Is there a term for the sound of the mechanism of a watch?

 

Yes. "Ineffable"

 

Tock

 

Ta

(for some reason, I had mutter in my mind)

 

An interesting variation of this question would be whether different languages have different onomatopoeia for the sound a watch/clock makes

In the U.S. at least, it most regularly is “tick” or “ticking” ... so much so that it also serves as the etymology for other noun/verb forms (e.g., “I’d love to know what made Steve Jobs tick.”) or itself is used as a substitute for a unit of time (“I’ll be there in one tick).

 

Would Beats Per Hour also translate as ticks, as in ticks per second?
The more ticks per second the smoother the sweep of the second hand.

 

A truly underutilized word in today's lexicon. Thanks for bringing it up.

 

.....underutilized....now there is a word not often used, well done on its placement.

 

I was wondering about the acoustic design of watches and what sort of language people use to describe it ... technically, or critically like ... It's a bit like the same way BMW are famously said to have hired sound designers and involved them in the design of a satisfactory, reassuringly expensive clump sound

Some watches sound chattery, some like silk slowly tearing. Some are like a soothing stream. Some put your nerves on end.

 

Many things will affect the sound - beat rates, escapement type, escapement materials, case materials, etc.

The sounds is simply a result of the design, so unlike your car example it doesn't dictate the design.

 

And some watches hum......

 

So far every Chinese watch I've listened to went "ping-ping-ping" instead of tick tick tick.