Two weeks ago I attended the wedding of a good friend from watchmaking school, who also happens to be a fellow co-founder of Alliance Horlogère. At the reception afterwards, I sat with another great friend of ours who is also a watchmaker. As might be expected, the conversation throughout the evening drifted in and out of what we’ve been up to at work and, at one point, he mentioned a new watch he’d seen recently on the wrist of the president of Girard-Perregaux. Of course, having shown some interest in the peculiar piece, he was offered the chance to handle it for a moment. Though after gulping back the monstrous price tag he was informed of for the prototype, my friend was quick to give it back to him, feeling a little weak in the knees. I was able to relate (to a small degree) having felt similarly after hearing the cost of the first Patek I ever handled.
Seven figure price aside, the most noteworthy feature about this new timepiece is its completely outside-the-box approach to escapement design. I had a very difficult time trying to conceptualize in my head exactly what my friend was attempting to convey to me as he explained what he’d seen, and I left that night with little more than a vague idea of what this new escapement looked like or how it could possibly function as he had described. It turns out, a key part of its ability to function got lost in translation (quite literally) and I didn’t discover until today what that was when I stumbled across an article on Europastar that portrayed the escapement my friend had seen. Silicon seems to hold a lot of new promise for mechanical timekeeping and GP’s new constant force escapement is the biggest step away from conventional thinking I have seen. I would have greatly appreciated the opportunity to see this new marvel in the wild myself.
For the full scoop, check out Europastar’s article on The Silicon Revolution. The Girard-Perregaux escapement is the third one featured down the page.
For even more unconventional horology, pick up this month’s copy of the BHI’sHorological Journal, or zip on over to LutolfPhilip.com.
So I finished my first week of classes and almost done with my second. It’s been a whirlwind of information that’s still processing through my head. Last Monday, I had no clue how to file properly! Our first project was an Anvil/Pusher Holder. This project pretty much teaches us the basics of what’s to come in the future. We’ve learned how to file, use a jewelers saw, and drill blind holes. Let me tell you, this takes A LOT of patience. So for those that are looking into this profession, patience is a must.
Anyway, this Anvil/Pusher holder was quite a task. We were given dimensions and a sample of what it’s supposed to look like. We then had to make a technical drawing and lay out the dimensions. Good thing I took Architectural Drawing in highschool! We’re also given tolerances on the dimensions and .10 of a millimeter is monstrous when working with stuff like this. So far I’ve spent about 10-12 hours on this project and it’s nearing the final process of beveling. I’ll take some pictures when I bring it home and I’ll give more information at that time.
My second project was started today and that is the Balance Tack. I think this will be fun because the lathe will be incorporated now. So far I’ve sawed out the base and spent about 3 hours smoothing it out and getting it to size.
Other than the practical portion, lectures are given when more instruction is needed. The teacher is great and very detailed in his instructions. You must be pay attention to every detail because it’s usually given out once. Good note taking is needed to be successful here.
All in all, everything is going great. Lots of information to process but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Historically watch calibers were designated by size. The French system for measuring sizes is the ligne. A ligne is equal to 1/12th of an 18th century French inch. The american system is simply “size.” In the American size the 0 size measures 1 5/30 inches and each size larger or smaller is 1/30 inch different. For more on sizes check out this article on Timezone.
The ligne gauge is a simple graduated piece of metal for determining the size of a watch caliber. To use the tool you place it across the dial side of the mainplate and read the size from the gauge. Size is really important, especially with older European movements or American pocket watches.
This appears to be the next must have book for Rolex enthusiasts. 100 Superlative Rolex Wristwatches by John Goldberger has a beautiful leather cover and over 700 full color images inside. These aren’t your everyday Rolexes. The book will be available in October.
My name is Tony and I have officially started my journey to become a professional watchmaker. I’ve become a contributor to this blog because I was accepted into the Lititz Watch Technicum just like J. Peter. This will be my first blog ever, and I’m not quite sure how this goes but I’ll try my best.
My main purpose here is to let everyone know what goes on here. First off, I have no experience in watchmaking or any kind of jewelry for that matter. I’m sure you know the basics like micromechanics, watch repair, etc. but I’ll be giving more in depth information weekly or daily. Before I started, I was surfing the internet trying to find as much info I could get but to be honest, there’s not too much out there. Yes, the Lititz Watch Technicum was talked about but there were no articles talking about what goes on inside. This blog was the closest I could get without calling the school everyday! Anyway, I’ll be talking about what I learn and the interesting things that happen in the next 2 years.
I’ve only been there for 3 days and I have learned so much already. Not necessarily about watches but problem solving using analytical thinking. Sometimes it seems like you’re doing random work, but the motto all the staff has been using is, “everything has a purpose.” The first day, we took apart our vices attached to our work bench. They haven’t been serviced in years and some of them were slowly deteriorating. We were asked to use them and determine if there were any issues. We would either say, yes or no, and start to take them apart. Memorizing where all the parts go, how each part works in relation to eachother, and what needs to be fixed was the purpose of this activity. At first I thought this was just busy work but soon enough, I realized what it would do.
Watchmaking is all about problem solving. Customers will bring in their timepieces and say, “fix this.” More often than not, they won’t know what’s wrong and will expect you to rip it apart, diagnose the problem, and fix it. As in this exercise, we got a first glimpse of what analytical thinking, problem isolation, and repairing will do for us in this profession.
This was a little bit of what happened so far but I already have a project due and I should get on it. Stay tuned!
