A mechanical watch, with no battery, whose mainspring is wound by a weighted rotor that turns as the wearer moves.
An automatic watch stores its operating energy in a mainspring, just as a manually wound mechanical watch does. Its distinguishing feature is a winding mechanism driven by an oscillating weight, usually called a rotor. Movement of the wrist causes the weight to turn, and the winding mechanism transfers that motion to the mainspring. Some movements place a smaller rotor within the movement rather than above it. Once the watch is taken off, it continues running on its stored power reserve until that energy is exhausted. Automatic describes the winding system, rather than an additional timekeeping function.
In job listings
Watch sales and service roles take this distinction for granted. An advisor may need to explain winding and power reserve to a client, and a watchmaker will meet the rotor and winding system during a service. Search local jobs for “watchmaker”.
