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Fly-back Hand	In a chronograph with analogue display, an additional centre second hand which can remain superposed on the other one as it moves, can be stopped independently and then made to "fly back" so as to catch up with the other hand, can be stopped and reset to zero together with the other hand. In chronographs with numerical display, a "function" having the same effect.

Glass, Crystal	Thin plate of glass or transparent synthetic material, for protecting the dials of watches, clocks, etc.

Hand	Indicator, usually made of a thin, light piece of metal, very variable in form, which moves over a graduated dial or scale. Watches usually have three hands showing the hours, minutes and seconds.

Jewel	Bearing, endstone or pallet used for reducing friction. Generally made of synthetic material, except for the precious or semi-precious stones (ruby, sapphire, garnet) which are sometimes used in "de luxe" watches.

Main Plate	Base plate on which all the other parts of a watch movement are mounted (part of the "ébauche").

Mainspring	The driving spring of a watch or clock, contained in the barrel.

Manufacture d'horlogerie	French term for a watch factory which itself produces the components (particularly the "ébauches") needed for the manufacture of its products (watches, alarm and desk clocks, etc).

Marine Chronometer	Highly accurate mechanical or electronic timekeeper enclosed in a box (hence the term box chronometer), used for determining the longitude on board ship.Marine chronometers with mechanical movements are mounted on gimbals so that they remain in the horizontal position is necessary for their precision.

Middle (of watch-case)	Middle part of the case, in which the movement is fitted.

Movement	Assembly consisting of the principal elements and mechanisms of a watch or clock: the winding and setting mechanism, the mainspring, the train, the escapement, the regulating elements. "Anatomically", the movement consists of the "ébauche", the regulating elements and the other components.

Regulating Elements	Set of parts comprising the regulating system (sprung balance) and the escapement (escape wheel, lever and roller).

Repeater	Watch that strikes the hours by means of a mechanism operated by a push-piece or bolt. There are various types of repeaters. Quarter-repeater: sounding a low note for the hours and a "ding-dong" for each of the quarters; Five-minute repeater: striking the hours, quarters and five-minute periods after the quarter; Minute-repeater: striking the hours, quarters and minutes; Grande sonnerie (grand strike): striking the hours and quarters automatically and repeating when a push-piece is pressed down; Chiming repeater: in which the quarters are struck on three or four gongs of different pitch.

Rotor	Half-disc of heavy metal, which is made to rotate inside the case of an automatic watch by the energy produced by the movements of the wearer's arm. Its weight tends always to bring it back to the vertical position. Demultiplied by a specially designed device, its rotations continually wind the mainspring of the watch.

Second	Basic unit of time (abbr. s or sec), corresponding to one 86,000th part of the mean solar day, i.e. the duration of rotation, about its own axis, of an ideal Earth describing a circle round the Sun in one year, at a constant speed and in the plane of the Equator. After the Second World War, atomic clocks became so accurate that they could demonstrate the infinitesimal irregularities (a few hundreths of a second per year) of the Earth's rotation about its own axis. It was then decided to redefine the reference standard; this was done by the 13th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1967, in the following terms: "The second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the fundamental state of the atom of caesium 133". Conventionally, the second is subdivised into tenths, hundredths, thousendths (milliseconds), millionths (microseconds), thousand-millionths (nanoseconds) and billionths (picoseconds).

Setting (to time)	Process of bringing the hands of a watch or clock to the position corresponding to the exact time.

Shock Absorber	Resilient bearing which, in a watch, is intended to take up the shocks received by the balance staff and thus protects its delicate pivots from damage.

Skeleton	Skeleton watch: watch in which the case and various parts of the movement are of transparent material, enabling the main parts of the watch to be seen.

Stopwatch	Timekeeping instrument which can be used for measuring intervals of time. When this is done, the time display is partly or wholly lost until the hands are reset.

Striking-work, Striking- Mechanism	In a watch or clock, automatic or hand-operated mechanism that strikes the hours, etc, or rings an alarm-bell (v. repeater).

Tachometer	Instrument for measuring speed. In watchmaking, a timer or chronograph with a graduated dial on which speed can be read off in kilometres per hour or some other unit (see timer).

Terminage	French term denoting the process of assembling watch parts for the account of a producer.

Termineur	French term for an independent watchmaker (or workshop) engaged in assembling watches, either wholly or in part, for the account of an "établisseur" or a "manufacture", who supply the necessary loose parts.

Timer	Instrument used for registering intervals of time (durations, brief times), without any indication of the time of day.

Tourbillon	Device invented to eliminate errors of rate in the vertical positions. It consists of a mobile carriage or cage carrying all the parts of the escapement, with the balance in the centre. The escape pinion turns about the fixed fourth wheel. The case makes one revolution per minute, thus annulling errors of rate in the vertical positions.

Vibration	Movement of a pendulum or other oscillating element, limited by two consecutive extreme positions. The balance of a mechanical watch generally makes five or six vibrations per second (i.e. 18,000 or 21,600 per hour), but that of a high-frequency watch may make seven, eight or even ten vibrations per second (i.e. 25,200, 28,800 or 36, 000 per hour).

Watch Material	Loose parts, components either for producing watches or for repairing them. In the latter case, they are often called "spare parts" or "repair material".

Water Resistant	Made to prevent water from entering. Water-resistant case, watch-case whose joints are made to prevent moisture from entering.

Winding	Operation consisting in tightening the mainspring of a watch. This can be done by hand (by means of the crown) or automatically (by means of a rotor, which is caused to swing by the movements of the wearer's arm).

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