Types of watches A to Z: styles, movements, complications and parts

135 types of watches and watch terms, A to Z: every major watch style (dive, pilot, field, dress, smartwatch), every movement (mechanical, automatic, quartz, solar, Spring Drive), the classic complications (chronograph, GMT, moon phase, perpetual calendar, minute repeater, tourbillon) and the parts inside. Search it or filter by kind.

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24-hour dial Display

The hour hand goes around once a day instead of twice.

A

alarm Complication

Rings or vibrates at a set time; mechanical versions use a little hammer.

amplitude Term

How far the balance wheel swings; a healthy watch swings about 270–310 degrees.

ana-digi Display

Combines hands and a digital screen.

analog Display

Shows time with hands on a dial.

annual calendar Complication

Knows 30- and 31-day months; needs correcting only once a year, at the end of February.

antimagnetic Term

Protected against magnetism, which can make mechanical watches run fast; ISO 764 sets the standard.

automatic (self-winding) watch Movement

A mechanical watch wound by a weighted rotor that spins as you move your wrist.

aviator / pilot watch Type

Large, legible dial built for pilots; classic examples have big numerals and a triangle at 12.

B

B-Uhr Type

The German WWII navigator's watch style (Beobachtungsuhr): huge 55 mm case, numerals and a triangle at 12.

balance wheel Part

The weighted wheel that swings back and forth to regulate a mechanical watch.

bangle / cuff watch Type

A watch built into a rigid bracelet or wide cuff, worn as jewelry.

Bauhaus watch Type

A minimalist style inspired by the German Bauhaus design school: thin hands, simple numerals.

beater watch Type

An inexpensive, tough everyday watch you don't worry about damaging.

beats per hour (vph) Term

How fast a balance oscillates: 28,800 vph (4 Hz) is common in modern mechanical watches.

bezel Part

The ring around the crystal; it may rotate for timing dives or show a second time zone.

big date Complication

A large two-window date display.

binary watch Display

Shows the time in binary using lights or dots.

bracelet Part

A metal band made of links.

C

calculator watch Type

A digital watch with a built-in calculator keypad, a Casio classic from the 1980s.

caliber Movement

A movement's model name or number, such as ETA 2824.

case back Part

The back of the case; a display back has a window to see the movement.

chronograph Complication

A built-in stopwatch, started and stopped with pushers.

chronometer certification Term

A watch tested by an official body, such as COSC in Switzerland, for accuracy over 15 days; mechanical: −4 to +6 seconds a day.

co-axial escapement Part

George Daniels' low-friction escapement, used by Omega since 1999.

complication Complication

Any function beyond hours, minutes and seconds.

crown Part

The knob for winding and setting the watch.

crystal Part

The clear cover over the dial: acrylic, mineral glass or scratch-resistant sapphire.

D

date / day-date Complication

Shows the date, or the day and date.

deadbeat seconds Complication

A mechanical seconds hand that jumps once per second, like quartz.

deployant clasp Part

A folding buckle that opens and closes the strap without unthreading it.

dial Part

The face of the watch.

digital (LCD) Display

Shows numbers on a liquid-crystal display, the standard of the 1970s digital boom.

dive watch Type

Water-resistant to at least 100 m under the ISO 6425 standard, with a one-way rotating bezel and strong lume.

dress watch Type

A thin, simple watch made to slip under a shirt cuff, usually on a leather strap.

dual time Complication

Shows two time zones at once.

E

electric watch Movement

A battery-powered watch that still uses a balance wheel; the Hamilton Electric 500 (1957) was the first.

equation of time Complication

Shows the difference between sundial time and clock time.

escapement Part

Releases the mainspring's energy in equal steps; the “tick” of a watch.

F

field watch Type

A rugged, easy-to-read military-style watch with a plain dial and numerals.

fitness tracker watch Type

A watch that counts steps, heart rate and sleep.

flyback chronograph Complication

A chronograph that resets and restarts with a single push, for timing successive laps.

G

gasket Part

A rubber seal that keeps water out.

Geneva Seal Term

A quality hallmark for watches made and finished in the Canton of Geneva.

Geneva stripes Part

Decorative wavy stripes on movement parts (Côtes de Genève).

