Tick Talk[Vacheron Moderator]
2210
A balance-spring vibrating tool
Nov 15, 2013,18:50 PM
otherwise known as a vibrator...but don't Google that! I was inspired by our visit to Montblanc Minerva and the demonstration by one of their two in-house Poseuse de spiraux (often, although incorrectly, called a régleuse as the female form of régleur; someone who times the watch).
So I was very pleased with the opportunity to acquire this circa 1930 tool by F. Schneider-Robert of Chaux-de-Fonds, in the original fitted box.
Traditionally, the work has been performed by women, just as régleur was traditionally the job of men. The Poseuse de spiraux had a rather delicate job with many tasks, including selecting and fitting the balance-spring to the balance staff, forming the terminal coil, and pinning it to the stud and collet. The English would refer to the same worker as a "springer".
This vibrating tool was used to "count" the balance-spring; that is, to determine the point where it oscillates in harmony with the reference balance of the tool. This one is for 18,000 vph. She then cuts away the excess and, amusingly, I found many tiny snips of hairsprings at the bottom of the case.
Along with ephemera such as period boxes and literature, collecting vintage horlogical tools provides an interesting sidebar to our hobby. HAGWE