Shameful beat. Fornication sins and penances for them

Not much jewelry can be in a man's wardrobe. One of the most interesting is the bracelet. This accessory does not have to be a piece of jewelry art. Wicker, knitted, fabric bracelets are considered very popular and at the same time stylish. There are many craftsmen in the world who are famous for making leather bracelets. And handmade always stays in...

Binary watches are still a very original accessory. With it, you can surprise your friends, become more noticeable to others. However, always when determining the time on this watch, a snag is obtained. This is not as easy to do as in the case of electronic or mechanical counterparts, but why then wear a binary watch if you don’t know how ...

Ulysse Nardin watches are always spectacular and stylish. They manifest themselves as an expensive accessory, but, unfortunately, there are a lot of replicas on the market now. Both high-quality and frankly bad. Due to the huge popularity of the brand, it is not surprising that there are many people who want to know how to distinguish genuine Ulysse Nardin from a fake. There are a number of recommendations that…

Mineral glass is an excellent alternative to expensive sapphire glass. Visually, they are almost indistinguishable. At the same time, the mineral analogue does not have such a disadvantage as increased fragility, characteristic of sapphire. Mineral glass can also be combined. The so-called "hard flex" is subjected to a special treatment, as a result of which its hardness increases. And despite the fact that sapphire glass is an invariable attribute of expensive watches,…

Experts are well aware that it is not necessary to use only straps for watches, a bracelet is also perfect. Here is the question: what to choose? As a rule, people prefer the first option, as it can be called a classic. But modern fashion dictates its own terms, so bracelets are in trend now. As a result, we can conclude from this that, as such, the value in the choice ...

An ordinary dial, no matter how intricate it may be, will not surprise anyone. This phrase may seem strange to some, but in fact it is quite simple to understand it: the variety of chronograph models has become so great that now world brands are trying to attract the attention of buyers not only with precious metals and inlaid stones. And what field for fantasy to choose, if not the dial? ...

Despite the fact that most people consider Swiss mechanical watches to be the most accurate, their reputation is rather driven by worldwide fame. In fact, they are significantly inferior to quartz watches, the error of which is minimized. The tolerance for mechanical watches is approximately 15 seconds per day. The error depends entirely on the mechanism. Self-winding mechanical watches can…

If you think that good watches must be expensive, then you are greatly mistaken. On the this moment the market offers models that can cost as little as $400. There are copies and cheaper and more expensive. In short, the choice is truly great. And we are talking not only about Japanese, but also Swiss, American and German brands. Under the seal of Seiko quality…

Outdoor mechanical clock - a clock that uses a weight or spring energy source. A pendulum or balance regulator is used as an oscillatory system. The craftsmen who made and repaired watches were called watchmakers. In art, mechanical watches are a symbol of time.

Watch history

The first mechanical escapement clock was made in China in 725 AD. e. And Xin and Liang Lingzan. The first pendulum clock was invented in Germany around 1000 by Abbot Herbert, the future Pope Sylvester II. In 1228, the first clock tower was built by English craftsmen in Westminster.
A mechanical watch consists of several main parts:

The source of energy is a wound spring or a raised weight.
A trigger mechanism is a device that converts continuous rotational motion into oscillatory or reciprocating motion. The escapement mechanism determines the accuracy of the watch.
The oscillating system is a pendulum or balancer (balance).
The mechanism of winding and transfer of arrows is a remontoir.
The gear system that connects the spring and the trigger mechanism is engagement.
Arrow dial.
Pendulum

Historically, the first oscillatory system was the pendulum. As is known, with the same amplitude and constant free fall acceleration, the frequency of the pendulum oscillations is unchanged.

The composition of the pendulum mechanism includes:

• Pendulum;
• Anchor connected to the pendulum;
• Ratchet wheel (ratchet).

The accuracy of the stroke is adjusted by changing the length of the pendulum.

The classic pendulum mechanism has three drawbacks.

• First, the frequency of the pendulum's oscillations depends on the amplitude of the oscillations.
• Secondly, the pendulum clock must be fixed; they cannot be used on moving vehicles.
• Third, the frequency depends on the gravitational acceleration, so clocks adjusted at one latitude will lag at lower latitudes and advance at higher latitudes.

