Portal: Watch Knowledge

With this type of winding, a rotating weight segment (rotor), which is moved by the motions of the watch, causes the self-winding of the movement. The generally accepted design principle is that of the central rotor, though some movements use a micro-rotor. There are unidirectional and bi-directional winding mechanisms.

Abraham-Louis Perrelet is considered the inventor of the automatic winding at pocket watches. In the 1920's, when the wristwatch was preparing for its triumph, the Englishman John Harwood applied this automatic winding concept to wristwatches. Wristwatches make automatic winding more useful because arm movements deliver the required amount of kinetic energy, unlike comparably static pocket watches …

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