parts. Each back-and-forth movement of the balance is an oscillation.
1 oscillation is composed of 2 vibrations.
In modern watches, the rate of the balance wheel is between 18,000
and 36,000 vibrations per hour (VPH).
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| Ball Bearing |
A bearing that employs stainless steel balls rolling in an enclosed
space to reduce friction. Usually found on the rotor of automatic
watches, some companies have begun using ceramic ball-bearings; theoretically
they are a longer lasting, more efficient alternative. |
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| Bar |
Refer to Spring Bar
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| Barrel |
The watch's power source, and the mechanical equivalent of a battery.
The barrel has a large coiled spring that can be wound to transmit
the driving force to the power train. |
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| Baton Numerals |
Undecorated non-numerical markers of hours, minutes and seconds. |
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| Beat Rate |
The frequency of oscillation of the movement, usually expressed
as vibrations (ticks) per hour (VPH) or as a proper frequency in hertz
(Hz). Beat error is the symmetry of the "tick" and the "tock"
in a mechanical movement; if the vibrations of the balance are perfectly
equal in both directions, it is said to be in beat, i.e., it has no
beat error. |
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| Bezel |
The ring around a watch's crystal that sometimes holds the crystal
in place and sometimes is merely decorative. Bezels are usually static,
but can also be rotated to make mathematical calculations or keep
track of elapsed time. |
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| Bi-directional Winding |
An automatic mechanism that winds the mainspring with the rotor
spinning in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. |
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| Big Date |
An oversize date display, typically made up of two overlapping discs
for the different digits. |
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| Blued hands / screws |
Bluing steel parts is an old craft tradition which requires experience
and dexterity. How
to blue ? |
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| Bombe |
French for "convex." A round, or domed, shape. Sometimes
used to describe a specific, bulbous lug shape, i.e., bombe lugs. |
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| Bracelet |
A metal watchband, usually in steel or gold. |
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| Breguet Hands |
They feature a straight or slightly leaf-shaped shaft with a small
circle and a slightly off-center cutout and a pointed tip. |
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| Breguet Numerals |
Numbers designed in the style of Abraham-Louis Breguet. |
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| Breguet Overcoil |
Refer to Overcoil Hairspring |
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| Bridge |
The structure in a watch that usually supports any part
of the movement and is secured on two sides; the framework of the
watch. |
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| Bubble Back |
Early Rolex cases with backs shaped in the form of a slight bubble. |
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| Bumper Wind |
An early version of a modern automatic watch in which the rotor,
or the oscillating weight, does not rotate a full 360 degrees but
only a portion of that. It some times has springs at the end attached
to the rotor or the frame; when it winds it bumps back and forth between
the two springs. |
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| Butterfly Clasp |
A watch bracelet or band in which the two ends of the buckle fold
over into the center. |
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