Uhrwerke – Eine Leidenschaft
Today I’m going skating on black ice! Why? Every watchmaker and watch hobbyist has their own philosophy when it comes to oiling movements. Ask three watchmakers and you’ll get five different answers. And many movement manufacturers, in turn, have their own ideas and sometimes regulations.
In 1950, IWC launched the automatic calibers 81 (small seconds) and 85 (center second) with a new automatic winding system developed by Albert Pellaton. I was able to get hold of a 5:1 scale model of this winding system made by IWC and present it to you here, as it illustrates the functioning of the Pellaton winding system particularly clearly.
Today we are once again talking about a Swiss watch and movement manufacturer that can claim a hundred years of history and yet has remained almost unknown. We are talking about Goschler & Cie from Biel in Switzerland.
Hebdomas pocket watches have a high recognition value due to their appearance – the off-centered hands and the balance visible on the dial side with a large balance bridge immediately catch the eye. Here we take a look at the techniques of the movements of these watches.
Continue reading “Hebdomas – a look into the watch movement”On September 15, 1898, Stanislas Froidevaux and Joseph Gaibrois founded the watch company S. Froidevaux & Cie. in Porrentruy, in the Swiss canton of Jura.
Just a few months later, in January 1899, the company registered its two first trademarks, two interlocking gear segments and VORWÄRTS (Forward):
Continue reading “Froidevaux from Porrentruy in Switzerland”A retrograde, i.e. reversing, display on a watch is a complication in which a hand, for example for the time or date, moves over a segment of a circle. Instead of turning completely in a circle, the hand jumps back to the starting position in a sudden manner as soon as it reaches the end of the segment scale.
Do you need it and is it useful? Not necessarily! Why do you do it then? Because it is possible!
Continue reading “Retrograde Time Displays”