Interesting history of clock towers. This is generally one of the first types of mechanical watches. The very first tower clock in the world was installed in London on the tower of Westminster Abbey back in 1288. The cost of maintaining the tower clock has always been huge - you need to constantly lubricate them, bring the hands, but, in fact, they "provided" the whole city with time. But in Russia, the first tower clock appeared on the tower of the Moscow Kremlin only in 1865.

Fire clocks first appeared in China. They consisted of a spiral or stick of combustible material with suspended metal balls. During the combustion of the material, the balls fell into a porcelain vase, producing a ringing sound. Subsequently, a kind of fire clock appeared in Europe. Here candles were used, on which marks were evenly applied. The distance between marks served as a unit of time.

At the end of the 16th century, a new discovery was made. The young scientist Galileo Galilei, observing the movement of various lamps in the Pisa Cathedral during the service, found that neither the weight nor the shape of the lamps, but only the length of the chains on which they are suspended, determines the periods of their oscillations from the wind breaking through the windows. He owns the idea of ​​creating clocks with a pendulum

It is believed that the very first mechanical pocket watch was made in 1503 by the German watchmaker Peter Henlein from Nuremberg. He decided to replace the pendulum and weights used in wall and grandfather clocks with a coil spring. It was enough to wind a watch made by Peter Henlein once every two days. Quite quickly, pocket watches gained popularity. It should be noted that interesting fact that they began to be called the "Nuremberg egg", although their shape was not at all like an egg.

Wall clocks appeared in the fifteenth century. As a rule, they were made of wood, but other materials could also be used. feature wall clock was that they had very long pendulums, so they had to hang the clock high on the wall. Many people still have them, only slightly modified and often with the main function - as an element of a room interior.

Grandfather clocks appeared in the 17th century. They combined wall and tower clocks, since their body was made in the form of a tall cabinet, which thickened upwards - there was a dial, and the entire mechanism and, most importantly, the pendulum were covered with walls. In the 18-19 centuries, grandfather clocks began to be made from expensive types of wood, decorated with carved patterns.

Wristwatches appeared quite recently - about 100 years ago, naturally in Switzerland. At first wrist watch were only women's and were decorated precious stones, men preferred to wear watches on a chain. But because of the not very comfortable wearing of watches on a chain, men soon began to wear them on their hands.

Pocket watches are the pride and ultimate dream of every person in the 16th and 18th centuries. It was quite an expensive "toy" for those times. These watches were used mainly as a luxury item, since they often showed the wrong time - because they did not have glass to protect the dial. Instead, a simple leather bag was used, where the clock was placed, and the hands, constantly catching on this bag, got off and eventually showed the wrong time. Glass on the dial appeared only in the 19th century, and by that time pocket watches had already ceased to be a luxury item.

Striking clock

At fixed intervals (usually half an hour or an hour), the clock chimes the current time. As an option: a melody is playing, or jacquemart figures are playing some kind of scene.

Repeater

A more complex mechanism that allows you to beat the time with a sound when you press a button. It was originally developed for sailors who needed to know the current time in the dark without starting a fire.

There are several types of repeaters:

• Minute - strikes hours, quarters, minutes.
• Five Minute - Chimes the hours and the number of five minutes past the clock.
• Half Quarter - Chimes the hours and the number of half quarters after the clock.
• Quarter - Strikes the hours and the number of quarters after the clock.

Moon phases
Refers to astronomical functions. Sub-dial or disc, graduated to 29.5 days, depicting the Moon in various phases.

Clocks are not traditionally installed in casino premises.

The traditional "clockwise" movement of hour hands is used to indicate the direction of a circular motion. However, there are watches in which the hands move "counterclockwise".

- this is not the name of the tower, but the 13-ton bell that rings inside.

At different stages of the development of civilization, mankind used solar, stellar, water, fire, sand, wheel, mechanical, electrical, electronic and atomic clocks.

Atomic clocks have an error of 1 second in six million years.

One second is 9,192,631,770 oscillations of the radiation of a cesium-133 atom.

Clocks run clockwise—left to right—because that's the direction the sundial's shadow moves.

