Vintage watch movements are powered by a mainspring and a balance wheel. Mechanical movements must be wound - either manually or via a self winding mechanism - on a regular basis. They are not battery operated.
A movement powered by a mainspring.
A movement based on a mainspring which is wound by hand; when wound, it slowly unwinds the spring in an even motion. An automatic mechanical requires no winding because of the rotor, which winds the mainspring every time you move your wrist.
Comprised of a series of turning cog wheels and jewels, expertly calibrated by hand. A mechanical movement may be "automatic", also known as "self-winding" (wound by the motion of the arm during daily wear) or "manual", also known as "hand-winding" (requiring regular winding by hand).
A movement based on a mainspring which when wound slowly unwinds the spring in an even motion to provide accurate timekeeping. As opposed to a manual mechanical watch which needs to be wound on a consistent basis, an automatic mechanical requires no winding because of the rotor , which winds the mainspring every time you move your wrist (see our section on automatic watch maintenance for more details).
A watch's mechanism that is powered by a manual activity such as being wound up by hand or by the movement of the watch.
