brandon1
842
I think for me its about philosophy and emotion...
Rather than actual rate results or real world stability. I am fully aware that many fine watches with regulators keep time just as well as their freely sprung brethren, but I like the "idea" of stability that a free sprung balance conveys, and for me (probably because I learned about the free sprung balance so early in the development of my watch obsession) a balance with an index regulator just doesn't convey that warm feeling.
So it seems I am somewhat alone in this specific and unshakable bias. Fortunately, there are more wonderful free-sprung watches out there than I could ever hope to own/wear so it's not as if I will be suffering
I just wish sometimes I could muster more appreciation for watches that many other enthusiasts fawn over.
Thanks for all of your time consuming and thoughtful responses!
B
Not entirely alone.
By: mkvc : February 16th, 2010-00:28
I certainly have a preference for variable-inertia regulators, of which the most typical examples are free-sprung. However, I have a particular soft spot for the old IWC system that combined a variable inertia balance for large adjustment with a regulator...
Explanation....
By: BDLJ : February 16th, 2010-04:49
Hey Graham, In a (very small) nutshell, a free-sprung balance is where the balance spring length is fixed and the adjustment is via the polar moment of inertia of the balance...hmmmm. Bit techy, sorry. From the other direction: On a balance with a regulat...
free sprung vs. regulated
By: tee530 : February 16th, 2010-05:59
Also no expert, but the basics as I understand them: Free-sprung balances vs. regulated balances reflect two different ways of adjusting the rate (fast/slow) of the oscillating timekeeper. Free-sprung have a fixed-length hairspring, and thus the rate is a...
Not always high end
By: nickd : February 16th, 2010-10:33
Elgin produced the Durabalnce free sprung balance, though I don't know if it was ever used in production. FHF produced a free sprung production movement the FHF 72 www.ranfft.de . You see it from time to time on ebay in various watches around the $150 mar...
elgins
By: eterna-fan : February 16th, 2010-11:49
elgin produced tens of thousands of durabalance grade watches. the finishing was spartan, at best, but the movements were excellent time-keepers. i believe the free-sprung caliber 730a was the first wristwatch approved for US railway service. they were no...
More...
By: nickd : February 16th, 2010-13:18
The index pins of a watch with a regulator don't grip the spring perfectly tightly, otherwise you'd have to slacken them to adjust the regulator. Classic theory says the balance is isochronous due, in part, to this gap. As the balance spring oscillates it...