Explanation of how automatic watches work
Have you ever wondered how a watch can wind itself? The origin of the automatic watch dates back to the late 1700’s. Here is a quick explanation of how automatic watches work internally.
An automatic watch has a mechanism that winds the mainspring. The watch has a rotor that turns on a pivot. The movement of the owner’s arm causes pivoting of the rotor on its staff. A winding mechanism is a result of the attached staff on the attached ratchet.
The motion of the arm translates into a circular motion of the rotor. Through reducing gears and a series of a reverser, the mainspring is eventually wound. There are numerous varied designs for up to date self-winding mechanisms.
A few designs permit winding of the clock to happen as the rotor swings in the same direction while a different advanced mechanism consists of two ratchets that wind the mainspring during both clockwise and counterclockwise rotor motions.
The typical watch with a fully wound mainspring can store sufficient energy for up to two days. The watch can then run effectively throughout the night in a stationary state. In many cases, automatic clocks can be wound manually as well by simply turning the crown. Thus, the watch can keep running without being worn.
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