Watch Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Watchmaking

Watch Guide

Kelton opens the doors of its French workshops with this complete guide to watches. Founded in France in 1955, our manufacture has mastered all calibers for seven decades, from quartz to automatic, including technical divers' watches.

This guide demystifies movements, maintenance, and essential choices for every enthusiast.

 

Watchmaking Secrets Revealed

Dedicated to both enthusiasts and novices, this space unveils the backstage of Kelton watchmaking. Learn how to choose your ideal watch, understand the beat of living movements, and ensure their longevity for decades.

Kelton's watchmaking passion becomes accessible to all: from daily gestures to maintenance rituals, every detail counts in perpetuating French excellence.

 

FROM TIME MEASURING INSTRUMENT TO WRISTWATCH

 

Gone are the days when a watch's sole function was to tell you the time. Over the years, the watch has become a true fashion accessory responding to everyone's tastes and personalities. Watchmakers have shown ingenuity and innovation in the design of timepieces. Many watch styles have thus appeared:

      • pocket watch (or pocket watch attached to the outfit by a chain)
      • classic watch
      • digital watch (digital watch displaying numbers and thus without hands)
      • extra-flat watch
      • sports watch (watch including complications: GPS, heart rate monitor, music player...)
      • modern watch (watch with a contemporary design that stands out from classic watches)
      • chronograph watch (includes an additional function called a complication, which is close to a stopwatch)
      • vintage watch (old watch or modern watch combining vintage aesthetics and modernity)
      • skeleton watch (carefully designed watch revealing the watch's components)
      • aviator watch (the dial generally reflects the world of aviation and cockpits)
      • military watch
      • dive watch
      • sport watch
      • connected watch or smartwatch
 

THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF A WATCH

The Movements

Types of movements:

The mechanical watch which operates thanks to kinetic energy (and therefore without a battery). It can be manual winding or automatic:

    • Manual: winding is done daily using the watch crown. The crown must be turned 30 to 40 times clockwise. This tightens and then loosens the spring to engage the mechanism.
    • Automatic: winding is done through wrist movements that rotate the rotor (or oscillating metallic weight) and wind the mainspring in the barrel. Energy is transferred to the different components of the watch: balance wheel, escapement lever, escape wheel.

See our selection of automatic watches

    • quartz watch which operates thanks to electrical energy supplied by a battery. The quartz will undergo more than 32,000 vibrations per second. They are more accurate than mechanical watches because they only lose one second in six years.

See our selection of quartz watches

    • solar quartz watch which operates thanks to solar energy supplied by a rechargeable battery. A very small solar panel is found on the watch dial which converts light into electrical energy.

The composition of watches

Types of watch cases:

  • There are five main types of cases: round, square, rectangular, oval, cushion, and tonneau.

The crystals

  • acrylic glass (or plexiglass) is often used on entry-level watches.
  • mineral glass has been used in watchmaking for years. It is the quintessential glass.
  • sapphire glass is used on high-end watches. It is the most resistant, but the most expensive.

 

The straps

  • nubuck strap
  • leather strap
  • Milanese mesh strap
  • nylon strap (NATO)
  • silicone strap
  • metal strap
  • plastic strap
  • perforated strap
  • ceramic strap

See all our straps

The clasps

  • clip clasp
  • sliding clasp
  • single folding clasp (one articulation) or butterfly (two articulations)
  • folding clasp with safety
  • folding clasp
  • pin buckle clasp
  • hook-and-loop fastener

The display

  • analog composed of 3 hands (hours, minutes and seconds) or 2 hands (hours and minutes).
  • numeric composed mainly of LEDs and liquid crystals.
  • digital composed of LEDs and liquid crystals displaying the time only with numbers.
  • binary composed of LEDs displaying a binary code for reading the time without hands or numbers.

 

The dials

  • aperture dial composed of several openings to indicate the time.
  • time zone dial composed of several displays for different time zones.
  • dive dial composed of a dive time indicator.
  • calendar dial displays the day, date, and year.

 

The water resistance of watches:

Normal atmosphere (or ATM) is the unit of pressure measurement. It indicates the water resistance of the watch.

  • 3 ATM: withstands humidity and splashes but no immersion.
  • 5 ATM: withstands immersion during bathing and in swimming pools without diving.
  • 10 ATM: withstands immersion in shallow water. No problem for water sports like surfing, swimming...
  • 20 ATM: withstands immersion in deep water like scuba diving.

See our selection of dive watches