Watch Crown Illustrations

Most people think of a watch crown as something that is only used to change the time, however it can control several other important functions on a wristwatch or pocket watch. A watch crown is used to wind some watches (manual wind mechanical watches), it can stop the watch (by pulling it out) and make your battery last longer when you are not using the watch.

The traditional watch crown is used for these four functions:

• Change the time
• Set the date and day
• Wind the watch
• Stop the watch

What does a watch crown do?

We already told you the most common uses of a watch crown but there are other types of watch crowns that are for stop watch functions (usually seen on chronograph watches) along with moon phase, time zone, and count down timer features. The crown is attached to a watch stem that protrudes into the watch movement allowing you to mechanically make manual changes to the watch including electronics and mechanical motions. Sometimes a watch button can look like a crown – the main difference is that a buttons only feature is pushing in for desired feature.

Watch Crown Wear

Watch crowns are usually made of metal or stainless steel and are designed to be tough for everyday wear. On some watch brands, the watch crown is protected by metal that sticks out on the watch case but other watches leave the watch crown more open to the possibility of catching, bending, and breaking. There can be several parts included in a watch crown like a small gasket, metal threading, and sleeves designed to protect the inside of the watch from moisture and debris. If your watch crown has been subject to chemicals and bending or heavy hitting, you should carefully inspect the crown for any damage to the components and replace a watch crown if necessary.

Replacing a Watch Crown

This can be an easy task, but you will usually need some tools to first open a watch back. Sometimes when you replace the watch crown, you will also have to replace the watch stem if the watch crown has been bent or severed completely from the watch. You will also need some tools to remove, cut, and file the watch stem and some glue to attach the stem to the crown.

Watch Crown Design

Watch crowns can be simple and plain, they can be adorned with jewels, and silver and gold watch crowns are not unusual. Most watch crowns have ridges to help you grip them in your fingers but some are made smooth and shiny. Some watch crowns are very small coinciding with a smaller watch design while other watch crowns are so big that they are considered “oversized”. The color of the watch crown will usually match the color of the watch case (silver and gold being the most common) but some watch crowns are made in a variety of colors to match the fashion of the timepiece.

Push Button Antique Style Crown

• Used on hunting case watches that use a push button to open the cover on the watch
• Generally used on the newer quartz style watches

Threaded Crown with Outside Case Tube Threads

Used on most standard watches that use a threaded crown

• The threads are on the outside of the case tube and on the inner portion of the crown
• The case tube is frictioned into the case

Threaded Crown with Inside Case Tube Threads

• Generally used on the high grade watch brands.
• The threads are on the inside of the case tube and on the post of the crown rather than inside the crown.
• The case tube is frictioned into the case

Japanese Waterproof Crowns

• These crowns have a long post and the o-ring gasket is directly on the long post instead of inside the crown
• Most popular style for Seiko, Pulsar and Lorus type watches

Dustproof Crowns

• These are used in watches that are not water resistant or waterproof.
• Generally considered a dress watch
• Spring portion of the crown fits into the hole of the case to keep the dust and dirt out of the watch.

Jewelled Dustproof Crowns

• These are used in watches that are not water resistant or waterproof.
• Generally considered a dress watch
• Spring portion of the crown fits into the hole of the case to keep the dust and dirt out of the watch
• Jewelled end is available in blue, black and red
• Usually on high grade watch brands

Waterproof Crown – flush post

• These are used on water resistant or waterproof watches
• The flush post that the stem threads into is flush or even with the crown

Waterproof Crown – medium post

• These are used on water resistant or waterproof watches
• The medium post that the stem threads into is slightly longer than the crown itself
• These can be used when your stem has been broken off slightly from the original crown and can save you money

Waterproof Crown – long post

• These are used on water resistant or waterproof watches
• The long post that the stem threads into is quite a bit longer than the crown itself
• These can be used when your stem has been broken off from the original crown and can save you money

Waterproof Crown – domed

• These are used on water resistant or waterproof watches
• The flush post that the stem threads into is flush or even with the crown
• The top of the crown is domed to give the watch a more finished dress look
• Popular in watches like Movado

Waterproof Crown – jewelled

• These are used on water resistant or waterproof watches
• The flush post that the stem threads into is flush or even with the crown
• Jeweled end is available in blue, black and red
• Usually on high grade watch brands

Swiss Army Style Crowns – thick

• These are used on water resistant or waterproof watches
• The flush post that the stem threads into is flush or even with the crown
• These crowns are extra thick to fit over long case tubes

Extra Large Waterproof Crowns

• These are used on water resistant or waterproof watches
• The flush post that the stem threads into is flush or even with the crown
• These crowns are used on the extra large watches that are so popular today