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Horology C
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Cabochon Crown /
Winder |
Crown / Winder set with a jewel |
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| Calatrava |
An ornate cross belonging to an ancient Spanish order of knighthood.
Adopted as a symbol by the Patek Philippe watch company. |
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| Calendar Watch |
A watch with a pointer, sub-dial, or aperture that tells the day
of the week, the date, and the month, or some combination of these. |
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| Caliber |
The designation used to indicate different types of movements by
a watch manufacturer; usually used in relationship to a number, such
as the JLC cal. 889, with the 889 referring to a series of different
distinct movements, such as the 889/1 or 889/2. Historically, the
caliber number indicated the diameter of the movement. |
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| Cannon Pinion |
The friction clutch in a watch movement that allows the hands to
be set independently of the motion of the gear train. |
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| Carillon |
A repeater or other striking watch with 3 or more gongs. |
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| Case |
The metal container holding the watch movement; usually in steel,
gold, titanium, or platinum. Older watches were often cased in silver. |
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| Case Back |
The underside of a watch. Usually signed by the brand, a recent
trend has been to make case backs transparent, i.e., featuring a synthetic
crystal that allows a view of the movement. |
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| Central Seconds |
A second hand located in the center of the dial, as opposed to sub-seconds.
Central seconds are divided into two types, direct and indirect, referring
to whether the second hand is part of the wheel train's power flow;
if not, it is indirect. |
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| Chablon |
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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| Chamfer |
Rounding the sharp edges of a watch's parts, notable for aesthetic
reasons. |
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| Chaton |
A metal ring holding a jewel-bearing. Chatons are riveted or screwed
into plates, bridges and bars. Their original purpose was mainly aesthetic. |
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| Chronograph |
A watch featuring an additional stopwatch function. Chronographs
have 2 separate, and independent, time systems. One tells the time
of day; the other functions like a stopwatch and measures intervals
of time.
Most modern chronographs have 2 pushers: One starts and stops the
timing; the other resets the hands to zero when the timing is stopped.
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| Chronometer / C.O.S.C. |
To become certified as a chronometer by the COSC, a watch must pass
stringent, internationally agreed-upon tests relating to its accuracy.
The COSC is a Swiss government agency that tests watches to guarantee
they can time within an acceptable error rate. The watch is tested
in 5 different positions (dial up, dial down, crown down, crown left,
and crown right) and at temperatures replicating the conditions under
which the watch will be worn. |
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| Clock-watch |
A watch with a mechanism which strikes the time in passing, unlike
a repeater which strikes the on demand. |
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| Cloisonné |
A decorative enameling technique using tiny threads of gold to separate
various colors to create a design or image. Sometimes used for finer
watch dials or cases. |
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| Club-toothed lever escapement |
Refer to Swiss lever escapement. |
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| Co-axial |
Coaxial escapement which was invented by George Daniels and recently
implemented by Omega.
The coaxial escapement is more complex than the traditional lever
escapement; it has more parts and requires more precise adjustment.
On the other hand, it is theoretically not capable of being affected
by the influence of lubrication. It also features a smaller angle
of interaction between the pallet fork and the balance wheel, thus
minimizing another disturbing influence to the timekeeping.
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| Coin Watch |
A watch movement inserted inside a coin, which then serves as the
watchcase. Usually the coin, most often an older gold piece, is fitted
with lugs and a normal band; sometimes the watch stands alone as a
pocket watch.
Corum helped pioneer the trend, but other brands have also manufactured
them. |
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| Column Wheel |
A control mechanism consisting of a wheel with ratchet teeth on
the bottom and vertical columns on top; traditionally it was employed
by finer chronograph movements to coordinate the start, stop, and
reset functions. |
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| Complication |
A basic watch tells time; extras such as the day, the date, or the
month are generally called complications. Other complications include
a chronograph function, a power-reserve indicator, an alarm, and a
moon-phase indicator. Rarer, and therefore more valuable, complications
include a tourbillon and a repeater. |
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| CÔTES DE GENÈVE |
A regular decorative pattern of parallel waves, usually on the movement
bridges; sometimes referred to as Geneva stripes. |
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| Crown |
A knob on a watchcase that winds the mainspring in mechanical watches.
The crown also sets the time, and at a different position, sometimes
the day and date. |
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| Crown Guards |
Protrusions from the side of the case next to the crown to protect
it from getting knocked or bent on sports watches. |
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| Crystal |
A transparent cover made of glass, plastic, or synthetic sapphire
that protects the dial. (Synthetic sapphire is actually crystallized
aluminum oxide.) Although most crystals today are scratch resistant,
they are not scratch proof, they are not as hard as a diamond, and
some substances can leave marks. |
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| Curb Pins |
The pins on the regulator that restrict the hairspring and control
its effective length, consequently determining the rate of the watch.
Also known as regulating pins. |
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| Cyclops |
The small lens on a crystal that magnifies the date. |
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