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The machinery inside a watch that keeps things ticking is called the movement or a caliber. A synonym of size, the word ‘caliber’, first used as a watchmaking term in 1715, originally referred to the build of a watch movement—the layout, dimensions, shape and size of the wheels, barrels, bridges and so on. Today the word is a substitute for movement, the complete mechanism with the mainspring, escape wheel, bridges, gear train, and other components, including the rotor in automatic watches. Calibers are either mechanical or quartz-based. While the latter are powered mostly by a battery, the former can either be manual winding, or self-would by an oscillating mass or rotor.