I had the pleasure of getting a look under the hood of Omega’s vintage chronograph calibre 321 for the first time this week and was duly impressed. Predecessor to the now classic calibre 861, which earned its place in the history books as the movement which ran in the famed “First Watch Worn on the Moon”, I hadn’t heard much of it before. More than likely due to its age and the simple fact of it being lost in the shadow of its younger brother. Unlike the 861 however, the 321 is the finest specimen of movement I have seen from this manufacture. Which came as quite a surprise to me.
The 321 is a column wheel operated chronograph and boasts a Breguet overcoil, with guards fitted to the regulating pins to keep the hairspring from jumping out from between them should the watch be subjected to a strong shock. The 861 on, on the other hand, is more economically made, using a more easily mass produced cam to operate the chronograph, and doing away with the overcoil and guards. Even more unfortunate, is how much further removed the 321 is in quailty of crafstmanship from Omega’s calibre 1861, which replaced the 861. Most noticeable is the substitution of rhodium plating in place of the rose gold plating that is employed on the 861 and 321. That, though, is of little consequence. In fact, I could say it is one point in favour of the 1861, as rhodium is more durable than gold. The value of either depends on one’s perspective. Both have their merits. The point, though, is moot when held against the quality of steel used in the 321 and 861. More correctly, it is the quality of finish of the steel, particularly at the pivots, where the older calibres outpace the new. The pivots in the 321 are so carefully burnished that they still hold such a silky, deep lustre, that they hardly look a day old once cleaned. I cannot say as much for Omega’s more recent chronographs.
To draw the comparison out further, I have been thoroughly disappointed in recent years by the poor quality of components used in Omega’s relatively new 3303, and the co-axial variant 3313. While these particular models revert back to the use of a column wheel for the chronograph, the mechanism is so daintily constructed that it is not uncommon for me to open one to find any one of the components around the column wheel broken, including the column wheel itself and/or the post it revolves on. I have also encountered several wheels with broken, bent, or otherwise damaged pivots.
Not to be too harsh, though, the 3313 does have some good merits. Most notable being that it features a more stable, free sprung balance and a variation of George Daniels’ co-axial escapement. Neither of which the 321 can boast. That said, I don’t even want to begin to discuss the poor quality and poor finish of the material used in Omega’s co-axial escapement; other than to say that silicon may be the one saving grace for the mass production of this fabulous invention.
While I could not possibly bring myself to recommend a watch containing the 3313 to a client, I would not hesitate to recommend that they jump at any opportunity to acquire a 321 for their collection. It was a breath of fresh air to have this calibre cross my bench.
As a watchmaker in a retail store I get lots of interruptions. I am called upon to size bracelets on newly sold watches (and other watches too), change power cells, answer customers technical questions, fix computer problems, and a myriad of other things. Sometimes the interruption is welcomed, other times it is not.
If your curious how often I get interrupted, I’ve added a new counter to the right side of my blog (just above the Amazon ad) which shows (in real-time) how many power cell changes I have performed on watches since I graduated from watchmaking school. It won’t change dramatically but it surprises even me when I see how many I have done.
Apparently I usually look pretty involved in my work because my co-workers are always apologizing for the interruption. Thing is, it is part of a watchmakers work and I don’t mind at all. Sometimes it does take me 15 seconds to get to a convenient place to stop, and sometimes it takes me a minute or two to review my work and remember exactly where I am.
One important part of dealing with interruptions is double checking the work you “think” you already did to ensure nothing important gets missed. Without double checking you might remember having oiled a pivot, but allow a watch to leave your shop anyway. If your faced with interruptions, and even if you are not, double and triple checking your work is extremely important in watchmaking.
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At first glance it may look like a pin vise but it is much much more. It’s a minute wheel post cutter. Tighten it down around a cylindrical post and rotate it and it shaves off around the circumference of the post, reducing its diameter.
It’s designed to help you bush a worn minute wheel post. Sometimes the posts wear on one side leaving the post ovalized. With this tool you can slowly reduce the diameter past the worn spot and then fit a bushing over the post. Of course this post should be bushed anyway but all too often it isn’t. This is an operation that would best be performed with the face plate on the lathe, centering the plate on the minute wheel post and turning it down to ensure the post is centered, but usually there is enough play that this will get it close enough to solve the problem.
I use the tool most after soldering on a broken dial foot to trim off extra solder around the bottom of the foot so it will fit flush against the plate. It’s really a crude tool, but it gets the job done.
That’s right that terrible problem that was supposed to occur on Midnight of January 1st, 2000. Our computers were all supposed to crash and it was going to cost our country millions of dollars. Well nothing became of it then, but it is a problem.
Today I changed the battery in a digital Seiko but when I went to set the date I could choose from the years 93 to 07. I guess they figured the useful lifespan of the watch was less than 14 years. So what do you do when your watch, or your VCR, or any other digital product doesn’t have the right year option for you. You find another that will work. There are two key criteria: Jan 1st needs to be the same day of the week, and the leap-year-ness of the year should match up.
2008 is a leap year there are actually no compatible years between 1993 and 2007, but since leap day has past, any year where todays date falls on the same day of the week will do for now, I used 1997, I could have also used 2003. The problem with both is that the watch will be off next February when the watch thinks there are 29 days. Unfortunately I only have Seiko to blame for not giving me enough valid days to choose from. The last time there was a leap year that started on a Tuesday (like this year) was 1980. Incidentally the next one will be 2036.
Looking for a bargain on next years calendars? Search ebay for calendars from 1953, 1959, 1970, 1987, or 1998 they will all work, and some of them might be pretty cool (like this one).
If you’re trying to figure out what year to use there is a useful tool at this page to calculate identical calendar years.
My web host lost my server yesterday and they are currently in the process of restoring the data. I’ll clean up the blog as soon as I have access to the server again. Thank you for the understanding.