The oldest sundial dating back to the 15th century. BC, discovered in Egypt.

There are 24 time zones.

Number leap year(with the day 29 February added) must be a multiple of four. There is an exception: years divisible by 100 are not leap years. There is an exception to the exception: years that are multiples of 400 are leap years. 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was.

There are leap seconds.

Almost all progressive mankind (except the USA) does not use the designations AM (ante meridiem - before noon) and PM (post meridiem - after noon), as there is a lot of confusion (quickly answer the question: which is earlier - 1 AM or 12 AM?) .

There are: millennium, century, five years, year, quarter, month, decade, week, day, hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond, picosecond, femtosecond and so on.

No one knows exactly why the year is divided into 12 months (such a division does not correspond to either the lunar or solar calendar). It is believed that the division of the hour into 60 minutes is associated with the Babylonian number system, which was based not on 10, but on 60.

Although there are 60 seconds in one minute, there are 1000 milliseconds in one second.

It's wrong to say "what time is it?". It is worth saying only "what time is it?".

24 hours of sidereal time equals 23 hours 56 minutes 4.091 seconds of mean solar time.

On dials with Roman numerals, the fourth hour is almost always indicated as IIII, and IV is almost never used.

The year 2000 bug didn't exist. At least nothing special happened to those who did not spend money on its elimination.

Clock in numbers

To date, the world produces more than 1 billion watch movements a year. Of these, about 60% are in Japan. The most expensive watches are Swiss ones, so Swiss companies, yielding to Japanese ones in terms of the number of watches produced, are significantly ahead of them in terms of revenue.

The first wristwatch was made in 1812 for the Queen of Naples. This watch was made by a watchmaker from Switzerland - Abraham-Louis Breguet, later he founded the famous watch company - Breguet.

For quite a long time, wristwatches were considered a women's accessory, so they were produced in fairly small quantities. Men were able to appreciate the convenience of wristwatches during the First World War. The habit of checking time using wristwatches was also preserved in peacetime; therefore, by the beginning of the Second World War, they actually completely replaced pocket watches. Pocket watches continued to be made only for lovers of stylish things.

Such a phenomenon of clocks is known. If a watch is worn on the left hand with an iron or leather strap for several months, then the watch acquires a human magnetic field. In this case, if a person dies, then the clock on the hand of this person stops. This is noted by homicide investigators, even if the clock is not damaged, it still stops.

In Moscow in the 17th century, not the only hour hand, but the dial, moved on the clock of the Spasskaya Tower

In the cold hourglass go faster than warm.

Most watches produced are quartz with hands. Share pure electronic clock with a liquid crystal time indicator is small - about 10%. The United States is the world's largest watch buyer. They account for 15% of Swiss exports, 25% of Japanese and 26% of Hong Kong.

Why do some mechanical watches cost more than some apartments? Why should they be worn on the left hand? How is a chronometer different from a chronograph? Why are they needed at all now, when even an iron or a bicycle will tell you the exact time? the site has prepared for you the answers to the most important questions about watches.

1. Why are some watches so expensive? What makes up their price?

There are two answers. First: manual labor. Each mechanical caliber inevitably goes through the hands of a master in the process of assembling, polishing, decorating, adjusting the balance, adjusting the movement. And the work of a good master is highly paid. At the same time, the best watch houses assemble mechanisms twice. First, in order to check that all the details work perfectly in the ensemble. Then the mechanism is disassembled, the parts are polished, decorated and then assembled again. The most complex mechanisms of some models require up to 1500 "man-hours" just for assembly. Another couple of hundred man-hours are spent on finishing and hand decorating the mechanism and case.

Second: expensive materials. Usually for making important details such watches use the rarest metal alloys (see below). The dials of these models are real masterpieces of painting, mosaic, enamel and jewelry art. Did you know that large pure rubies and emeralds are much more expensive than diamonds, because they are becoming rarer and rarer?

