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Early Swiss Wristwatches
and their Manufacturers 1910 -1930
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A Research into the 13-ligne lever Escapement Movement
Koen Vermeij & Leo van Rijn
Early Swiss Wiistwatches and their Manufacturers, 1910-1930
A Research into the 13-hgne Lever Escapement Movement
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Lay-out: Studio KV62 7
Schemes: Koen Venneij
Cartoons: Leo van Rijn
Piclures: by the authors, except for a number of reproductions
Typeface: ITC Berkeley Oldstyle, Frederic W. Goudy, 1938/1983
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Koen Vermeij & Leo van Rijn, NL-Aerclenhout - Heiloo 2015
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Printing: BoekenGi Ide, Nl-Enschede
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ISBNIEAN: 978-9-462330-65-8
All rights reserved
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©Koen Vermeij & Leo van Rijn
Aerden hout & Heiloo, The Netherlands.
The auLhors have endeavoured Lo Lrace all copyrighL holders of image material as far as possible.
They would appreciate any information that will enable to complete their search.
CONTENTS
3
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE
CHAPTERl
THE MANUFACTURES
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HO\V IT ST1\RTED
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TOWARDS \1ACHI.t\E \1ANCFACTURI.t\G
Ill[ PROCESS Of' \1AKI:'JC vVATCllES 11\ Ill[ LATE 1700S, EARLY 18005
HOW A WATCH 'vVAS
~MADE
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The contribution of Jean Antoine Lepine ( 1720-1814)
The achievemenLs of Frederic Japy (1749-1813)
Georges-AugusLe LeschoL (1800-1884)
Pierre Frederic Ingo1d (1787-1878)
Georges Frederic Roskopf (1813-1889)
AT THE BEGTNNTl'\G OF THE 2on 1 CF.NTURY
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Fabrique d'Hor1ogerie de Fonlainemelon
A. Schild 5.A.
Fabrique d'Horlogerie A. Michel S.A.
From Ehauches S.A. to ETA S.A.
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Three Swiss t'bauche manufacturers
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CHAPTER II
FROM POCKET WATCH TO WRISTWATCH
FORERUNNERS
Ill[ CllA.:JCE
From the ladies' perspective: the bracelels-monlres
From Lhe genLlemen's perspecLive: Lhe montres-bracelets
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COUl\TER MOVEMEl\TS
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FURTHER DEVELOP\1E.t\TS
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THE OUTSIDE
CHAPTER lll
or THE WATCH
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THE ROUND CASF.
TH[ CCSHIO"\f CASE
CRYS1ALS
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CASE MATERIALS
LUGS
STR1\PS
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Figures & radium
The significance of the coloured 12
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011\LS
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HANDS
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CHAPTER IV
THE MOVEMENT
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T\VO TYPES Of POCKET WAfCHES A)JD THElR USE LN WRlST\VArCHES
BASE PLUE AND APPEARAl\CE Of COCKS A)JD BRlDGES
MOVElV!El'\T DF.CORATTONS
DL'\L rIXATION
THE HJ\'JD GEi\R TRAIN
\VINDING i\ND SETTl!\G SYSTEMS
TII[ BALANCE COCK- REGCLATOR SYSTD1S- BALANCE
HAIRSPRING & STCD
JE\VELS
SIMPLE VERSUS El\RICHED: J\ COMPi\RISOl\
rROM EBAUCHE TO MOUVI'.MENT
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CHAPTER V
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THE RESEARCH
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TOOLS roR IDEKTirICATIOK
Comparison wiLh signed movemenLs
Manufacturer's name on dial
The trick with the dial
Feature match
A patent number
The selling mechanism
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A first try
Taking base measurements
The mathematical 'footprint'
Summary of our tools
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A METI IOD
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THE CORPCS Of RF.SEARCHED \-1C)VEMENTS
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CHAPTER VI
REMARKS, EPILOGUE & ...
