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Sapphire – Man made sapphire crystal used for its hardness and scratch resistant qualities in watch making.

Sapphire crystal: A crystal made of synthetic sapphire, a transparent, shatter-resistant, scratch-resistant substance.

Screw-lock crown: A crown that can be screwed into the case to make the watch watertight.





Screw-down crown: The crown of a watch that screws on / in to the case to better seal the watch. This ensures more water and dust resistance.





Second time-zone indicator: An additional dial that can be set to the time in another time zone. It lets the wearer keep track of local time and the time in another country simultaneously.



Shock resistance: As defined by U.S. government regulation, a watch's ability to withstand an impact equal to that of being dropped onto a wood floor from a height of 3 feet.





Skeleton watch: A watch with no dial and only a chapter ring. As much metal is removed as possible and all the remaining parts are decorated with elaborate engravings.





Slide rule: A device, consisting of logarithmic or other scales on the outer edge of the watch face, that can be used to do mathematical calculations. One of the scales is marked on a rotating bezel, which can be slid against the stationary scale to make the calculations. Some watches have slide rules that allow specific calculations, such as for fuel consumption by an airplane or fuel weight.





Solar powered: A watch that uses solar energy (from any light source) to power the quartz movement. The Citizen >Solar-Tech<>itizens Internet Site.



Spring bars (or pins) : Spring-loaded bars between the lugs on the case, used to attach a strap or metal bracelet to the case.





Stepping motor: The part of a quartz movement that moves the gear train, which in turn moves the watch's hands.



Stopwatch: A watch with a seconds hand that measures intervals of time. When a stopwatch is incorporated into a standard watch, both the stopwatch function and the timepiece are referred to as a chronograph.



Sub-dial: A small dial on a watch face used for any of several purposes, such as keeping track of elapsed minutes or hours on a chronograph or indicating the date.







Swiss made: As a part of a move towards greater consumer protection and in order to combat fakes in the Far East that claim to be Swiss made, the Swiss federal council in 1993 laid down the rule that a watch has to satisfy before it could be described as Swiss made. The movement must be of Swiss origin, and must contain at least 50% Swiss parts. The watch must be cased in Switzerland and pass its final inspection in that country.












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