Reference
Short, sourced answers to the questions asked most often by owners, collectors and researchers — each one leading into the fuller reference record behind it.
Answers
Describe the object before searching any name. Record whether the movement is full plate, three-quarter plate or built on bars; identify the escapement; note the winding and setting system; then photograph every marking on the plates, dial and case. Architecture and escapement usually narrow an attribution further than a signature does, because dial and case names are often retailers rather than makers.
Identification centreSerial dating works well for the large American factories, whose production records were compiled into published tables, and much less well for Swiss work, where numbers were rarely sequential across a firm. Use the number on the movement, not the case: American cases were bought separately by jewellers, so a case serial dates only the case. Any date from a published table is an estimate and should be recorded as one.
Serial number researchA fusee is a cone-shaped pulley linked to the mainspring barrel by a chain, which evens out the spring's falling force as it unwinds. It improves rate but costs space, parts and labour. English makers retained it long after Continental firms adopted the simpler going barrel, which is one reason English watches remained expensive to produce.
MechanismsIt counts hard bearing surfaces, usually corundum, placed where pivots turn and where impulse is transmitted. Seven jewels typically means the balance and escapement only; fifteen extends jewelling through the train. Very high counts on vintage movements deserve scrutiny, since some jewels were added where they do no mechanical work. Read the count alongside the adjustment statement.
Movement encyclopediaThe movement is the complete mechanism: power source, gear train, escapement, regulating organ and the plates that hold them. The escapement is the part that releases the train in measured steps and returns impulse to the balance or pendulum. Escapement type — verge, cylinder, duplex, lever, detent, deadbeat — is one of the most informative identification clues on an unsigned movement.
Escapement encyclopediaNo. Aged lubricant thickens, oxidises and collects particles, becoming abrasive in pivot holes, jewel bearings and the escapement. A movement running on degraded oil is wearing away its own bearing surfaces, and that wear is not reversible. Correct practice is full disassembly, cleaning, inspection and fresh lubrication by a qualified watchmaker.
Restoration and preservationConservation stabilises and preserves original material; restoration returns an object toward an earlier appearance, often by replacing or refinishing; repair returns it to function. Original material carries information a refinished surface loses permanently, so preservation is the default and refinishing needs a specific justification that should be documented.
Conservation guidanceA watch assembled from genuine parts of different origin — a movement in a later case, a redialled face carrying a more desirable name, replacement hands or a substituted case back. Most composites arise from ordinary repair and salvage rather than intent to deceive. Detection is a matter of internal consistency between movement, case marks, dial and documented factory practice, and it cannot be settled from photographs alone.
Authentication researchDescribe components separately rather than reaching for a single grade. Grading vocabulary is not standardised across auction houses, dealers and collectors, and one watch may have an unrestored movement, a refinished dial, a polished case and replacement hands. Record what was done and when; a dated service history is worth more to a future researcher than any grade word.
Condition gradingThis encyclopedia does not publish valuations. Prices depend on condition, originality, sale channel, date and market, and a figure quoted without those is not usable evidence. Research comparable documented sales with their dates and conditions stated, and treat any single result as one data point rather than a value.
CollectingPracticality, driven largely by military use: a wrist-worn watch can be read with both hands occupied. Early wristwatches are visibly adapted pendant watches with wire lugs, and relocation to the wrist then forced real engineering change — shock protection, sealed cases, stronger balance staffs and purpose-designed small calibres.
Wristwatch familiesThe pendulum's period depends chiefly on its effective length, so regulation is done by raising or lowering the bob. The train supplies power to the escapement, which releases one step per beat and returns a small impulse. Because length governs rate, temperature matters: mercury jars, gridiron rods and low-expansion alloys all exist to hold effective length constant.
Clock typesStart with museum collection records, horological society journals and published reference works, then look for factory records and patent documents. Every record on this site lists the sources consulted, distinguishes verified fact from estimate and attribution, and says when something is simply unknown.
Reference libraryYes, as a private local tool. The collection pages store entries in your own browser only — nothing is uploaded, no account exists, and clearing your browser data removes them. Entries can be exported so your records stay portable.
My collectionThese answers summarise method, not verdicts on individual objects. Where an attribution, date or price cannot be supported by a source, this encyclopedia says so rather than filling the gap.