The writing automaton in the film, Hugo (photo courtesy IMDB)

All About Automata: Mechanical Magic (With Action Videos) – Reprise

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Today’s high-end automata beautifully illustrate that extraordinary engineering can be combined with impressive artistic crafts to wonderful ends. But even in the highest quality examples, the principles of what drives automata are largely the same as they have been for centuries because most are based on very straightforward mechanical principles to create motion. Everything you ever wanted to know about automata is right here.

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Bathys Hawaii Cesium-133

Measuring The Time Between The Seconds: The Truth Behind High-Frequency Movements – Reprise

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Marketing material for the modern mechanical watch almost always includes a description of the the movement’s frequency. You may have even sensed that the higher the frequency, the more accurate a movement gets. But is this entirely true? Find out here.

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Fitting Rolex balance wheel and Parachrom hairspring

Is Silicon Here To Stay In (Rolex) Watch Movements? – Reprise

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Hairsprings are miniscule. Generally no more than one centimeter in overall diameter when coiled, they are roughly 50 microns thick and 150 microns wide. Tiny they may be, but insignificant they are not. In fact, they are so significant that Rolex refers to them as “the guardians of time.” But what do silicon hairsprings bring to the table? Watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains why he went from skeptic to fan.

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Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller Deepsea with helium escape valve

Deeper, Further, Faster: Why Do Some Dive Watches Have Helium Escape Valves? – Reprise

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Humans have long had a fascination with the depths of the ocean, striving to go ever deeper, ever further, and ever faster by pushing the limits of the human body, technology, and advancing modern science. But like all things, we are often faced with limits. And the helium escape valve was invented to push one of those limits as watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains.

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Vintage Jaeger "Panda dial 4 ATM"

The Number Of Jewels In A Watch Movement Indicates Value, Or Does It It? A Myth Debunked – Reprise

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Does anyone really care how many jewels their watch has? Watchmaker Ashton Tracy thinks that you’d be surprised how many people do as they’ve been duped by a vintage practice of announcing the amount of movement jewels on watch dials. What is the real story here?

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Patek Philippe Nautilus Perpetual Calendar Reference 5740 on the wrist

Perpetual Calendars: What They Do, What Most Of Them Don’t Do, And A Few Of The Best – Reprise

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Chris Malburg highlights some of the finest examples of perpetual calendar watches today and dives into their history.

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Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle fitting very nicely on the wrist of the yours truely

The 10 Most Accurate Moon Phase Wristwatches Today, Plus Honorable Mention – Reprise

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Waxing poetically about moon phases got Joshua excited enough to take a trip through certain “phases” of engineering excellence. So here he brings you the ten most accurate moon phase displays fitted into a wristwatch as of 2020. Join us on this odyssey through space and time.

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How To Make A Milanese Watch Bracelet (Video) – Reprise

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Our friends at The Watches TV visited Laurent Jolliet, the last “chain maker” in business in Switzerland according to Marc André Deschoux. As Jolliet crafts his bracelets and chains fully by hand, Deschoux and crew were able to find out in detail how Milanese bracelets are made, an art form no longer formally taught, and they share the secrets with us here.

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What Is A Resonance Movement? The Watches TV And Armin Strom Explain (Video)

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The Watches TV goes deep into explaining a resonance movement in an easy way. The quick answer to the question of what resonance is in horological terms is that it encompasses two independent escapements in one watch that influence each other to average out timing errors. This video brings horological resonance to life and makes it easy to understand.

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printing at Glashütte Original's dial maker in Pforzheim, Germany

Focus On Technology: Pad Printing – Reprise

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Have you ever wondered how Titleist gets its logo on bumpy round golf balls? Well this is your lucky day as Joshua Munchow discusses the secret of one very specialized printing process that has its roots in watchmaking. In fact, you still see the results of this process nearly every time you look at your watch dial.

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