Why do you need the stone bearing?

A mechanical watch, we usually see how many JEWELS are on the back of the case or the machine heart, and that represents how much ruby is in the heart of the machine. How important is the significance of this kind of machine heart rubies?
The person familiar with the structure of the watch machine should be aware that the jewel bearing belongs to the category of "other parts" in a wristwatch, which is used to reduce the friction of the pivot rod. What we call ruby bearing in ruby is artificial, main component is 3 oxidation 2 aluminium, with a uniform quality of a material is solid, easy processing, several characteristics such as colour multiple-choice, with natural ruby has the same properties. So why does the heart of the watch set rubies?
1. Historical origin
Let's start with the history of rubies: the 18th century Britain was the cradle of the high quality clocks, and the watchmaker used the little bits of rubies (called gems) to make the bearings of the pivot. One of the first to create a ruby drilling technique was the Swiss optical instrument maker and astronomer Nicolas Fatio, who went to Britain to hope for a "royal prerogative" for the invention. But the British say the technology is already in use, in the end he didn't get privilege, while his technology adopted by other craftsmen, also it is the technology that make the British empire in the watch industry continued in a dominant position. The turning point is the tabulation master Abraham. Louis? Breguet, Breguet, who brought Britain's watch technology back to France. Since then, the ruby has been widely used in watches.
2. Technical reasons
The machine heart inlaid ruby was originally based on technical reasons, and the operation of mechanical watch machine must be carried out by the constant transmission power of each gear. Before the important function of ruby was recognized, the spiral axis of the escapement, the escape fork, the pendulum shaft and the wheel of the wheel were all turned into the hole in the brass splint. These holes carry small tanks, and oil flows into the hole to lubricate the pivot. As time goes by, the dust in the air enters into a material that is abrasive, slowly dropping the softer brass and even dropping the harder steel pivot. The watchmakers realized that they needed to find a material that was harder than brass to withstand the wear and tear of the pivot. This material is ruby, which is second only to diamond. Natural rubies have a strong scarcity, so people use synthetic methods to make the jewels used in wristwatches.
3. Consumer demand
All products end up being consumed. In the eyes of consumers, a wristwatch with a gem (even a gemstone) can raise the added value of "face". The watchmakers soon began to smell a business opportunity and began to enchase rubies on the heart of the machine. There are four main types of ruby bearings: one is used as an axis eye, commonly known as "drilling", which is embedded in certain parts to make the shaft and drilling eye contact. The other type is used as a cover plate, commonly known as the "torching", which is equivalent to the bearing in the machine, which can be used to hold the tenon of the shaft to move up and down. Another is the round diamond that is used as a pendulum. Even with a common manual chain, the number of gems ranges from a minimum of 14 to up to 19, with more automatic chains and complex mechanical watches.
Summary: at any time, rubies will undoubtedly improve the overall quality of products, and high quality watches should not be less. However, in this case, it is important to avoid the mistaken idea that the ruby bearing is not the patent of the high-end table. With the popularization of industrialization, it is very common to use the ruby bearing in the heart of the watch machine. At the same time, the number of heart rubies does not represent the quality of the heart or watch. The real high quality must have survived the precipitation and inspection of the years.