Watchmaker
A craftsperson who designs, assembles, repairs, or services watches and their mechanisms, often working with small precision components.
Horology: The study and practice of measuring time and making timekeeping devices. Watchmaking is horology’s hands-on craft of constructing and maintaining watches.
Escapement: A mechanism that releases stored energy in controlled increments and helps regulate a mechanical timekeeper. A watchmaker adjusts its interaction with the oscillator to keep the movement running steadily.
Watch repair: The diagnosis and correction of faults in a watch or its components. Repair applies watchmaking skills to restore function after damage or failure.
Watch factory: An industrial facility that manufactures watches or watch components, often through specialized production stages. Factory production divides work among teams, unlike the broad bench responsibilities of many watchmakers.
Watch movement: The mechanism inside a watch that measures and displays elapsed time. Its gears, springs, and escapement form the mechanism a watchmaker assembles and services.
Balance wheel: A wheel that oscillates with a hairspring to regulate many mechanical watches. Its motion is checked and regulated during assembly and service.
Watch servicing: Routine maintenance of a watch, including inspection, cleaning, lubrication, and adjustment. Servicing prevents wear and addresses performance problems before major failure.
Quartz watch: A watch regulated by a quartz crystal oscillator and powered by a battery or another electrical source. Its electronic circuit and motor require different diagnostic skills from a purely mechanical movement.
Watchmaking tools: Specialized instruments used to assemble, adjust, and repair watches. Tweezers, screwdrivers, and movement holders let watchmakers handle tiny components precisely.
Hairspring: A fine spring that works with a balance wheel to set a mechanical watch’s oscillation. Small changes to its shape or position can alter a watch’s rate.