It's nano for you

The nanorevolution made it possible to work with components for watches at the atomic level, as well as to create cases and parts of the watch mechanism from previously unknown materials, many of which are much stronger and more expensive. precious metals. For example, more and more modern watches are equipped with escapements, the details of which are made using the photomanufactory method. A three-dimensional image of parts is loaded into the electronic brain of a photomanufacturing reactor, which it literally begins to sculpt from atoms - silicon (Swiss) or nickel (Japanese). As a result, we have parts of perfect precision and structural uniformity. DLC-coating (diamond-like carbon coating - hard as diamond, carbon fiber) reliably keeps the case from damage, and it is applied like this: the surface of the case or bezel is bombarded with atoms that penetrate a few millimeters inside. Seiko resorts to hard-polishing technology: the watch case is polished with a rapidly rotating emery stone, like the famous samurai katana swords - due to the enormous temperature, the surface becomes stronger and begins to shine.

2. How long will a good watch last with proper, accurate, but still constant use?

A very long time. The clock mechanism is perhaps the most advanced technical unit that has created human mind- and in terms of reliability, and durability, and the subtlety of work, and accuracy. Watchmaking museums are full of models that were created a couple of centuries ago and still work perfectly. But when they stop, it's hard to say for sure. Since the invention - and the first wristwatch was born in 1790 - too little time has passed for us to check the maximum resource of such a mechanism. For comparison and some guidelines, let's take an example from a related sphere: a mechanical tower clock installed at the cathedral in Wells (Somerset, England) in 1380 worked without interruption until 2010. And in the end, the clock mechanism was replaced with an electric one, not because of a breakdown, but because all the masters who could serve them died out.

3. Can watches be considered as an investment instrument?

You can, but if you understand watchmaking and trends at the expert level. True, even in this case, luck and intuition will be required. Special demand in the secondary watch market is enjoyed by the watches of the houses leading a competent auction policy. This is primarily Patek Philippe, as well as Vacheron Constantin, Rolex and A. Lange & Sohne. However, even the most successful models in terms of investment do not show growth above 10% per year. Some real estate investments are much more profitable. And on the other hand, if you don’t put real estate on your hand during an urgent flight to a foreign land, you won’t put it in your pocket ...

4. On which hand to wear a watch and why?

Watches (of course, not those with automatic winding) love peace - this way they go more accurately and live longer. Therefore, it is better to wear them on a less active, non-working hand: if right-handed, then on the left, and vice versa. Yes, there are watches for left-handers: now many houses have started producing models where the crown and chronograph buttons are located not on the right, but on the left side of the case.

5. Which watch is better - quartz (electronic) or mechanical?

"better" in this case- the concept is subjective, you choose. We will only give all the pros and cons of both options.

• Quartz
  Pros: Low price, light weight, high shock resistance, no need to start every day, higher accuracy at normal temperature, easy and low cost of repair.
  Cons: shows time but not status, battery dependent, loses accuracy at temperatures below 6° and above 40°C.
• Mechanics
  Pros: Complete autonomy, Serve as status markers, less dependent on temperature changes, reliability.
  Cons: Price, price, price, needs to be wound regularly, the “balance-spring” assembly is fragile and often breaks, the high cost of repairs and regular (every 3–5 years) cleaning and lubrication.

The Japanese corporation Seiko has developed Spring Drive technology, a hybrid of mechanical and electronic watches. A standard self-winding module charges the batteries, and instead of the traditional escaping mechanical springs and balance wheel, a “floating wheel” is installed here. It does not oscillate, but rotates at a speed of 8 revolutions per second, and a laser device monitors the accuracy and the number of revolutions, which is endowed with the ability to speed up or slow down the rotation of the floating wheel. Even in zero gravity, where mechanical and quartz watches exhibit significant deviations in accuracy, the Spring Drive Spacewalk model has proven itself to be the best.

6. What is a “manufactory mechanism” and is it worth chasing after?

"Manufactury" - means produced at the watch house's own enterprise. Now many reputable companies have built their manufactories and are proud of it. But a few years ago, 90% of Swiss watches were equipped with one of three universal movements: ETA 2824-A2, ETA 2892 and the ETA / Valjoux 7750 chronograph. It was they who brought fame to the local watch industry and contributed to the birth of the saying, they say, something is there "works like a Swiss watch." You can repair and service watches with these mechanisms anywhere in the world. All of them were built in the 50s of the last century, technical flaws have long been identified and eliminated, and reliability has been proven in millions of copies. And the reliability and accuracy of newborn "manufactory" mechanisms have yet to be tested. But you can only repair them at the very manufactory that gave birth to them: many details are unique. In general, it's up to you.

