A watch powered by a wound spring rather than a battery, its rate set by an oscillating balance wheel and balance spring.
A mechanical watch stores energy in a wound mainspring and transmits it through a train of wheels. The escapement releases that energy in controlled steps and supplies impulses to the balance and balance spring, whose oscillation sets the rate. Winding replenishes the stored energy. A hand-wound watch uses manual winding, while an automatic watch uses an oscillating weight to wind the spring as the watch moves. Both belong to the mechanical category. Lubricants deteriorate over time, so servicing concerns the condition of the mechanism as well as whether the watch is currently running.
In job listings
Overhauling complex mechanical movements was an explicit duty in Richemont’s Watchmaker role in Mississauga, together with servicing high-complication calibres and specialized timepieces according to brand standards. Servicing the watches required the watchmaker to apply that knowledge at the bench. It also distinguishes that technical duty from the unrelated movement of retail stock appearing in other roles. Search local jobs for “watchmaker”.
