Watch

Background

The oldest means of determining time is by observing the location of the sun in the sky. When the sun is directly overhead, the time is roughly 12:00 noon. A slightly later development, and one less subject to an individual's judgment, is the use of a sundial. During the daylight hours, sunlight falls on a vertical pole placed at the center of a calibrated dial, thus casting a shadow on the dial and providing the reader with a relatively accurate time reading.

The invention of the mechanical clock in the fourteenth century was a major advancement—it provided a more concise and consistent method of measuring time. The mechanical clock includes a complicated series of wheels, gears, and levers powered by a falling weights and with a pendulum (or later a wound-up spring). These pieces together moved the hand or hands on a dial to show the time. The addition of chimes or gongs on the hour, half hour, and quarter hour followed soon afterward. By the eighteenth century, smaller clocks for the home were available, and, unlike their predecessors, were closed and sealed in a case.

The more exacting the workmanship of the moving parts, the more accurate the clock was. From invention through to the middle of the twentieth century, developments in clock-making focused on making the moving parts work as accurately as possible. Developments in metal technology and in miniaturization, the lubrication of small parts, and the use of first, natural sapphires (and then artificial sapphires) at the spots that received the most stress (the jeweled movement) all became integral components of horological science. Small pocket watches, perhaps two to three inches (five to seven centimeters) in diameter, were available by the end of the nineteenth century. Mechanical wristwatches were an everyday item in the United States by the 1960s. And yet, the central problem faced by watch and clockmakers remained the same: mechanical parts wear down, become inaccurate, and break.

In the years immediately following World War II, interest in atomic physics led to the development of the atomic clock. Radioactive materials emit particles (decayed) at a known, steady rate. The parts of a mechanical clock that ratcheted to keep the time could be replaced by a device that stimulated the watch movement each time a particle was emitted by the radioactive element. Atomic clocks, incidentally, are still made and sold, and they are found to be consistently accurate.

With the development of the microchip in the 1970s and 1980s, a new type of watch was invented. Wristwatches that mixed microchip technology with quartz crystals became the standard; there are few non-quartz wristwatches made today. The microchip is utilized to send signals to the dial of the watch on a continual basis. Because it is not a mechanical device with moving parts, it does not wear out.

The use of quartz in watches makes use of a long-known type of electricity known as piezoelectricity. Piezoelectricity is the current which flows from or through a piece of quartz when the quartz is put under electrical and/or mechanical pressure (piezo is from the Greek verb meaning "to press"). A quartz watch uses the electricity from a piece of quartz subjected to the electricity from a battery to send a regular, countable series of signals (oscillations) to one or more microchips. (Electrical wall clocks, in contrast, use the regularity of wall current to keep track of time.)

The most accurate quartz watches are those in which the time appears in an electronically controlled digital display, produced via a light-emitting diode (LED) or a liquid crystal display (LCD). It is possible, of course, to have the microprocessor send its signals to mechanical devices that make hands move on the watch face, creating an analog display. But because the hands are mechanically operated through a portion of the watch known as a gear train, analogue watches usually are not as accurate as digitals and are subject to wear. Both types of watches achieve tremendous accuracy, with digital watches commonly being accurate to within three seconds per month.

Raw Materials

Electronic watches make use of many of the most modern materials available, including plastics and alloy metals. Cases can be made of either plastic or metal; watches with metal cases often include a stainless steel backing. Microchips are typically made of silicon, while LEDs are usually made of gallium arsenide, gallium phosphide, or gallium arsenide phosphide. LCDs consist of liquid crystals sandwiched between glass pieces. Electrical contacts between parts are usually made of a small amount of gold (or are goldplated); gold is an almost ideal electrical conductor and can be used successfully in very small amounts.

The Manufacturing
Process

This section will focus on quartz digital watches with LED displays. Although the assembly of such watches must be performed carefully and methodically, the most essential aspects of the manufacturing process are in the manufacture of the components.

Quartz

• 1 The heart of a quartz watch is a tiny sliver of quartz. The synthetically produced quartz is cut by the manufacturer with a diamond saw and shipped to the watchmaker to use. The production of "grown" quartz is a critical step in the process.

