@@islandwatch Hey Mark...is a basic 7 jewel skeleton watch with no day/date feature or anything fancy dependable enough to keep accurate time in your opinion?The watch is a brand name called "Gute".
This mechanical stuff is really reeling me in. I wanted to work with cars but I’ve always loved and pursued art that was expressed at tiny scale. I have detailed drawings only 1cm at farthest points, in 8th grade I used needle tip tweezers to make a fully functional cootie catcher that was only 5x5mm. I’ve always loved precision in small scale stuff
Well done explanation about jeweling, including a basic intro on shock protection . . . the bane of pocket watches from their inception into the early 20th century . . . suffering from broken balance staffs if the watch was dropped or suffered a hard knock.
When it's nearly full wound it will stop rotating under its own weight, but to actually wind them up efficiently you'll need to rotate the whole watch on the rotors rotational axis like you see it turning around in, about 50'ish times in both directions each so as to give it even wear. And until the grease dries out too much and the movement needs a COA what Benjamin Castro said is correctamundo!
Ruby and sapphire are two chemical variations of a mineral called corundum. Corundum is the 2nd hardest mineral after diamond. Synthetic corundum is used for watch jewels, and it is also used in carborundum sand paper and grinding wheels. Because it is so hard and resistant to wear, and costs less than diamonds (even synthetic), it is perfect for watch "bearings". Hope this helps! 👍
You put up this video about 3 years ago and I just learned something new today about Jewels in watches after about 20 years owning an Automatic Watch.....LOL...
I always wondered how jewels dealt with the end play. I now just saw in your video a shouldered axle which would also rest on the jewel. How simple, and simple of me to not have thought of it. Thank you for solving one of those little mysteries of life.
Thank you SO MUCH for this awesome video, Mark! Clears up a lot of confusion for me. I've been wondering for so long what the jewel count meant. This channel is great, keep it up!
I've learned a lot just with this video. Thank you so much Mark. Beside the technical reason, I guess watch makers also use jewels as a decoration for their movements. 😊
Funny.....jewels are made of rubys or sapphires.....because diamonds are too exensive. As a mechanical engineer myself ( as is Marc's background)....I find some irony in all this. Where a diamond may elevate the excellence of the core functioning of a watch.....it is not used due to expense. Yet there are diamond studded watches that satisfy an artful or aesthetic desire.....here they are not too expensuve and someone may pay $XX,000 for such a watch. Incredible.
More than that Marc.....my point was that the market says we won't pay for diamonds in a watch where it improves function, but we will buy watches that are diamond-studded "for looks".
I also had this thought, however after revisiting this idea, perhaps it is the ratio of wear between the metal components & jewel & maybe also colour I.e. Making them visible whereas diamond maybe very hard to see?...
@@butcherbakercandlestickmak2062 Bingo... The real reason that diamonds aren't used is because diamonds as jewels are so hard that they actually wear the pivots of gears down faster. They are however, were used as cap jewels in high end pocket watches (Waltham riverside maximus, Vanguard, Elgin Vertias).
very very good video ... very informative . I acutely put this question on quite a few watch forums not quite getting a proper answers you have answered my question in full thank you .
Awesome Video, just bought a vintage Seiko Sportsmatic 5 (1964) of 21 jewels and I had no idea what those jewels were for. thanks a lot for the information ! Suscribed !
Mark, I own several 1960s and 70s low dollar pieces. The thing they have in common is they all only have 7 jewels. Until this video, I thought it was a reflection of how "cheaply" built they are. You are telling me that it more reflects the amount of complications? I hope I understood you correctly. Thanks for taking your time to make us informed hobbyists.
More than likely, you have a 7 jewel movement that contains 7 jewels on the balance/escape wheel. So the heart of the watch, where friction will stop it from working, it is jeweled. The wheels though, that tell the time and gear it down, probably aren't. You likely have a 7 jewel lever escapement movement. Which is pretty standard. Just missing jeweled wheels in the rest of the time telling train.
recently trying to learn more how watches are made and found your channel. I can't afford mechanical watches (or maybe looking in the wrong places :D ) but those are my favorites and I try to learn as much as I can related to them. Your videos are part of my learning! Thanks a lot.
