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Horology glossaryDefined term / movement-number

Movement Number

An identifying number stamped on the movement itself, sometimes distinct from the case or reference number stamped elsewhere on the same watch.

Authentication note

Why this detail matters.

Opening a case to read a movement number should be left to someone qualified to handle the watch. Where the movement and case numbers are meant to correspond, an authenticator compares them against each other and, when archive records exist, against those records, rather than treating either number alone as proof of anything.

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