GMT Complication

An extra 24-hour hand showing a second time zone, often with a 24-hour bezel.

GPS watch Type

A watch with satellite positioning for tracking runs, hikes and navigation.

GPS-synced watch Movement

Sets its time and time zone from GPS satellite signals.

grand complication Complication

A watch combining several major complications, such as a perpetual calendar, minute repeater and chronograph.

grande sonnerie Complication

Chimes the hours and quarters automatically, like a clock tower.

H

hacking seconds Complication

The seconds hand stops when you pull the crown, for setting the time exactly.

hairspring (balance spring) Part

The fine spiral spring that makes the balance wheel oscillate.

haute horlogerie Term

French for “high watchmaking”: the most finely made, complicated watches.

high-beat movement Movement

A mechanical movement beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour or more for better precision.

homage watch Term

A watch openly styled after a famous model, sold under a different name.

hunter-case pocket watch Type

A pocket watch with a hinged metal lid protecting the crystal.

hybrid smartwatch Type

Looks like an analog watch but tracks activity and shows notifications.

I

in-house movement Movement

A movement designed and made by the watch brand itself rather than bought in.

independent watchmaker Term

A watchmaker working outside the big groups, often making very few watches a year.

indices Part

The hour markers on a dial.

ISO 6425 Term

The international standard that a true dive watch must meet.

J

jewelry watch Type

A watch where gems and design matter as much as timekeeping.

jewels Part

Synthetic rubies used as low-friction bearings; a typical movement has 17 to 25.

jump hour Complication

The hour shown in a window that jumps instantly when the hour changes.

K

kids' watch Type

A simple, durable watch with clear numbers, often used to learn to tell time.

kinetic watch Movement

Seiko's quartz watch charged by a rotor that generates electricity as you move.

L

lapel / fob watch Type

A watch worn pinned to clothing, upside down so the wearer can read it; the classic nurse's watch.

LED watch Display

An early 1970s digital watch with glowing red numbers lit by pressing a button, like the Hamilton Pulsar.

left-handed (destro) watch Type

A watch with the crown on the left side, for people who wear their watch on the right wrist.

lever escapement Part

The standard escapement in mechanical watches since the 1800s.

limited edition Term

A watch made in a fixed number, often numbered on the case back.

lugs Part

The arms of the case that hold the strap.

lume Part

Glow-in-the-dark paint on hands and markers, today usually Super-LumiNova.

M

mainspring Part

The coiled spring that stores a mechanical watch's power.

manual-wind (hand-wound) watch Movement

A mechanical watch you wind by turning the crown, usually daily.

marine chronometer Type

A precision ship's clock for finding longitude, invented by John Harrison.

mecha-quartz Movement

A quartz watch with a mechanical chronograph module for a crisp stopwatch feel.

mechanical watch Movement

Powered by a wound mainspring and regulated by a balance wheel, with no battery.

microbrand Term

A small, independent watch brand, often selling online directly to buyers.

military watch Type

Built to government specifications: legible, tough and often anonymous.

minute repeater Complication

Chimes the hours, quarter hours and minutes on demand, one of the hardest complications to make.

monopusher chronograph Complication

Start, stop and reset all done with one button.

moon phase Complication

Shows the current phase of the Moon through a window on the dial.

N

NATO strap Part

A one-piece fabric strap that threads under the watch, from a British military design.

O

officer's watch Type

An early-1900s military wristwatch, often with a hinged cover over the case back or dial.

one-hand watch Display

Shows time with a single hour hand, read to about five minutes.

open heart Display

A small window in the dial showing the balance wheel beating.

open-face pocket watch Type

A pocket watch without a lid over the dial.

P

perpetual calendar Complication

Knows month lengths and leap years; won't need correcting until 2100 (not a leap year).

pocket watch Type

A watch carried in a pocket, usually on a chain; common until the 1920s.

power reserve Term

How long a fully wound mechanical watch runs, often 38 to 80 hours.

power reserve indicator Complication

Shows how much running time is left before a mechanical watch needs winding.

pulsometer Complication

A scale for reading heart rate after counting a set number of beats.

pushers Part

The buttons that start, stop and reset a chronograph.

