![]() ![]() However, this method proved to be inefficient as the pin, which blocked the rotor, was subject to excessive wear due to impacts with the mass itself. The first solution that was found was direct and simple: when the winding spring is completely wound, it operates a pin that physically blocks the movement of the oscillating mass. How to prevent excessive movement of the oscillating weight from overloading the spring, causing it to break? ![]() This innovation has reduced wear on internal parts, increasing the accuracy and life of the movements. The use of five strategically placed ball bearings made the movement very efficient and greatly reduced friction and drag on the oscillating weight that wound the mainspring. In 1948, Eterna advanced the technology of self-winding watches, with the development of the Eterna-matic automatic movement. It was Rolex who modified the rotor, in the shape of a half moon, by making it rotate continuously, after overcoming another obstacle: charging in both directions of rotation and no longer in a unidirectional way, as it originally happened. Initially, the oscillating masses had movement limitations also due to the presence of springs that had to reverse the direction of rotation or cushion the end of stroke, with consequent poor reserve of the charge. The first automatic movements used a rotating mass applied and superimposed on the mechanism of a manual mechanism, pivoted in a decentralized manner with respect to its axis, in such a way as to overcome the moment of inertia and oscillate with each movement of the wrist the rotating system was connected by means of small gears to the winding barrel and thus ensured the continuity of running of the watch. The mainspring is connected from one end to the shaft located in the center of the barrel, and from the other end (the outer one) to the wall of the barrel itself.īy its nature, once wound up, the spring tends to unwind, releasing energy: this is the “fuel” that allows the watch movement to work. The oscillating weight or rotor, initially in the shape of an anchor, is a circular sector suitably weighted in the outermost band, to improve its moment of inertia with each movement of the wrist it rotates around its axis and, through a series of additional gears, transmits its energy to the winding spring, wound on itself inside the barrel, a small flat metal cylinder. The functioning of the self-winding mechanical movement is due to the kinetic energy released by the movement of the arm such a “prodigy” is caused by the oscillating weight, a small rotor that oscillates with every movement of the wrist, effectively taking the place of the crown and spool group, a winding element present in manual winding mechanical movements. … But what makes an automatic watch work? We will have to wait for the introduction of the wristwatch, between the late 1800s and early 1900s, to see a more practical application of automatic winding. This extraordinary innovation, however, did not immediately achieve great success: the reason is to be found in the nature of the pocket watch, widespread at that time, to which Breguet applied his idea in fact, a watch carried in the pocket will hardly receive sufficient oscillations along the vertical axis, needed for fully winding the spring. In 1780, Breguet presented his invention, consisting of an oscillating weight capable of transforming the jolts of the wearer into energy, thanks to an arm connected to the mainspring.
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