AndrewD
[HoMe Moderator]
12829
Accurately setting the spherical moon
Dear Amery,
Interestingly De Bethune launched their spherical moonphase at the same Basel Fair as Paul’s Model 33. I wonder who was more surprised. It is a truly romantic complication and a wonderful way to show the phases of the moon. Because part of the sphere must, by necessity, be buried in the body of the movement, I imagine it is more difficult to read off the exact phase of the moon. However, this does not reduce the ability to set the phase correctly. The instructions are shown here and it requires that you start with the half moon (when the diamond and lapis lazuli seam is uppermost) and move forward one day at a time with the pusher.
Andrew
Paul Gerber Model 33
I was able to spend some time with Paul and Ruth Gerber in Zurich. Paul’s Atelier is like Aladdin’s cave and there was so much to see that I cannot compile it all into one post, so I will divide it into bite sized pieces based on specific watches. One of ...
A fabulous post on a fabulous watch!
Thank you for the wonderful pictures and instructive write up. A question, if you please. Since the balance only gets an impulse every other vibration, how is the escapement stabilised on the wrist? In 'Watchmaking' Goerge Daniels writes that such escapem...
Answer from Paul Gerber:
Hi Aditya, I passed your question on to Paul regarding the stability of his escapement design. His response was that his escapement has unilateral drive and is no more sensitive to shocks than the traditional Swiss lever escapement. Regards Andrew
Thank you for passing on the question
I still cannot understand it though. I suppose I will have to study description of the escapement a bit more. Kind regards Aditya
A fine report on a marvelous construction
with a certain carefully defined aesthetic appeal. However, as a personal owner, I have certain misgivings and afterthoughts. Perhaps I should send you a PM on these? Just give me a wink. I wish to see nothing on a Forum that would detract from Paul's und...
When worlds collide
There is so much to admire, and even adore, about the Caliber 33 that I feel forced to add some observations should anyone seriously consider buying one - as he should! Let's start with my version and how I came to choose the one with the moon but with th...
Thank you for this hands-on feedback...
which is well-received. It is great to owners of very rare watches sharing their experiences. In summary I guess your musings are correct. Its a watch to relax and enjoy yourself. It has its quirks and idiosyncrasies - but aren't they the reflection of th...
It is entirely thanks to you that I have a Caliber 33
Without your article at oratus-mundi this could never have happened - and I will always be grateful to you! Any " quirks and idiosyncrasies" can be attributed to me, the wearer and enjoyer - but never a "collector" or a buyer-seller type of watches. Some ...
Accurately setting the spherical moon
Dear Amery, Interestingly De Bethune launched their spherical moonphase at the same Basel Fair as Paul’s Model 33. I wonder who was more surprised. It is a truly romantic complication and a wonderful way to show the phases of the moon. Because part of the...
Magnificent timepiece....
from one of the true masters of the craft. We don't get to see much of Paul's work, so it's always refreshing to get a detailed look at one of his masterpieces. Feel free to post additional scans if you have them! Darren
Great post.
I've enjoyed it a lot. Thank you for taking the time to post this, and showing us some very interesting internals of a "real" watchmaker. cheers Vte :)
Andrew, it was a pleasure ...
to read that post. Now it is stored on my computer :-) Thanks for sharing! Oliver