Expertise

The anchor is a central component in the escapement mechanism. It owes its name to its distinctive shape, which resembles a ship's anchor. In a watch, it forms a link between the 'movement' and the 'balance'. In most cases it is made of brass or steel. The anchor moves in a rocking motion that is limited at either side by spikes, known as 'pallets'. These pallets catch in the arms of an escapement-wheel. Each rocking motion lifts one of the pallets out of the way of an arm of the escapement-wheel allowing the wheel to turn a few degrees until another wheel-arm gets caught on the second pallet. Through this rocking motion, the balance-wheel at the top of the anchor lever receives impulses, which set it spinning back and forth('oscillations' or 'beats').

A wristwatch whose mainspring is automatically wound by the movements of the wearer's arm. This is achieved by an weighted a rotor. Due to gravity and inertia, whenever the wearer moves his arm, the weight will spin around. This turning movement tightens the mainspring.

An 'autoquartz' watch is a self-powered quartz watch, i.e., it has no battery. The movement of the wearer's arm loads a capacitor, which stores the energy to drive the watch. This relatively new technology is an alternative for people who wish to enjoy the benefits of a quartz watch, but do not want to rely on batteries.