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How to Buy a Watch
Hairspring or balance spring�a very delicate spiral spring attached to arbor of balance to control oscillations.

Balance staff�the axle on which the balance pivots.

Jewels�used as bearings to reduce wear at points of greatest friction in movements. Usually 17-21 jewels in mechanical watches. By reducing friction they add years to a watch�s life. Once they were natural rubies, but now are synthetic. Their design shape helps to hold oil at the specific point of lubrication.

Quartz crystal�an oscillator made of a tiny piece of synthetic quartz. Its standard frequency is 32,768 times per second.

Hertz�Hz�the number of oscillations per second of electronic watches.

Illustration from the guide on buying a fine watch


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