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R!:.SUUS Of THE RESEARCH
EARLY VERSCS LATE MOVEMENTS
MEASUREMEKTS
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FOOT PR I'JTS
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MOVEMEl\T STYLES
CALIBRE SIGKI.>!G
BAU1NCE COCK IVIA.RKLt\G
SOME REMARKABLE
\10VE\1E~TS
TH[ DECAY
or THE 13"' "'.vlOVDff'.'.JT
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EPTT.OGCE
... REFERENCES
PJ::iRlODlCALS
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CATALOGCES
BOOKS
\VEBSlTES
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lnLroducLion
Guide to the descriptions
Guide Lo Lhe fooLprinLs
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THE DATABASE OF RESEARCHED MOVEMENTS
GUIDE TO THE DESCRIPTIONS & FOOTPRl\JTS
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PART TWO
DESCRIPTION Of THE MOVE\ff\JTS
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93
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C Cortebert 129
Cyma/Tavannes 131 D Damas 133 E ElecLa 137 - Election 140 - Eterna 141
F Favre 142 - FEF 143 - FHF 145 G GvVCo 164 .I lnvicta 173 K Kurth 174
L Lanco 176 - Lavina 178 - Longines 179 M Maire, E 183 - Maire, 0 186
Manzoni 187 - Marvin 188 - Monteher 189 - Movado 190 0 Omega 194
P Parrenin 197 - Phenix 198 R Rebberg/Aegler 199 - Record 201 - Revue 203
Roamer 205 - Rode Watch 206 S SfG 207 - Sonceboz 211 Z Zenith 216
Anonymous movements 21 7
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A AM 103 - AS 106 B Bulla 117 - Bulova 120 - Buren 121
THE MOVEMENT FOOTPRI:t\TS
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Tiii' MANU!'ACTURl'RS
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lirst .~la:1.;:c <:al'~)' S\'•· iss •,vrisl'.\'<\Lt:hcs fn:1n1 the p('til"~cl b~·-\vccr1 l Y10-: 930
~t·c ;;~n1i~1~· ill ~\ :JP":.i.t'.31\~I.!. l he y ~L~ tX'JIJ!\C:l <; r cusl'l\'ll-shap.cC:.. •,viLll ~Ui ('ll<\111cl
dial Jt:d bh\d; o: lli;l".t -~1mtm\~ :mmb~t'$. '· miall ~e.~on:l :iand ac six, ''1re
lug.s a..,d 11.:.ua'ly =- tt~·d \i.itl" 1 ).lig-i-e. \.'~!Jl i', ..~.$ . Ano:ht>r g·!.reli\.· fent1Jr~. ii; :ht'
'>f th~.5e \\,a:\.:hes. lr nlt'>S: \.~.$~.;1 tl~.} don't •.:::.11-y any bra'1d na......,e
c1r.. hr.: <liHls Hntl hr.\T. nn m:irk tl'" nam.". fr gravt•.cl ilr. 1hr. :-1.1vt'nlt;:ll. Th~....
1
,,·11ch:~ are or1~·r. <'P.lh~I ' mir1:1ry \V.11<:h ,1r •1 rt:nc:h \\·:uch' ar1<; 1l-.i> llr-..;1 in1en!':'Yt>-: p-1:-Jit:al tl...,... durnti \\-"V1/ I.
