A watch in 3 dimensions

AssembledSeparated
Assembling the movement…
A WATCH IN 3 DIMENSIONS

Time, taken apart.

A mechanical watch stores energy in a spring, passes it through gears, and releases it to the rhythm of an oscillating balance.

Explore the mechanism

Press Follow the flow to walk the energy from the crown to the balance wheel, one part at a time. Or select a component and search by name. Use Look closer to inspect it, and Step one tick to advance a single beat. Drag the explode slider to separate the parts and see what lies beneath them.

About the model

This is an original, simplified teaching model of a hand-wound Swiss lever movement, not a specific manufacturer’s calibre or manufacturing CAD. Gear speeds are linked; the escapement and springs use explanatory animation, not a force simulation. Exploded positions separate the parts for inspection. 1× represents a 2.5 Hz balance.

References

Federation of the Swiss Watch IndustryInitium — How a manual movement worksNOMOS — Watchmaking glossary

3D rendering: Three.js (MIT).