Background reading on watches and how they work.
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Movements · mainspring to balance wheel
A spring wants to unwind all at once. Everything else inside the case exists to stop it. A deep dive, with the machinery animated.
Movements · two ways to count a second, and a third
Every watch is an oscillator plus a counter. What divides the field is what oscillates — and one strange movement that refuses to pick a side.
Complications · the 60-minute countdown
The ring around a diver's dial is the oldest safety device in watchmaking, and it only turns one way. Here is why, and how to use it above water.