Higher grade watches use a jeweled movements, which means that jewels were actually been used in the movement. These jewels are functional - they are used as the bearings for the wheel trains and in high wearing parts such as the escape lever and impulse jewel.
Most manual wind watches will have a standard complement of 17 jewels.
Automatic winding movements will add about 4-8 jewels to help most efficiently transfer the relatively small rotor forces into winding the mainspring. An automatic Winding watch will normally have 25 jewels.
Special Movements with additional functions such as chronographs and calendars, can up the total number of jewels tremendously. For example, the IWC Il Destriero Scafusia (claimed to be among the most complicated wristwatches) has a total of 76 jewels to accommodate the time, perpetual calendar, rattrapante chronograph, repeater, and tourbillon functions - and this is a manual wind watch.
Why do they use synthetic ruby?
Ruby is significantly better than steel in handling the forces involved, never wear out easily and providing a super low friction surface suitable for both high-load as well as high-speed motion. With modern production methods, they are cheap USD$0.1
Ruby is technically known corundum, and is a crystallized form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3). In pure form, corundum is white in colour; trace impurities are added to change the colour - to red in the case of rubies. It should also be noted that any other colour of corundum (including clear) is known as sapphire. Ruby is used because it is an extremely hard and provides a smooth surface for the wheel pivots (and other steel components) to operate on. In a mechanical watch, there is a constant force applied to the pivot of every wheel in the wheel train, which is applied by the wound-up mainspring… Without any jewels, the steel wheel pivots would very quickly wear away the bridge and plate material until the wheels came out of alignment, and the movement would crash to a halt. In the inexpensive watch of yesteryear, the pivot holes may have been provided with hardened metal bushings.
Are more jewels better?
Not necessarily. As noted above, a typical hand-wind movement today will have only 17 jewels as a full complement. Some really high-grade or ultra-thin movements will add a few extra jewels to further protect against any wear, but even these top out at 21-23 jewels.
Only those pieces of the movement which are between the mainspring and the escape wheel are candidates for jewelling, as these are the movement parts that experience the higher forces or relatively higher speeds of the mainspring or escapement. Other components, such as the motion works (i.e. hour and minute wheels), calendar mechanisms, and winding train are not under this constant stress, and thus arguably do not need jewels.
One will occasionally encounter a quartz movement with 4-6 jewels in it.
As a historical note, there was a "jewel craze" about 50 years ago, where manufacturers, under the belief that the public thought more was always better, came up with 75 or even 100 jewel movements. They are decorative Jewels.
HK Snob
There was AMEX card Ad in 1986 in HK TV: “Don’t leave home without it?
An "unadjusted" movement is a movement where no attempt has been made to ensure that the daily error rate in several orientations (positions) have been minimized or optimized across the positions. An "adjusted" movement, therefore, has had some extra care in ensuring that the variance in accuracy between several orientations is minimized.
Higher grade watches use a jeweled movements, which means that jewels were actually been used in the movement. These jewels are functional - they are used as the bearings for the wheel trains and in high wearing parts such as the escape lever and impulse jewel.
This is the proper way to change battery of the Citizen Minutes Repeater (limited to 1000 pieces).
Sometimes, the pre-owned Rolex can be more expensive than the new Rolex,, why as because that is discontinued, or those were limited production.
Well, if you find a beautifully Rolex which looks like new… whereas there is another one may have lines of scratches and traces of usage… everyone will pick up the new one first, but I do hesitate… all we have to check the case has been polished after leaving Rolex Factory.
A Vintage OMEGA Seamaster De Ville. 14KT Yellow-Gold, automatic with Date indicator! I believe it was made in the 60's whereas Omega watch making manufacturing technology was at the summit of the whole 20 Century. Who will resist this Art Deco Watch Dial Design? The case is very Excellent in condition and likley not to be opened not more than 2 times. One minor flaw is that Watch was a gift from wife to the husband.... Or a rich lady given to the beloved man... This Gold Omega may be sold in HK at about HKD$2,800 in the 60s' that is an equivalent to some Clerks 9 months salary! Now it is about HKD$7,200. Case, Crystal, Dial, crown and Movement is Original. Can you buy an Automatic Gold Watch of the current production with this amount of money?
ROLEX Ref.1803 18K Yellow Solid-Gold. "Fat case" 3 Hall-Mark. Original Dial with Diamonds-set numbers. Looking from the end of the four slugs on the picture to reveal the rectangular shape of the End Surface thus to tell the case has not been Polished, if polished the end surface area will be reduced... this is one way to tell the case has been polished or not. Below HKD$40K!
A Fine and Very Rare ROLEX Ref.1803 18K White-Gold case & Bracelet. Brown colour Dial with Diamonds-set numbers. Ref. 1803 is one of my Favourite Rolex Date Day as they have the classical history. The Movement is a bit thinner than the latest revision. At that time 1956-1976, a Rolex Day Date is as expensive as a compact Japanese Car. Not easy for most of grass root people like my father to afford to buy. So the number of unit with Excellent condition left is little, with special Colour dial is even less. This watch is estimated as HKD$120,000. As simply, the colour is beautiful and the unit is un-polished at all.
A Singaporean Friend asked me where he should go for buying his Rolex in HK,,
We have heard that some of the branches of Oriental Watch Company had started having supply of this watch already. It is about HKD$68,000.00 last week, then came down to HKD$63,000 beginning of this week. of course no discount at this moment. The Standard price should go to HKD$61,000.00 I guess!. Well, I have reserved one here and another there, see when I can get one at a standard price... I expect no discount already...
This is a special dial with Brown Stone Like Pattern, not too sure if that is a cut out from a fossil stone!? The Colour is just very beautiful.
