Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
Quiksilver is known for producing quality surf-related products and fashions. The latest watch to come from the California-based company features retro-styling that pays tribute to the looks of the 1970s. The Ray features real ebony wood and a beautiful face that resembles a Ford Mustang’s odometer. No battery is required thanks to 27 jewel automatic movement. I don’t know what that means but I assume it’s some Aladdin-type shit where you wish for riches and 27 jewels drop out of your watch.
Stylish surf attire doesn’t come cheap, though. Only 1000 Rays will be made and they’ll be sold for a rather expensive $495. Luxury, brah!
Cool . . . slightly pricey . . . but OK for a one-off design that’s made in small numbers. The “jewels” . . . and I believe it’s likely 21 jewels, not 27 (assuming Citizen Miyota auto-wind). Anyway . . . the jewels in a mechanical watch movement are man-made rubies and are very tiny. They’re the bearing caps for the axles (called pinions) on the gears (called wheels). If you look at a photo of the watch back (on Quiksilver) you’ll see what look like red dots on the movement. Those are the ruby jewel bearing caps.
Man-made ruby is actually red colored “corundum” which has extreme hardness, tends to be self-lubricating, and not only naturally polishes the ends of the pinions, it causes extremely little wear on them with very low friction . . . extending the life of the movement by decades. Nope . . . they won’t make you rich . . . except that mechanical watch movements with sufficient “jeweling” in the right places will keep you from having to spend money on servicing the movement or buying a new watch for a very long time! If a movement is otherwise designed well, and isn’t unduly abused, 17 or more jewels for a mechanical (hand-wind), and especially 21 or more for an auto-wind (adds a few more to the auto-wind mechanism) can create a movement that lasts 4-5 decades before it needs overhaul. 🙂