~111(1n}'T'li:y
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\\;t::. l..110\v 1J1al :,~·i:-.,.., '~1h.:l1111~ki11~~ Iii~ a .Jpc.u"C:J :J....,.: r:.iJ'."C u: IL...,:- :ndt!f.!1..".l:J uU cnd1 in O.:oc"" ~round ll1~ 1i:.iddlc ol ll1~ l c'lh ::c_1t-1y. hem there, it
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s~r.:ad '.O"·ar.:13 L.tc nortr. ol Swl.,crhnd ~1'.d :t is .c.swn•-d uat LI•~ lirst wa1ch
nl.~kin~ wor.<.:'l:op~ ...:re ~a:i:lllsh~d In 1hc VJll~~ J.~ )Ntx ea l'fil.1. Th:.; area, oilo.tJted :it Jb..'\IC J;)(IO m abov.: ~J kvc. was I•' some cxccm eo.:t ot: fmm chc rest of :he
\\'Or· d 1.., "";nter:hll~. Pr or to \ .'\C. inc:t\~..t r ,lli~.4t1C>'"" of the rt"'g'!C>"'l, : he 1rhab1t.-n-1$ of
ll-.i:· '.·111'.~.y \ \,'(;'l'i:' rr~~:r1y ftu111~r"" Ouri ng. lh(" long. \vi·.-.ter .,,\,n,h-:; .he l:lnd ~1'~ 1:..rgt;1y
\:.;Jv\>··~.l: -.vi.h :•nU\V ~nil .he l:a.llf •.Yf!'"(. kep·l :.111.he '.•.nl,ll...5. TI1.;· f(lrnit;rs htJ.d lit.1<:;
1110rt; I() ()(\'.Uj1}' I1'1~"11l"'it"1 Vf~S V\' il h ll'ltU'I I (l do ;,;nnh; ''flt'.i'.'U 1;'.'liJl'l~ '\" \•;1~r), \ll1 I h~;', .. f~t'Tl1
l10 11sc:-. tU·.d I In• :· ral'i i .1~\ OI V.'OOd , ~:lOJh:, lc~O '. u:: <.H id I l1t:li1I:-.. 'l'l1c~:· .....t\.j !'..... (HOVt:d
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<p.1i1<.; U:"lci'ul :·~H v.'a'..:.:h111;t'rdn>.11 • ~H itl '.t:it!i'. fo r 1n~1king ;.:lHl'.po11t;111s Ii'..;.(: cE~d~. c;.l.~!·:;.
bri.:'.g.:·~. g::ars, pi11io11...; 1 bt\rrcl$1 lcvl!'i~ c:Lc. 1ord~[....L·J» h' f.1Uy q ..~llilicd ...,.~u.:·h­
inaJ...-:.::d, v.-1:.;:J;;~ :·au111bL·1~ \VCl'C .~!<'\Villi( 1:.ii,L. 'l'l:c h'..::::.I::: \.Vl'.:lt: iu,·cJlti\'~ ::n·~'Ju~h h'
nlake tl:o:ir L"l\vn lL"l<•ls in o:·d~r ·.o ~hn.µlify J ttd il1.:ro:J6C prodttl'liL"lll. Tl:o:y \Vt.?ro:
):'ll'l?))ared to \~.:""Irk lor g ho u1~ :,:lnd to ·n va."l h·~. \\'Dnien arid r:h1ldren 111 the.1:-r""IC.e.ss,
~::ind s""I chf')' be..:·:,.11111: 111e~p~.""'lt-'v~. reh(lble n·1ct 1nt1..:·h y,::ilue:d ~t:):'lp 1.:r$ to th~. \'1ac.:hnu1,k..~.;.'.i. 1: pro·~1dt•d t'il•.111 'A".t'i n 'lt~ry \\.'~.'<:.t.Y:"1~· f'<(l(. ~0111\'i:' ,,f in~xnn..>., -~vh1ch todny
,,,:~. \':r:~-.1ld l;nll (l.n ~~l:ononih; , ,1.1 i"'l -\\i 11 s in1,1tir,}n f(ll" bo:h 1:1':'111f1~ nnd ·,•.:atl·hr.nkf1~.
