Uh oh, I'm a little confused now. :)

To be clear, I do understand that the regulators in ALS watches use swan necks, and I do know what a regulator is for (it adjusts the effective length of the hairspring).

However, I don't understand what you mean by this:

"This movement (of the lever) has also on impact on the notch: it will widen or close. And this adjusts the length on the balance spring and hence it will swing faster if shorten or slowly if given more length."

I don't see how this would affect the width of the notch all that much, if it all. Also, the notch shouldn't have anything to do with changing the length of the hairspring, as that is what the spoke/lever opposite the swan neck with the pins holding the hairsping is for. When the screw of the swan neck is adjusted it moves the regulator as a unit, and therefore the spoke/lever with the pins holding the hairspring will move also. This movement of the spoke/lever with the pins holding the hairspring captive is what changes the effective length. At least this is my understanding.

In your first post you said that the notch was a means of holding the regulator secure in position, like a friction fit you can tigthen or loosen to install/remove the regulator. That is, you can open the notch a bit wide to put everything in place, then narrow it to secure everything. But your second post seems to say that the notch actually changes shape when the swan neck screw is adjusted, and that this is what affects the length of the hairspring, which I do not agree with.

I hope I am not misinterpreting your words but that is how I understood your post.

Help?

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What is the purpose of the 'notch' in the swan neck regulator?

By: Crescendo : May 10th, 2013-21:42

Hi all, First of all, please forgive my lack of technical knowledge and for potentially screwing up the terminology. Now to my question: What is the purpose of the 'notch' in the regulator of ALS watches? I have highlighted this notch in the following two...

I assume the "notch" makes it a spring

By: COUNT DE MONET : May 10th, 2013-23:32

I guess during assembly the notch will be opened a bit, bend a bit to put all into place and to hold it securely after wards. There is nothing wrong with your lovely Up and Down ... a very nice 1815! Best Moritz

Hi Moritz,

By: Crescendo : May 11th, 2013-21:10

Thanks for your reply. It's interesting what you say about it being a sort of spring, or a least a means to widen and loosen the part to allow for fitting. It makes sense. It would be nice if an expert could confirm or deny this. :) Thank you also for the...

Ok, ok: YOU asked for technicalities :-)

By: COUNT DE MONET : May 12th, 2013-01:41

The whole thing is called swan neck regulator. On the first pic you see the lever pointing to the left. The little screw in the bottom will move the lever (called "Ruecker" in German) up if you crew in and down if you crew out. This movement has also on i...

Uh oh, I'm a little confused now. :)

By: Crescendo : May 12th, 2013-06:03

To be clear, I do understand that the regulators in ALS watches use swan necks, and I do know what a regulator is for (it adjusts the effective length of the hairspring). However, I don't understand what you mean by this: "This movement (of the lever) has...

Since I am not a Lange technician ...

By: COUNT DE MONET : May 12th, 2013-08:36

... I had to go into the text passage again to read about it. The whole swinging system is made out of several pieces that have to be assembled together. The notch in the regulator part will be like a spring as the component with the pins holding the bala...

Thank you!

By: Crescendo : May 12th, 2013-09:11

Moritz, thanks for your patience in explaining and confirming the function of the notch to me. Much appreciated. I have looked at my watch's notch again with the 10X loupe and it is definitely crooked/jagged around the edges (like in my artists rendition)...

Dr Monet's advice: look at other close ups here

By: COUNT DE MONET : May 12th, 2013-09:50

Simply enter " Lange close up" into the Forum Search function here and tick "images" first. You will see: it is all fine, all of them have got it. I could see it even with my bare eyes in my 1815 homage moon phase! One more interesting note: if you compar...

Oh yes, I understand that all the watches have the notch...

By: Crescendo : May 12th, 2013-10:49

...I don't dispute that, it is plain to see in many photos of ALS watches. However, if the notch is supposed to be straight and well-finished, as it seems to be in SteveG's high-res photos of both his 1815 and L1, mine is not. Mine is cosmetically damaged...