Q

quartz crisis Term

The 1970s–80s collapse of the Swiss mechanical watch industry after cheap quartz watches arrived.

quartz watch Movement

Battery-powered and regulated by a quartz crystal vibrating 32,768 times a second; first sold by Seiko in 1969.

R

racing chronograph Type

A chronograph with a tachymeter for timing laps and measuring speed.

radio-controlled (atomic) watch Movement

Sets itself from radio time signals broadcast from atomic clocks, like WWVB in Colorado.

railroad watch Type

A pocket watch meeting strict US railroad accuracy rules after a deadly 1891 train wreck.

rattrapante (split-seconds) Complication

A chronograph with two seconds hands for timing two events that start together.

reference number Term

The model number collectors use to identify an exact watch version.

regulator dial Complication

Hours, minutes and seconds on separate hands and subdials, based on old precision clocks.

retrograde display Complication

A hand that moves along an arc and snaps back to the start.

ring watch Type

A tiny watch mounted on a finger ring.

rotor Part

The weighted half-disc in an automatic watch that winds the mainspring.

S

sapphire-case watch Type

A watch whose case is cut from transparent sapphire crystal, showing the whole movement.

screw-down crown Part

A crown that screws into the case to keep water out.

service Term

Cleaning and oiling a mechanical watch, typically every 5 to 10 years.

skeleton watch Display

Most of the dial and movement is cut away so you can see the gears.

small seconds Complication

A seconds hand on its own small subdial.

smartwatch Type

A wrist computer that shows notifications, runs apps and tracks health.

solar watch Movement

A quartz watch charged by light through the dial, like Citizen Eco-Drive.

space watch Type

A watch qualified for spaceflight, like the Omega Speedmaster worn on the Moon in 1969.

sports watch Type

A durable watch for active use, usually water-resistant with a bracelet or rubber strap.

Spring Drive Movement

Seiko's hybrid: a mainspring powers the watch, but an electronic quartz regulator controls the speed, so the seconds hand glides.

sunrise / sunset Complication

Shows the day's sunrise and sunset times.

Swiss made Term

Swiss law requires at least 60% of the manufacturing cost and the movement's assembly and final inspection to be in Switzerland.

T

tachymeter Complication

A scale for measuring speed over a known distance, usually 1 km or 1 mile.

tactile watch Type

Lets the wearer feel the time, through raised markers or moving balls.

talking watch Type

Announces the time aloud, helpful for people with low vision.

telemeter Complication

A scale for estimating distance from the delay between seeing and hearing something, like lightning.

tide indicator Complication

Shows high and low tide, for surfers and sailors.

tool watch Type

A watch designed for a job, such as diving, flying or exploring.

tourbillon Complication

A rotating cage for the escapement, invented by Breguet in 1801 to even out gravity's effect.

travel watch Type

A watch with a second time zone, alarm or world time for travelers.

trench watch Type

A World War I watch: a small pocket-watch movement in a wristwatch case with wire lugs, often with a protective grille.

tuning-fork watch Movement

Bulova's 1960 Accutron, regulated by a vibrating tuning fork; it hums.

V

vintage watch Type

An older watch, usually at least 20 to 30 years old, collected for its history.

W

wandering hours Complication

Hour numerals that travel along a minute arc.

water resistance (ATM / bar / m) Term

Rated in meters or bar: 30 m means splash-proof only; 100 m is fine for swimming; 200 m for diving.

word clock display Display

Spells out the time in words.

world time (worldtimer) Complication

Shows the time in all 24 time zones at once using a ring of city names.

wristwatch Type

A watch worn on the wrist; men adopted them widely during and after World War I.

Y

yacht timer Type

A watch with a countdown for the five- or ten-minute start of a sailing race.

É

ébauche Movement

An unfinished movement kit that a brand finishes and decorates.

How watches are classified

One watch can fit several categories: a titanium automatic dive watch with a GMT hand is classified by its material, movement, purpose and complication at once.

More: watch brands A to Z · the most iconic watches of all time · who invented the watch? · famous watchmakers

Sources

• ISO 6425: divers' watches
• COSC: Swiss chronometer certification
• Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry: Swiss made

Last updated October 22, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.