How Do Automatic Watches Work?

Next to quartz style watches, automatic watches are arguably one of the most popular watches currently on the market. So much so that you’ll find automatic watch movements in some of the world’s most iconic and stylish watch brands including Seiko, Citizen, Bulova and Fossil. But what exactly are automatic watches and how do automatic watches work? Read on to find all that out and more.

With origins that date back to the late 1700s when pocket watches were the timekeeping instrument of choice, automatic watches or self-winding watches as they are often known are characterised by their accuracy, their smooth movement and stellar aesthetics. The heritage of automatic watches is unparalleled and is one that continues to play a major role in the watchmaking world to this day. 

Overview:

• What Are Automatic Watches?
• How Do Automatic Watches Work?
• Our Favourite Automatic Watches

What Are Automatic Watches?

Invented by Swiss watchmaker and father of precision watchmaking Abraham-Louis Perrelet, an automatic watch is a timepiece that contains a movement that is powered automatically or by itself. Unlike manual watches that have to be wound by the wearer on a regular basis, automatic watches are very much like a piano or a wind turbine in the sense that they are powered by kinetic energy. The automatic movement, therefore, makes the act of hand-winding a watch to keep it moving pretty much redundant and therefore the process of timekeeping a lot more automated. However, the beauty of automatic watches is that they do have the ability to be wound, albeit not essential, the presence of hand-wound mechanics allow for the wearer to get the watch moving in the event that the timepiece hasn’t been worn over a substantial period of time. 

Automatic watches not only made the process of timekeeping much more automated at a time when most things required a manual process to operate, but they also helped make timekeeping more efficient. Despite this, however, timepieces with an automatic movement were not all that popular upon their release in the late 18th-century. In fact, many formed the opinion that automatic watches were not all that reliable.

It wouldn’t be until after World War 1 in the early 1910s that watch wearers began to embrace timepieces with an automatic movement and this was largely due to advances in technology that had taken place at the time. When automatic movements did finally have their moment, they were often in the form of pocket watches that were worn when waistcoats and long gowns were the fashion of the time. There were however, there were an increasing amount of women starting to wear wristwatches during this era to compensate for the fact that their outfits didn’t have any pockets. Today, automatic movements are found in everything from timeless analogue watches to hardwearing diving watches. You will rarely find automatic movements in chronograph watches as these timepieces generally have a movement that is unique to chronographs and chronometers. 

So, How Do Automatic Watches Work?

An automatic watch is essentially powered by the movement of the wearer’s wrist and hands. This is because as humans we naturally use our hands quite a bit throughout the day, so much in fact that our natural movement can have the ability to generate kinetic energy in devices that rely on this power source to operate, including automatic watches. In order to generate this energy, all automatic watches will have what is known as a rotor or metal plate embedded inside of it. Generally produced from heavy metals such as gold, platinum or tungsten so that it is powerful enough to wind the movement, the rotor typically oscillates freely within the watch. Each time the wearer moves the arm, hand or wrist containing the watch the rotor spins. The spinning rotor then transfers the kinetic energy into the device that helps keep the watch moving known as a mainspring. Is in the mainspring where all the energy is stored, ensuring that your watch keeps moving long after you have stopped moving such as when you are sleeping or when you have taken the watch off for whatever reason. 

As reiterated above, watches with an automatic movement do not necessarily have to be wound-unless of course you don’t wear them much. There may come a time when you have to wind it for its upkeep. However, generally just wearing your watch and keeping it away from hazardous elements is the best form of care that you can give it. Occasionally, people will get watches with an automatic movement mixed up with those that contain a kinetic movement, but they are not the same thing. While watches with automatic movements use the rotor and mainspring to store energy in the watch, timepieces with a kinetic movement store energy into a specially designed watch battery. And while both types of watches do rely on the wearer’s movement to operate, kinetic movement watches transfer energy into a form of electrical power. Watches with a kinetic movement aren’t all that common, however, you will occasionally find them in some of the more premium Seiko watches such as the Japanese brand’s Seiko Premier line.

Our Favourite Automatic Watches

Now that you’ve learnt the answers to all the important questions including how do automatic watches work. Allow us to get you acquainted with some of our favourite women’s and men’s watches in the Watch Depot range with an automatic movement.