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Horological Meandering

200 years ago...

 

200 years ago there were thriving outsourcing activities supporting most clock and watchmaking.  There were specialists for balance springs and mainsprings, fusee chains (often young girls with good eyesight and nimble fingers) and jewels, as well as dial makers, case makers, pivot makers, wheel makers (not necessarily the same as pinion makers), hand makers, clock case makers, chime makers (clocks and watches), as well as specialist engravers, engine turners, movement finishers...you name it, it was outsourced.  Spares as we know them didn't exist as the notion of interchangeability hadn't happened yet, but parts were readily available. 

It would be fascinating to know the number of watches ever that have been 100% built by one person.  There's the obvious example of George Daniels, but who else?  Did Derek Pratt or Albert Potter make EVERYTHING?  Breguet? but did he make the hands and jewels?  He certainly didn't make the cases and dials, and he used ebauches for many watches.

nick

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15 Comments view entire thread 

hmmm

 
By: aldossari_faisal : March 26th, 2010-08:03
from my own personal view i would say, someone who can do the watch by his own hand craft, who can spot an error in a watch and fix it, also a movement creator who come up with detailed movement design or detailed movement mechanism concept i would consid... 

The term is used very loosely, and often even

 
By: ThomasM : March 26th, 2010-08:40
Inconsistently, even by the same person in the same context. Design and conception are usually NOT assumed, at least not within industry usage. On the other hand, whom laymen term "watchmaker" are often just "technicians." I'm sur facets of this will emer... 

"Just technicians"

 
By: 1440 : March 27th, 2010-13:38
Well thank you for diminishing my profession. Of course as you state the term watchmaker does not assume one designs and builds watches when used in the context of the industry. However the term "Watch Technician" does mean someone with a specific skill s... 

I know the tone of your reply, as well as the "parts" addressed to me, were probably

 
By: ThomasM : March 27th, 2010-16:44
tongue in cheek. In case they weren't, or in case anyone reading your reply to my post might be confused as to my original intent, "whom laymen term "watchmaker" are often just "technicians." " Emphasis added. So in case it wasn't clear, my comments were ... 

Yes indeed

 
By: 1440 : March 28th, 2010-08:22
Tongue in cheek. The question I have is, what is the "technician" you refer to? Cheers, Al

honestly, Al, not you.

 
By: ThomasM : March 29th, 2010-02:33
To be honest, you didn't even enter my mind when I wrote my post. The AVERAGE layman is most likely NOT aware that there are any certifications or formal schooling that provides "basic knowledge and hands on practice" to ensure at least a baseline knowled... 

Calling yourself a 'watchmaker'......

 
By: DRMW : March 27th, 2010-17:49
Anyone can call themselves a 'watchmaker', the real question is if they produce crap or not. -MW

To me, a true watchmaker is one who actually makes watches

 
By: mrsnak : March 26th, 2010-09:11
Meaning that they have the skills to make most of the parts. This is what watchmakers had to do 200 years ago when parts weren't easily available. I think watch repairer, or watch technician more accurately describes most of those who service and repair o... 

200 years ago...

 
By: nickd : March 26th, 2010-10:09
200 years ago there were thriving outsourcing activities supporting most clock and watchmaking. There were specialists for balance springs and mainsprings, fusee chains (often young girls with good eyesight and nimble fingers) and jewels, as well as dial ... 

good answer

 
By: amerix : March 26th, 2010-10:36
And the oils ... always the oils, for instance the calf-foot gelatine - whatever. Also how many of Breguet's ideas, inventions and patents did he acquire and then present under his own (brand) name? Breguet became a factory, but he had maybe 24 or 26 spec... 

In the past, there were giants...

 
By: nickd : March 27th, 2010-02:03
I guess we're in danger of becoming polarised here - or at least I am There's a tendency to eulogise the past, and claim that what happens now is nowhere near as good, that standards have fallen etc. I tend to go to the opposite extreme, based to a certai... 

context is everything

 
By: ei8htohms : March 28th, 2010-14:29
When someone asks me what I do for a living, I say I'm a watchmaker. If they don't really know what that means they'll often say, "So you actually make watches?" and I'll have to explain that watchmaker is a professional term for a person with a certain l...