Blued steel is a type of steel that has been oxidized by heating it in contact with air. This process gives it a dark blue color. The bluing process was used during the 19th century by manufacturers of pocket watches to give their products an aesthetic touch.

Bronze is a copper alloy with other metals, usually tin but often with silver and even gold. The proportions of these metals vary depending on the application for which it is to be used. The use of bronze dates back more than 10,000 years, when it was first used to make tools and weapons. Today, it is still used in many industries including watchmaking.

Butterfly clasps are particularly suitable for high-end watches. They are made from steel or titanium, which makes them very resistant. They are also very resistant to shocks, pressure, and temperature variations. Depending on the model, the clasp can have a different shape or size. They are also called folding clasps, folding buckles, or folding clasps.

Cathedral hands are one of the most ornate styles of watch hands. These have been traditionally used in military watches, but they have also been popular with luxury brands.

A depth meter is an instrument used by divers and submarines to know at any moment the depth at which they are.

The helium valve is a valve that allows the release of air inside a watch case. It is present on most diver watches and other diving watches. It is also used in some luxury watches to allow the escape of helium particles that may enter the case during the manufacturing process. This is why it is also called an “escape valve”.

Display of the hour through an aperture and whose change every 60 minutes happens suddenly with a jump.

The earth’s magnetic field originates by the movement of molten iron deep below our planet’s surface. It is strongest at the poles and weakest at the equator but still exists everywhere on Earth except perhaps within very dense metals such as gold or platinum. The magnetic field around a bar magnet is strongest at its poles and weakest at its equator. Magnetic fields can be measured using devices called gaussmeters or magnetometers, which measure the intensity of a magnetic field in units called gauss (G).

Oscillation is the key to keeping time, which is why it’s a fundamental part of the watchmaking industry. Oscillation in watches is most beneficial for the precision of timekeeping and the accuracy of those movements. The regular movement carried out by a body between two determined limits, as a consequence of a vibration.

The power reserve indicator is a complication that indicates the time remaining until the watch needs to be wound. It is represented by an auxiliary dial, which we find primarily on high-end automatic watches. The display of the power reserve is represented by an auxiliary dial, which we find primarily on high-end automatic watches.

The retrograde is a hand that can usually be found on small dials on watches. Their specificity is to come back to their point of departure once they have covered the entire scale.

The sapphire glass used in the watchmaking industry is a material adjusted to fit the bezel of a watch, a chronograph or a clock to protect the mechanism and the hands from shocks and dust. Sapphire glass is very much appreciated by watchmakers because it is very resistant and practically un-scratchable. In certain luxury watches, sapphire glass is also used to cover the case back, creating a kind of window open on the mechanism.

The screw down crown is located at the back of the case and can be unscrewed to adjust time or date. It provides a more secure locking mechanism than a traditional crown and is used in conjunction with special gaskets to seal the case against water pressure.

The superluminova pigments patented by a Swedish company, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2006. The pigment is made from a mixture of strontium aluminate and yttrium oxide. This mixture has the ability to emit light when it is charged by an electrical current. The superluminova treated dials will have a green glow in the dark.

A sword hand is a hand that is inspired by two-edged swords.

A very light metal, titanium is also very strong and magnetic.

Complications are mechanisms that are added to the primary movement of a watch to indicate more information, in addition to hours and minutes. Such watches are referred to as “complicated watches” or “watches with complications”. A watch can have one or more complications.

A mechanical watch is powered by a spiral spring, which accumulates elastic energy, and releases it gradually and constantly, operating the hands and giving back the measure of time. To keep the watch working, the mainspring must always be wound. It can be wound manually, in which case it is a manual wound movement, or through a system that employs moving the watch while it is being worn, in which case we are referring to a self-winding movement or automatic.