PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition)
Special processes used for the application of thin hard-material coatings. The main advantage of PVD coatings is its low precipitation temperature which allows it to be used on many different material types. The surface hardness of the PVD coatings vary from 2000 to 3000 HV.
Patented rotating bi-directional Roto-Click® inner bezel is a beautifully engineered ball-locking system containing a number of ball bearings that position the bezel accurately for greater readability.
The oscillating mass which moves and turns freely about its axis in an automatic watch. The rotor winds up the mainspring as it swings. A clutch prevents the rotor from over-winding the mainspring.
Sapphire crystal is the favoured material for watch crystal due to its exceptional hardness (9 on the Mohs scale). Using sapphire crystal is far more expensive to produce than mineral or acrylic crystals. Domed crystals are also far more expensive and difficult to produce than flat crystals.
A system used to protect the very fragile pivots of the balance staff against breakage. The jewels for the pivots of the balance staff are elastically fitted to the main plate. In response to a severe shock, they give first. A watch with shock absorption properties should be able to meet the demands of DIN 8308-A. The testing includes the watch being hit by a hammer at 4.4m/s (equivalent of the watch being dropped from a one metre height onto a solid wooden floor). The watch must then not show a rate of deviation of more than +/- 60 seconds a day.
An alloy of steel, nickel and chrome. Although difficult to work with, it is resistant to rust, extremely tough and anti-magnetic.
A luminous paint used on the dials of watches that does not display any radioactive properties. The luminous effect is based on the principle of phosphorescence. Super‑LumiNova® therefore needs to be charged by an external light source. As many as 15 to 20 coats of Super‑LumiNova® paint are applied to quality dials in very small measures to ensure that luminous dials are effective whilst not encroaching on the aesthetic qualities of a quality dial.
All Bremont cases are made using patented Trip-Tick® technology consisting of 3 parts: the hardened steel bezel containing the sapphire crystal, the central body consisting of a middle barrel, and the steel or crystal back. For both durability and aesthetics, the separate middle section allows our case designers to use differing metals to alter the watch’s weight, and employ contrasting colours to distinguish between the various models.
UTC stands for ‘Universal Time Coordinated’ and allows the wearer to display local time together with the official world time standard – UTC, or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or Zulu time (Z). UTC (replacing GMT in 1972) is therefore used as the standard clock of choice for international reference time in communications, military, aviation, maritime and other activities that cross time zones.
A common scale used to determine the hardness of a material (using a pyramidal diamond indenter). The impression created by the diamond on the surface is measured and the hardness calculated. Stainless steel, for example, ranges from 200 to 240 HV, titanium 210 HV, sapphire crystal 2000 HV and diamond 4500 to 10,000 HV.