Affordable Men’s Automatic Watches by ORIENT Japan

Watch Balance: It’s All About the Movement

A watch balance is a critical watch part that helps with a watch’s movement. In fact, a balance is a moving part (usually circular in appearance) that oscillates about its axis of rotation. The hairspring (also known as a balance spring) coupled to it makes it swing back and forth, dividing time into exactly equal parts.

Interested in a watch balance? This article will discuss:

• Balance & Balance Spring
• Its Role in the Movement
• The Balance & Movement of an Orient Watch

Watch Balance & Balance Spring

The balance is essentially a timekeeping device used in automatic watches as well as some clocks. The combination of the mass of the balance and the elasticity of the spring keep the time between each oscillation (also known as a ‘tick’) very constant.

The balance wheel first appeared in mechanical clocks in Europe around the 14th century. The balance was an improvement from the foliot, which was an earlier inertial timekeeper made up of a straight bar pivoted in the center with weights on the ends that oscillated back and forth. From its invention in the 14th century up until about the 1970s (when quartz movements were first made available), almost every portable timekeeping device used some form of a balance wheel.

Early balance wheels were rudimentary timekeepers because they lacked the crucial balance spring that is found in automatic watches today. In 1658, Robert Hooke first applied a metal spring to the balance. Later, in 1674, Jean de Hautefeuille and Christian Huygens improved it to its spiral form that is still used in watches today.

The balance spring was a necessary innovation for wristwatches because it greatly increased their accuracy. In fact, the balance spring increased accuracy from several hours per day to about 10 minutes per day. This astounding difference made watches more than just a cool hobby or item to collect, but an actual, useful item for timekeeping purposes.

Watch Balance: Its Role in the Movement

A watch’s movement would not be possible without all of the important and intricate parts, the balance being one of these. The movement of a watch includes its winding mechanism, mainspring, gear train, balance, balance-spring, and escapement. Simply put, the movement is anything that is not the face, hands, or back.

A watch balance (as well as the other critical watch components) is created by watchmaking engineers and micromachinists. They use delicate digital instruments to create the model for each movement. Each movement is made up of hundreds of minute parts shaped from metal or lasers.

Today, watches are occasionally crafted with a transparent sapphire crystal case back in order to highlight the defined craftsmanship that goes into its very creation. Perhaps the most astonishing thing about fine watchmaking today is that the same level of detailing and finish is given to a watch’s movement whether it is visible to the wearer or not.

The Balance & Movement of an Orient Watch

Orient has always engineered and produced its own movements. The OrientStar Retro Future line is perhaps one of Orient’s greatest accomplishment in both conceptual design and manufacturing.

One example of a movement utilized in some of the watch’s from Orient is a manufacture caliber ER (487) that operates at 21,600 BPH. The two letters found on the case and dial of each Orient watch designate the movement grade.

Listed below are several grades:

• FC, EG : +10~-5 sec / day
• FA, EX, FE, ER, EM : +25~-15 sec / day
• PF, NR : +40~-30 sec / day

Balances and balance springs are crucial in all watches, and Orient watches are no exception. Each part of an Orient watch is considered carefully and made with outstanding precision and quality. Some Orient watches utilize the Diashock shock absorber system on the balance. However, no matter how the balance appears or what other features are used in conjunction with the balance, it remains a necessary part for every mechanical watch.