Watches can be powered by a variety of mechanisms, also known as movements, which use different techniques to ensure the watch ticks accurately. Each created out of different necessities, the primary watch movement types are automatic, quartz and mechanical.

1. Quartz Watches
Invented in the mid-20th century, quartz watches are powered by a battery that typically lasts between one and two years. Many Swiss luxury watch brands use quartz movements for their accuracy and reliability.

2. Mechanical Watches
The second type of watch mechanism is the mechanical watch, which runs on kinetic energy. Originally used for each pocket watch and wrist watch in the 1800s, mechanical movement is often associated with luxury watches for their spectacular display of hundreds of tiny parts and gears laboriously assembled by expert watchmakers. Requiring a great amount of precision and detail, expert watchmakers use an intricate series of tiny components working together to power each mechanical movement. Mechanical watches also come in two forms: automatic, powered by movement, or manual, powered by winding the knob daily.

3. Automatic Watches
Lastly, there is an automatic movement, otherwise known as self-winding. Founded shortly after the development of mechanical watches, these watches harness energy through the wearer’s wrist, in turn, engaging a rotor mechanism in the automatic watch and allowing it to wind itself.

Melding classic silhouettes with innovative design, men’s accessories and fine watches have come a long way from the sports watch styles of the '80s to early aughts. One of the most notable names in watchmaking, Vacheron Constantin uses its 200-plus years of expertise to update men’s timepieces in sleek and highly functional designs. Featuring a self-winding automatic movement and 2450 Q6/3 Calibre, the house’s Patrimony Self-Winding watch is inspired by designs from the 1950s, and elevated with an 18K yellow gold case and alligator-skin strap.