Movement, calibre and decoration
- Movement
- The mechanism that powers the hands and any calendar or additional functions. Its identity is separate from the model name on the dial.
- Calibre
- A maker's designation for a movement design or version. In a replica description, establish whether it names the actual mechanism or the genuine reference design.
- Base movement
- The underlying mechanism when other parts or modules have been added. A decorative bridge or rotor inscription does not by itself change the identity of that base.
- Automatic and manual winding
- An automatic movement winds through its rotor; whether it also supports hand winding depends on the calibre. A manual movement relies on hand winding. Control instructions must match the actual calibre.
Read the movement-label guide before treating a stamped number as identification.
Frequency and power reserve
- Beats per hour, BPH or VPH
- Common listing shorthand for balance beats or vibrations per hour. A frequency of 28,800 beats per hour is eight beats per second, corresponding to four full oscillations per second, or 4 Hz. Frequency does not establish origin or accuracy.
- Power reserve
- The time a fully wound mechanical movement can continue running without further winding. A published reference figure and a recorded result for an individual watch are different information.
- Rate
- How much a watch gains or loses over a stated time interval. A useful result includes the interval and conditions; one brief observation is not a long-term accuracy record.
The ETA reference table keeps movement versions and specification revisions separate.
Calendar and time-zone functions
- Quickset date
- A control that adjusts the calendar without repeatedly advancing the main time display. The allowed operating times depend on the movement's instructions.
- Ghost date position
- An extra calendar-setting crown position on a watch without a visible date. It can indicate a calendar-equipped base under a time-only dial; its presence alone does not prove a fault.
- GMT or 24-hour hand
- A hand that makes one circuit in 24 hours and is read against an appropriate scale. Its adjustment method must be demonstrated rather than inferred from the dial.
- Jumping local hour
- An hour hand that moves in one-hour steps independently of the minute hand in the relevant setting mode. This is useful for changing local time while retaining a home-time reference.
Use the GMT function comparison for a worked time-zone example.
Chronograph, counters and tachymeter
- Chronograph
- A start, stop and reset timing function. A watch with three subdials does not necessarily provide three elapsed-time counters.
- Running seconds
- The ordinary seconds display, which can continue while a separate central chronograph hand is stopped.
- Elapsed-time counter
- A register that totals chronograph minutes or hours. A short video may demonstrate the seconds hand without establishing how an hour counter behaves.
- Tachymeter
- A scale used to convert a measured elapsed time over one unit of distance into a rate per hour. It does not measure speed without a known distance and timed interval.
The Daytona guide provides a counter observation matrix; the 7750 guide explains a named reference mechanism.
Materials and test claims
- Gold colour, plating and solid gold
- These describe different things: an appearance, a surface treatment and a material composition. Colour and total watch weight are insufficient to establish precious-metal content.
- Water resistance
- A property of the assembled watch under stated conditions. A printed depth marking or the genuine model's rating is not a test of a replica's seals.
- AAA, 1:1 and super clone
- Seller descriptions with no uniform specification established by those words alone. Replace the grade with actual construction, functions and evidence in a comparison.
Record matched, mismatched and unverified points separately in the quality checklist.