Read on to learn:

• The History of the Automatic Watch Movement
• How an Automatic Watch Movement Works
• How to Start a Stopped Automatic Watch Movement

The History of the Automatic Watch Movement

Abraham-Louis Perrelet, one of the greatest Swiss watchmakers, first developed a rotor system. He is considered the father of the automatic watch because his 1770 invention was well-suited to wristwatches. However, it didn’t become popular because at the time, pocket watches were most popular. Pocket watches don’t tend to move around much, so his design was ineffective. Ten years later, Perrelet sold some of his watches to a contemporary, Abraham-Louis Breguet, who improved the mechanism, but designed watches that did not work reliably.

Watchmakers continued to advance the concept, but automatic movements did not find an optimal use until wristwatches became popular after World War I. The wrist’s motion was the optimal way for the mechanism to keep watches wound.

Around this time, Rolex developed and patented the modern rotor system. Rolex’s technical chief, Emile Borer, was credited with its invention. It was used as the basis for Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual series, which made significant improvements on past automatics. These watches could run for up to 35 hours without being worn.

The 1970s showed a huge rise in the popularity of quartz watches, with electronic watches trumping mechanical ones. However, within 10 years, many people remembered the value of a mechanical watch. Since then, mechanical and automatic watches have rebounded in sales.

How an Automatic Watch Movement Works

Automatic watch movements are mechanical watch movements that self-wind. The main difference is that an automatic has a rotor, a small semicircular weight. The rotor spins freely around an axis whenever the wearer moves his or her arm. A racheted winding mechanism then transfers the spinning rotor’s energy to the mainspring, which powers the watch.

How to Start a Stopped Automatic Watch Movement

Those who do not wear their automatic watch daily have 2 options:

• Watch Winders
• Manual Winding

Watch winders store automatic watches and keep them wound by moving them in circular patterns that mimic human motion.

Watch winders, most useful for those who own multiple automatic watches, are particularly useful because:

• Watches with complex features, such as showing moon phases, would have to be reset each time the watch stopped.
• When kept wound and running, watches are more accurate because their lubricants don’t solidify over time.

Steps to start your automatic watch movement:

1. Hold the watch in your hand with the dial facing up.
2. Gently move your arm back and forth. This gently gets the rotor moving again; you should hear or feel the movement in motion.
3. After a few minutes, the watch will have enough energy stored to run for about 2 hours.
4. Put the watch on. The motion of your wrist and arm will continue to build the power reserve.
5. Reset the watch’s time – instructions vary from watch to watch.

Now that you understand the mechanisms behind automatic watches and what to do if you won’t be wearing yours frequently, you can start thinking about which of the dozens of beautiful styles to choose from. A good place to start is with these automatic watch bestsellers.









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