7. What kind of watch should a man wear: round or square?

The shape of the watch has never been a matter of fashion and has not of great importance for watchmakers. What the client likes - let him wear such. Just monotonous forms one day can get bored. Maybe that's why such models as Santos de Cartier and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak enjoy great success. Designers Louis Cartier and Gerald Genta initially laid in them a play of shapes: a barrel-shaped base, a strictly round case, but at the same time a tetrahedral or octahedron-like bezel. Special meaning is attached to one circumstance: do the movement and the case have the same shape? According to the Hamburg account - they should. It is not for nothing that the great manufactories even prefer to close the mechanism with a metal case back if it does not have the proper shape.

8. Strap or bracelet?

Metal bracelets are of course much more durable. And you can swim in them. But some people find them too heavy. In addition, if you have hairy arms, some bracelets take on the role of a depilator without any anesthesia. As for the straps, especially those made of expensive alligator leather, they are, of course, beautiful and luxurious, but sometimes sweating is enough to ruin them. Therefore, complex straps have gained popularity - leather coating on the outside, and with inside- durable waterproof composite material. If you chose a strap, consider two things. First: in recent times manufacturers are doing everything so that you can buy replacement straps only from them. And the difference in the cost of a branded and regular strap can be a couple of hundred euros. Second: when replacing the strap, you must take into account its width. If the exact size was not found, settle only for the one that is 1 mm wider. The master will surely squeeze it into the mount. But you can’t take 21 mm instead of 22 mm - the watch will hang out.

Breitling Superocean 42 blue, 1500m water resistant

9. What does it mean when they write on the watch: water resistance - 100 m? And sometimes 200 m? Is it really possible to dive to such a depth with them? What for?

Almost all watches are protected from moisture - one of the most serious enemies of the mechanism. Inscriptions about tightness should never be taken literally. The clock is checked as follows: water is poured into a special apparatus with a flask, the clock is placed in it and pressure is started to build up. If the pressure drops sharply, then the housing has leaked. The indicator shows at what pressure this happened. In this case, it is generally accepted that 1 atmosphere corresponds to a dive of 10 m under the condition of complete rest. That is, "100 m" just means that the watch will withstand a pressure of 10 atmospheres. But keep in mind that these are not entirely honest numbers. For example, if you make a strong stroke in the water with a watch on your wrist, the body will experience a pressure of 7–9 atmospheres. Therefore, in such watches you can only swim on the surface, and even then slowly and carefully. In watches with “30 m water resistance”, you can only wash your hands very gently. In hours "50 m" - wash the car. And to go in for diving - only in models "120", and it is better "200" or "300 m".

10. What is a "class" of watches and what are they?

Manufacturers divide watches into complex, luxury, business, sports, aviation, diving, designer... But this classification is conditional, many watches fall into several positions at once. Take, for example, the Rolex Daytona - "sporty", but in a platinum case with diamond inlay ("designer"?). Or the IWC Big Pilot Watch model - in a huge case with additional protection against an electromagnetic field (“aviation”?), But at the same time with a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar (“complicated”?). Without much doubt, only watches of the Grande Complication status, that is, “very complex” can be classified: their mechanisms are supplemented by 2-3 most expensive complications in production (the choice comes from the list: minute repeater, tourbillon, perpetual and astronomical calendars and split chronograph) . They ask for them, as for a house with columns in a prestigious village, that is, several million euros - you can’t confuse it with anything.

Do you have a watch or chronometer?

"Chronometer" is an honorary title given to very few watch models. Due to the fact that objects on Earth are affected by the force of gravity, watches in different positions run with varying degrees of accuracy. Put the clock on the bedside table with the dial up for a day, and the next day - with the dial down. You will find that their average daily readings differ. The readings of watches placed with the crown down and crown up, as well as the “12 o'clock” mark up and the “12 o'clock” mark down will also differ ... , have different coefficients of thermal expansion. Chronometers have the right to be called only those watches that in different positions and at different temperatures run with an accuracy of -4/+6 seconds per day.