Reference · Technical standards
Technical standards.
The organizations, archives and standards that watchmakers themselves check against, grouped by what you are checking.
These are independent sources, listed because watchmakers use them; Watch Vault Archive has no connection to any of them. The application checks nothing against them and makes no network requests — comparing a figure is something its owner does, here, in a browser.
Movements and calibers
Factory documentation settles what a listing rounds off: jewel count, dimensions, and whether a caliber is a base or a documented variant.
- ETA eta.ch (opens in a new tab) Factory specifications for Swiss base calibers, including the 2824-2, 2892-A2 and 7750.
- Sellita sellita.ch (opens in a new tab) Technical sheets for the SW200, SW300 and SW500 families, with oiling charts.
- Miyota miyotamovement.com (opens in a new tab) Citizen's Japanese movements, including the Cal. 82 and Cal. 90 automatic families.
- Ranfft ranfft.org (opens in a new tab) Vintage and discontinued movements: identification, dimensions and production years.
- Caliber Corner calibercorner.com (opens in a new tab) A modern and vintage movement catalogue, with photographs of the movements themselves.
Timing and certification
A timegrapher reading can only be checked with the lift angle it was taken at, and a certificate means what its standard says, nothing more.
- COSC cosc.swiss (opens in a new tab) Swiss chronometer certification to ISO 3159: the uncased movement, five positions, three temperatures, fifteen days.
- METAS metas.ch (opens in a new tab) Master Chronometer: the finished, cased watch, including magnetic resistance to 15,000 gauss.
- Witschi witschi.com (opens in a new tab) A timing-machine maker's documentation on how rate, amplitude and beat error are measured.
- Lift angle by caliber calibercorner.com (opens in a new tab) The figure a timegrapher needs for a correct amplitude reading, listed by movement.
Water resistance and case
“Water resistant” and “diver's watch” are different claims, each with its own ISO standard.
- ISO 22810
- Water-resistant watches, for everyday use.
- ISO 6425
- Divers' watches: overpressure testing, a running indicator readable underwater, magnetic and shock resistance.
- ISO 764
- Magnetic resistance: at least 4,800 A/m.
- ISO 1413
- Shock-resistant watches.
Case hardness is quoted in Vickers (HV): about 200 for 316L steel and 320–380 for grade 5 titanium. Surface-hardened steels are sold on four to six times that.
Why lift angle changes an amplitude reading, and how COSC differs from METAS, is explained in where to verify a watch's specifications.