  Quartz, in a natural form, is first loaded into a giant kettle or autoclave (the same device used by doctors and dentists to sterilize instruments). Hanging from the top of the autoclave are seeds or tiny particles of quartz with the desired crystalline structure. An alkaline material is pumped into the bottom of the autoclave, and the autoclave is heated to a temperature of roughly 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius). The natural quartz dissolves in the hot alkaline liquid, evaporates, and deposits itself on the seeds. As it deposits itself, it follows the pattern of the crystalline structure of the seeds. After about 75 days, the chamber can be opened, and the newly grown quartz crystals can be removed and cut into the correct proportions. Different angles and thicknesses in the cutting lead to predictable rates of oscillation. The desired rate of oscillation for quartz used in wristwatches is 100,000 megaHertz or 100,000 oscillations per second.

• 2 To work most effectively, the piece of quartz needs to be sealed in a vacuum chamber of one sort or another. Most commonly, the quartz is placed into a sort of capsule, with wires attached to both ends so that the capsule can be soldered or otherwise connected to a circuit board.

The microchip

• 3 The electronic leads generated by a battery through the quartz (producing oscillations) will go to a microchip that serves as a "frequency dividing circuit." Microchip manufacture, like the quartz, is also carried out by the supplier to the watch manufacturer. An extensive and complex process, making microchips involves chemical and/or x-ray etching of a microscopic electronic circuit onto a tiny piece of silicon dioxide.
• 4 The oscillation rate of perhaps 100,000 vibrations/second is reduced to 1 or 60 or some other more manageable number of oscillations. The new pattern of oscillation is then sent to another microchip that functions as a "counter-decoder-driver." This chip will actually count the oscillations that it receives. If there are sixty oscillations per second, the chip will change the reading on an LED every second. After 3,600 oscillations (60 x 60), the counter will instruct the LED to change the reading for minutes. And, after 60 x 60 x 60 oscillations (216,000), the counter will change the hour reading.

Assembly

• 5 The entire set of crystal and microchips is set onto a circuit board. The board incorporates a space to hold the battery that supplies electricity to the quartz crystal and supplies the power for the LED display. Generally, the space for the battery is on the outside of the surface facing the back of the case. The battery can be replaced by removing the back of the watch, shaking out the old one, and dropping in the new battery.
• 6 The mechanism used for setting the watch is then connected. This mechanism involves two pins that extend beyond the case of the watch. One pin lets the counter circuit know which reading to reset—seconds, minutes, or hours. The second pin is pushed a number of times to bring the display to the desired reading.
• 7 The entire circuit board, along with a battery, is then closed into a case, and a wrist strap is attached.

Additional Watch Features

Because the microchips in a quartz watch are capable of holding large quantities of information, it is possible, from an engineering standpoint, to add other functions to a watch without much difficulty. An additional push button on the case connected to the counter circuit can provide alarms, tide information, and more. The microchip can just as easily be programmed to set the watch forward or back a defined amount at the push of a button, so that an owner can determine the time in another time zone, or perhaps have two, three, or more time zone times displayed successively.

Quality Control

All components of electronic watches are manufactured under a strict system of quality control. Quartz crystals, for example, have their frequencies tested before being used in a watch. Microchips must be made in a "clean room" environment with specially filtered air, since even the tiniest dust particles can render a chip useless. Microchips are examined carefully and are also bench tested for accuracy before use.

After a watch is manufactured, it is again tested before being shipped to market. In addition to its time-keeping accuracy, it is also subjected to a drop-test in which it must continue to operate properly after being dropped and otherwise abused; a temperature test; and a water test. While a watchmaker may, with proper testing and proof, claim that a watch is "water resistant" at certain, known specifications, it is inaccurate to say a watch is "waterproof because without particular specification that designation is meaningless.

Large watch companies make all of their own components, ensuring that product quality standards are in place at the earliest point in the manufacturing process.

The Future

Because today's electronic watches are by design so accurate, accuracy is not the only goal for which a watch manufacturer aims. Future changes in product will take advantage of other technologies from other fields such as the addition of a calculator function to a watch, or even the addition of a radio-transmitter that can send out a traceable signal if the wearer is lost or in trouble.

Where To Learn More

Books

Billings, Charlene W. Microchip: Small Wonder. Dodd, Mead & Company, 1984.

