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Glossary/Hairspring

The hairspring is the regulating governor of a timepiece. It is this body that determines the rate of timekeeping of a timepiece and, ultimately, how well or how poorly that rate of time will be kept.

Hairsprings are usually spiral in form. Early hairsprings may only have had three or four coils. Most modern hairsprings, however, average about 14 coils.

A hairspring is so called because of its fineness. It may be made of a number of different materials including Nivarox, Invar, Steel, Palladium, Carbon fibre, and Silicon. Most modern hairsprings are made of Nivarox and come in a variety of different grades.