Just getting into this watch care and watch purchasing....came across your videos....very informative...very interesting...love the detail of your video explanation...thanks for taking the TIME.....
Hi Marc...thanks SO much for sharing your love of watches with us... I bought a Seiko SNZG15J1 5 watch with a J code ( JAPAN) and investigated if it's a good or not good watch and found your reviews and lessons . I wondered what jewels were and now I know... just tonight I have watched about 10 of your videos .... 2 weeks ago I couldn't care less about watches ... but for some reason I am now intrigued. It's easy to see how people can love the subject . So, thanks again...you're a natural teacher ...I'm very grateful for you time (pun intended ) .
Thank you for your expertise and demonstrations. Just getting into watches and I am slowly going down the rabbit hole. it's okay though, because of your channel I am learning about the beautiful functional art of watchmaking . Thank you.
The increased Jewel counts aren't a recent thing. In the 1890s, American watch companies engaged in a "jewel war", increasing jewel counts rapidly and advertising the increased jewel counts heavily. Prior to 1890, a 15j movement was "fully jeweled" Hampden watch co. out of ohio started increasing the movements to 17, then 19, then 21, then 23 by 1900. All the other companies followed suit... Waltham, Elgin, Rockford, Illinois, etc all had 23 jewel movements, and Illinois and Rockford even had 24 jewel, 25 jewel and higher. I would argue that the extra cap jewels do keep the pivots cleaner longer, and possibly help with endshake, but they make it much harder to service. Good video!
Tq very much for sharing this video and great explanation on what the jewels are for. You really shed lights to my questions....and i come to learned from you about mechanical watches jewels. A big thank you again.
This is an amazing video. I've learned so much from your last 2 videos and this one. Thank you so much for making this series of watch and learn videos.
Who knew Jewels actually meant jewels ... Seriously, I'm a complete noob to all of this, and at the beginning of this video, I was like: "Jewels 'make your watch run' ... WTF????????!!!!!" ... XD You explained/demo'd this really well, Mark - thank you very much. :D
Thanks! Another informative video. What about a trouble shooting video on common mechanical watch issues, their tell tale signs, what's the cause internally, and how to address them?
I just found your channel and I love it! Huge analog wrist watch enthusiast here and this video has been o helpful. The information overload was what pushed me to subscribe to your channel xD
Hi Mark, just came across your channel and liked and subscribed. 👍. Excellent demo, great micro shots. It always amazes me how a scrap watch still wants to work!!!. Sometimes I will pop that cap jewel out from the balance and clean and oil it, it can improve the performance of a watch. Like you I have shaky hands and as you know jewels will fly!!!😭. So super careful needed. Thanks again. Adrian 🍀.
Glad you explained how anti-shock works, because I had no idea before viewing this video. Can you do an upcoming Watch and Learn video on anti-magnetic watches? I'm curious how soft-iron components and Faraday cages work. Also, how one knows that their watch has become magnetized and how to de-gauss it. Thanks!
Just found out about this series and I love it! Thank you very much for all the effort you put into this, as a new watch enthusiast I really learn a lot. You are certainly helping keep this industry and passion alive. By the way, I'm currently binge watching it completely like I do television series, which should give you an idea of how good your videos actually are! Keep it up man, you're amazing!
Excellent presentation Mark! Creative and very relevant content with outstanding delivery skills. I like and value my watch a lot more since I subscribed to your channel.
Good video, I got confused with jewels and Joules (energy), thinking that the "jewels" in my Seiko 5 automatic had something to do with the amount of energy (Joules) that the watch uses to run / wind itself - thinking of Joules (energy), it would be interesting to know how much energy a typical mechanical watch needs / uses.
thanks mark. trying not to miss any episode of watch n learn. i have a request. can u please make an episode on basic idea of how to regulate a mechanical or automatic watch. i have seen some videos on this topic, still would like u to make a video on this topic.
I think the main takeaway is the functioning jewel count based on complexity. As you said with date the functioning jewel count goes up. It does not necessarily mean it keeps better time, but it could say something about the complexity.