Carpenter, Alice B. Questions and Answers in Quartz Watch Repairing. American Watchmakers Institute, 1989.

Ford, Roger, and Oliver Strimpel. Computers: An Introduction. Facts On File, 1985.

Periodicals

Becker, Dan. "Crystal Oscillators," Electronics Now. January, 1993, pp. 45-54.

Beller, Miles. "Consumer Corner: The Ultrawatches," Los Angeles. September, 1986, p. 14.

"A Good Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face," Changing Times. March, 1981, pp. 72-74.

Hathaway, Bruce. "Circuitry Wizards and New Agers Alike Can Get Good Vibes from Quartz," Smithsonian. November, 1988, p. 83.

"Kit Report: Clock Module," Radio-Electronics. November, 1987, pp. 122-123.

Schmidt, Leon W. "Build The Hyper Clock," Radio-Electronics. February, 1992, pp. 33-41.

Wassef, Ayyam. "Quartz Time," The Unesco Courier. April, 1991, pp. 33-36.

—Lawrence H. Berlow

watch / wäch/ • v. 1. [tr.] look at or observe attentively, typically over a period of time: Lucy watched him go | [intr.] as she watched, two women came into the garden | everyone stopped to watch what was going on. ∎  keep under careful or protective observation: a large set of steel doors, watched over by a single guard. ∎  secretly follow or spy on: he told me my telephones were tapped and I was being watched. ∎  follow closely or maintain an interest in: the girls watched the development of this relationship with incredulity. ∎  exercise care, caution, or restraint about: most women watch their diet during pregnancy | you should watch what you say! ∎  [intr.] (watch for) look out or be on the alert for: in spring and summer, watch for kingfishers watch out for broken glass. ∎  [intr.] [usu. in imper.] (watch out) be careful: credit-card fraud is on the increase, so watch out. ∎  (watch it/yourself) [usu. in imper.] inf. be careful (used as a warning or threat): if anyone finds out, you're dead meat; so watch it. 2. [intr.] archaic remain awake for the purpose of religious observance: she watched whole nights in the church. • n. 1. a small timepiece worn typically on a strap on one's wrist. 2. [usu. in sing.] an act or instance of carefully observing someone or something over a period of time: the security forces have been keeping a close watch on our activities. ∎  a period of vigil during which a person is stationed to look out for danger or trouble, typically during the night: Murray took the last watch before dawn. ∎  a fixed period of duty on a ship, usually lasting four hours. ∎  (also star·board or port watch) the officers and crew on duty during one such period. ∎ fig. the period someone spends in a particular role or job. ∎  (usu. the watch) hist. a watchman or group of watchmen who patrolled and guarded the streets of a town before the introduction of the police force. ∎  a body of soldiers making up a guard. PHRASES: be on the watch be carefully looking out for something, esp. a possible danger.keep watch stay on the lookout for danger or trouble.watch one's mouthsee mouth.the watches of the night poetic/lit. the hours of night, portrayed as a time when one cannot sleep.watch (one's) penniessee penny.watch one's step used as a warning to someone to walk or act carefully.watch this spacesee space.watch the time ensure that one is aware of the time in order to avoid being late.DERIVATIVES: watch·er n. [often in comb.] a bird-watcher.

watch small, portable timepiece usually designed to be worn on the person. Other kinds of timepieces are generally referred to as clocks . At one time it was generally believed that the first watches were made in Nuremburg, Germany, c.1500. However, there is now evidence that watches may have appeared at an earlier date in Italy. Early watches were ornate, very heavy, and made in a variety of shapes, e.g., pears, skulls, and crosses; the faces were protected by metal latticework. Watch parts were made by hand until c.1850, when machine methods were introduced by watch manufacturers in the United States. The introduction of machine-made parts not only cut manufacturing costs but increased precision and facilitated repairs. To insure the accuracy of a watch over a long period, bearings made of jewels (usually synthetic sapphires or rubies) are utilized at points subject to heavy wear. The mechanical watch contains a mainspring to drive the watch's mechanism. Part of the mechanism includes a hairspring and an oscillating balance wheel to control the rate at which the mechanism moves. The mainspring is wound by the wearer when he turns a knob outside the watch's casing. The automatic, or self-winding, watch has a mainspring that is wound by an oscillating weight, contained in the watch, that is set into motion by the movements of the wearer. The stopwatch can be stopped or started at will by pressing a tiny button on its edge and is used for timing such events as races. The electric watch, which was introduced by the Hamilton Watch Company in 1957, also uses a hairspring and a balance wheel to regulate the rate at which its mechanism moves, but it has no mainspring. In recent years sophisticated electronic watches have been developed. One type uses the vibrations of an electrically driven tuning fork to determine the rate at which a small motor drives the hands. In another type a crystal oscillator provides a signal that regulates this motion. In the most common type a quartz crystal oscillator is joined to digital counting and digital display circuits, thus eliminating all moving parts. See liquid crystal . Quartz watches with digital displays now account for nearly half of all watch production, since they are inexpensive to produce but are accurate to within several seconds per month. Electric and electronic watches are powered by tiny long-lasting batteries. See chronometer .

