Essentially, the small rubies (also sometimes referred to as jewels) in mechanical movements are used as bearings for the pivots to reduce friction. Being strong and hard, they help to reduce friction and wear and tear amongst the mechanical parts.

Why are rubies used in watchmaking?

But the question is, when and why did jewels become widely used? The purpose of jewels in watch movements is to reduce friction - that's the easy part. ... Accurate timekeeping required that at least the degree of friction be known; and that friction was consistent.

Do they use real rubies in watches?

So yes, there are actually precious gems in the movement of your watch and usually quite a few of them! Back in the day, watchmakers used natural genuine rubies to create these bearings, and more recently, they adopted the use of lab-created rubies (also known as synthetic rubies) or sapphires.