self winding mech

[cwru32]

Originally Posted by Tools

Here is how it works...sort of......

So follow along..

Sitting atop the movement is a counterweight. It fits like a half shell. The counterweight axle fits into a bushing in the center of the movement and the axle has a notch/detent that is engaged with a series of gears.

Think of this counterweight as a single blade propeller on your beanie cap... As you move your head around, the offset single blade will rotate to either side, depending on how gravity and centrifugal force move it... Imagine further that your propeller is attached to some gears that drive your brain.. As it moves back and forth it winds the grey cells and gives you some smarts.

So too, the counter weight drives the gears they are attached to...the gears, in turn, are driving a uni-directional wheel atop the mainspring...as the counterweight gears drive the mainspring wheel, it can turn in only one direction, winding it up.

Here is a picture of a 3185 movement with the counterweight and it's gears (the red ones) sitting on top of the movement..


Sorry, I don't have a picture of a beanie

Thanks alot. from your discussion i assume that only rotations of the counterweight in clockwise direction would wind the watch. so half the movements of the hand would be useless...am i correct?
last, as you can see, not every rolex owner has a high IQ...LOL