Bibliography: See C. Clutton and G. Daniels, Watches: A Complete History (3d ed. 1979); J. Zagoory and H. Chan, A Time to Watch: The Wrist Watch as Art (1985); E. Bruton, History of Clocks and Watches (1989).

watch.
1. The division of the 24 hours of the seaman's day into periods of duty of four hours. Thus there should be six four-hour watches in a day, but as this would entail ships' companies, organized into two or three watches, keeping the same watches every day, the evening watch from 1600 to 2000 is divided into two two-hour watches, known as the first and last dog watches. Starting at midnight, the names of the watches are: Middle Morning, Morning, Forenoon, Afternoon, First Dog, Last Dog, and First. Those on duty during a watch are known as watchkeepers.

See also ship's bell.
2. The basis of the internal organization of a ship's company whereby men can obtain regular periods of rest although the work of the ship must go on day and night. The crew is divided either into two watches (port and starboard) with each watch alternating their periods of duty, or into three watches (usually red, white, and blue), so that every man gets two periods of rest to every one period of duty. The periods of duty correspond to the watches into which the seaman's day is divided.

3. As a verb, a navigational buoy is said to be watching when it is floating in the correction position as indicated on a chart, and that its light, or other signal, if it has one, is in working order. Other buoys are watching when they are carrying out the purpose for which they are intended, e.g. an anchor buoy.

watch often in a context of careful observation; the watch a watchman or group of watchmen who patrolled and guarded the streets of a town before the introduction of the police force.
watch and ward the performance of the duty of a watchman or sentinel, especially as a feudal obligation. It has traditionally been suggested that watch referred to service by night and ward to service by day, but there is no evidence for this as an original meaning.
The Watch on the Rhine a German patriotic song, Die Wacht am Rhein (1840), written by Max Schneckenburger, which was set to music by Karl Wilhelm in 1854, and became a popular Prussian soldiers' song in the Franco-Prussian War.
watch the world go by spend time observing other people going about their business.

See also watch someone like a hawk, like watching paint dry, watch someone's smoke, watched, watches.

watch †be awake OE.; be on the alert or look-out XIII; keep in view XIV. OE. *wæċċan (in Nhb. wæċċa, WS. prp. wæċċende), doublet of wacian WAKE2.
So watch sb. A. †vigil; action of watching XIV; (naut.) period of watching XVI; one set to watch; B. †alarm-clock XV; small spring-driven time-piece for the pocket XVI. OE. wæċċe, f. stem of *wæċċan; in some later uses directly f. the vb. Hence watchful XVI. Comps. watchman, watchword XIV.

watch n.
1. an act or instance of carefully observing someone or something over a period of time: the security forces have been keeping a close watch on our activities.

2. a fixed period of duty on a ship, usually lasting four hours.

3. also starboard or port watch the officers and crew on duty during one such period.

4. a body of soldiers making up a guard.

5. (usually the watch) a watchman or group of watchmen who patrolled and guarded the streets of a town before the introduction of the police force.

Watch

a body of watchmen or guards, 1532; a flock of birds, 1847.

Example: watch of nightingales, 1452.

watch •blotch, botch, crotch, notch, outwatch, scotch, splotch, swatch, topnotch, watch •hopscotch • butterscotch •hotchpotch • wristwatch • skywatch •fobwatch • dogwatch • stopwatch