Why do they put rubies in watches

A simple mechanical watch comes with 17 jewels. A higher number of complications or an automatic movement in a watch requires more jewels.

You may have seen some brands focusing on the jewel number to increase the cost or value of the watch. To this extent, some brands market a higher number of jewels merely to increase the cost of the watch. However, it is wise to remember that more jewels do not make the watch function any better than the actual number of jewels required. Though, some mechanical watches may use jewels to reduce any positional errors within the watch. Similarly, watches with an automatic movement have multiple moving parts, requiring a higher number of jewels.

Sometimes, more jewels than actually required can lead to a detrimental effect over the long term as well. If you are looking for a watch with not many complications but with more jewels than required, please be aware that brands do this to boost the price without in fact actually having the value as they deem it to be. Precious stones like diamond, sapphire, ruby, and garnet were used in the moving parts of watches ever since the invention of jewel bearings in Sapphires crystals are also used in watch faces because their hardness makes them one of the most scratch-resistant types of watch glass material available.

Over the years, synthetic sapphire was developed and today, synthetic Sapphire synthetic or genuine Rubies are used. Emeralds are only used for decorating watches, for instance, the Piccadilly Princess Royal Emerald Green watch which is priced at about a million dollars.

We cannot really say whether a sapphire or ruby is better for creating a jewel bearing in a watch. Whether sapphires or rubies are used the smoothness of movement solely depends on the level of sophistication and design of the internal parts of a particular watch.

Generally speaking, ruby is the most preferred stone used in a watch, as can be seen in most of the watches that are available in the market today. So, the question of rubies, emeralds, or sapphires being the better choice for watches really boils down to the purpose for which they are to be used.

Sapphire may be better in place of ruby for a particular watch design. However, it would be incorrect to say that any particular jewel is better than the other out of these three. An interesting read would be our article on the World's most complicated watch which had jewels in the movement. Typically, the more complications are on the watch the more you can expect in the watch's movement since more bearings are needed to reduce friction between the many components needed to create said complications.

The fact is that quartz watches have moving parts just like mechanical watches. However, not all quartz watches use watch jewels. Before the '70s, when battery-powered quartz watches were introduced with the advent of the Seiko Astron, all watches were mechanical and used about five to seven jewels in the watch's caliber.

To learn more about watch terminology, please visit our watch terminology page which is the world's leading dictionary for understanding watch terms and complications. Or use the search bar to look-up fascinating information about your favorite brand or favorite type of watch. If you enjoyed this blog post and feel that others would enjoy it too, please like and share it. Contact our luxury watches experts.

Home Latest Comparisons Reviews Shop. Ever ask yourself "What are the jewels in a watch for? Watchmakers use a few types of jewels: Hole Jewels: A hole jewel also known as a pierced jewel is a type of jewel with a hole bored into it so that it can be mounted on the wheel's axle or pivots such as a cylindrical pivot or a conical pivot. It usually has a slightly rounded top or a flat bottom. Setting these minuscule jewels into their designated spots is no easy feat and watchmakers use microscopes and tweezers to accomplish the job.

In the end, the look is beautiful and the purpose is practical. Toni, feel free to contact us online through our form and send a picture of the watch!

We will do our best to identify the watch. Your email is kept private. The widely used Incabloc, Kif or Etachoc are the more common shock protection systems for Swiss movement manufacturers.

Thanks to Francois Durafourg from Pierhor for his help. Nice article. Just a slight correction if I may. Seven and nine jeweled watches accomplish this well. Main plates are brass mostly, which works well with the hardened steel pivots. Although not as long lasting nor as frictionless as jeweled bearings, it will work.

Some less expensive watches also use brass bushings as bearings. Another good technical article,albeit at a basic level; perhaps a more detailed article on the Incabloc, Kif and Etachoc anti-shock systems with some of the more obscure systems included.

Nice article, thank you. Is that correct? Thank you for doing these articles. Part of the allure of watches in this digital age is that we have these fantastic mechanical machines on our wrists. There seems to be so little information on the Internet written in an approachable way about how they actually work, and I love learning more about their internal workings.

Thank you.