Those familiar with the core structure of a watch should be aware that gem bearings fall under the category of "other components" in a watch, and their purpose is to reduce the friction of the pivot rod. The ruby in the ruby bearing we are talking about is generally man-made, the main component is aluminum trioxide, which has several characteristics such as hard and uniform texture, easy processing, and multiple colors, and has the same properties as natural rubies. I don't know if you have ever thought about why the watch heart should be inlaid with rubies?
Early watchmakers would put wear-resistant stones inside the mechanical core as bearings in the shaft of the core parts to reduce friction. Later watchmakers thought that they could use quite wear-resistant natural rubies to replace stones, but the cost of using natural rubies was too high, which prompted some watch companies to begin to develop other alternatives, and later natural rubies were gradually replaced by artificial rubies, which not only reduced the cost, but also allowed ruby bearings to be popularized and extend the service life of the core.
To this day, these artificial rubies are still referred to as gemstones, the main ingredient is aluminum trioxide, with a hard and uniform texture, easy to process, multiple colors and other characteristics, and natural rubies have the same properties. These rubies are rotated, polished, and drilled to serve as bearing shafts for the different gears of the watch, but they are relatively not as valuable as natural rubies, and are only regarded as important parts of the watch.
Generally speaking, the more gem bearings, the more complex the core. Usually we put 25 drills within the 25 drills are functional drills, the standard basic core of the 17 drills are two wheels, three rounds, second wheels, escape wheels; 2X4 = 8 drills, balance wheel up and down shock absorber two drills; 2 X 2 = 4 drills, pallet forks, fork tiles each with two drills; 2X2 = 4 drills, disc top a drill; in the standard configuration, to the box wheel plus 2 drills is 19 drills, the automatic system plus four or six drills, that is, 21 drills, 23 drills, automatic plus calendar system plus 2 drills, that is, 25 drills.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > historical origins</h1>
Let's start with the history of rubies, 18th century England was the cradle of high-quality clocks, watchmakers used small particles of rubies (called gemstones) as bearings for the pendulum pivot. The first to create ruby drilling was Nicolas Fatio, a Swiss optical instrument maker and astronomer, who went to England hoping to gain "royal privileges" for the invention. However, the British claimed that this technology was already in use, and eventually he did not get the privilege, and his technology was adopted by other craftsmen, and it was this technology that gave the British Empire a continuous advantage in the watch industry. The turning point was the watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, who brought British watch technology back to France (Mr. Breguet was a native of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where he studied watchmaking techniques in Paris, France). Since then, rubies have been widely used in watches.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="34" > technical reasons</h1>
The core setting ruby was originally based on technical reasons, and the operation of the mechanical center had to rely on the continuous transmission of power from each gear. Before the important function of ruby was recognized, the shaft of the escape wheel, the pallet fork, the balance shaft, and the wheel of the wheel train were all screwed into holes in the brass splint. These holes have small oil grooves into which oil flows to lubricate the pivot. Over time, dust in the air enters to form abrasive substances, slowly dampening the softer brass on the sheet, and even the harder steel pivot. Watchmakers then realized that they needed to find a material that was harder than brass and withstood the wear of the pivot. This material is ruby, which is a material that is second only to diamond in hardness. Natural rubies have a strong scarcity, so people use synthetic methods to make gemstones used in watches.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="35" > consumer appeal</h1>
All products are ultimately designed to satisfy consumption. In the eyes of consumers, watches with gemstones (even artificial gemstones) can enhance the added value of "face". Watchmakers quickly sniffed out the opportunity and began to set rubies on the center of the machine. There are four main types of ruby bearings: one is used as a shaft eye, commonly known as "drill eye", which is embedded in a certain part so that the axle and the drill eye are in contact; The other type is used as a cover plate, commonly known as "bracket drill", which is equivalent to a bearing in the machine, which can limit the up and down shaking of the shaft mortise; Another category is round diamonds for pendulum studs. Even for an ordinary manually wound mechanical watch, the number of gemstones can range from a minimum of 14 to a maximum of 19, and there are even more self-winding and complex mechanical watches.
Summary: At any time, ruby can undoubtedly improve the overall quality of the product, and high-quality watches can not be less than it. However, to remind everyone to avoid falling into such a misunderstanding, ruby bearings are not patents for high-end watches, with the popularization of industrialization, the use of ruby bearings in the center of the watch has been very common; at the same time, the number of rubies does not mean that the quality is high, the real high quality must have survived the precipitation and inspection of the years.
An independent German watchmaking brand is a gem bearing in a transparent color.
However, not all watches will use attractive red gem bearings, and some high-end watches will use diamonds and other colors in the center of the machine.