TO\VARDS l:VIAC.:HIJ\"E :'vLA.NUFACTCRINC
Today one has hardly more than a notion of the
l~Kt
that around the year 1750 most corn-
ponenls of each individual waLch slill had lo be made by hand and involved laborious,
detailed work. In those days all watches were very e:-;pensive. These often beautiful and
some.times very complicated pieces of great
value could only be acquired by the nobility,
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the wealthy upper class and diplomats_
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vase escapement
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Uy t11e late 1700s t11c Swiss had made signiflcant progress in the development of tools to
render more efficient. manufacturing of watch
parts possible, and as a result, cottage home
manufacturing evolved into a pre-industrial
system of production. And because of the growing demand for timepieces, further developments and innovations were made tmvards the
standardisation of more efficiency and the real isation of greater amounts of production
The Vallee de] oux devclopul imo a centre of tool, eq uipmcm and machinery
making. l~y the end of the 18th century the industry had grown in size and scale
and the increased requiremem for 1~hauches led ro rhe development of the first
machine-based movemerrt factory.
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The emerging Sv,,.·iss induslry evrntually did well, and was able to produce al highly
competitive prices. The focus \Vas very much on the prod11ction of lmv-cost, twohand-key-wound and key-set pockeL watches without complicmions, in order to
meet the ever-increasing market demand. Initially. manufacturing was mainly for
\Vatches \Vith verge fusee escapements. From circa 183.'5 onwards cylinder
escapements, which were cheaper to produce, became popular, vvhercas later the
more reliable and accurate lever escapement watches gained popularity.
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Swiss /r:vcr r:scupcmeni
THE PROCESS OF lv1AKI>IG WATCHES ll\ THE U\TE l 700S, EA.RLY l 800S
All watches had some type of metal case
body, a case back and a bezel with crystal
and a mechanism inside. The gears and
wheels rhat inake up the inner works of
early watches were sandwiched between
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pillars on one or these plates. Both the
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two metal plates connected r.ogerher wirh
- upper plate and the pillar plate were precisely machined and d1illed. The gear
train, actually transrnilling the mainspring
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power to the escape wheel, consisted of
four wheels: rhe mainsp1ing bmTel, the
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a look into a vngt· <·.·swpt·ment
centre wheel and pinion, the third wheel and pinion and the rounh or second
ouler worh anly fusee watch movement
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hand wheel and pinion. i\ fusee, to which the key was applied for winding the
mainsp1ing, was connected to the barrel by a chain.
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The rnotion, necessary Lo power the watch. was supplied by uncoiling
the fully wound main spring. i\n escapement mechanism of balance
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wheel wit.h hairspring and spindle or lever controlled the trnnsmirting
motion of the gears and pinions, and so ultimately the minute and hour
hand
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Often, a master plate was machined and used to make exact copies. The
plates were cleburrecl and polished afrer machining. The small gears
needed for the movement were stamped out or brass, using precisionmade steel dies. Hairsprings were fonned from ve1y fine spring wire.
Mainsprings were clra\vn ai1d rolled. \:Vatch dial faces were stainped out
of a base metal, coated with enamel and the markings applied by hand.
Next the dial face was heated in an oven at high temperature. Hands
were stamped out or steel or brass and hand-rinished.
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HOW A WATCH WAS MADE
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workers at thdr /Ji:nc!?cs - studyj(Jr the.frc.·suJ1:s in tl?c railway station
ar. La Chcwx-ck-rond.s. Ceorge Dessoulavy (1898-1952)
courtesy Watch Around
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W11ereas in the early 1800s watch movements were sandwiched between two met.al plates connected with pillars, in
the late 19th and early 20th century all parts were assembled on both sides of only one single metal plate. The mainspring barrel, the wheel train, lever and balance wheel on
one sick, were nicely located in recesses on the main plate
and covered with dedicated cocks and bridges. Tl1e crown
wheel, ratchet wheel and click were posilioned onto the
barrel b1idge and the regulator was placed on top of the
balance cock. The other.side of the main plate, the dial side,
housed the hands driving parts; the cannon pinion, the
hour and minute wheel all fitted in dedicated recesses. Also
rhe hand-set.t.ing and winding parts were at rhe dial-side
holes and recesses.
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ATTHL 13EGl\ll\lNG OF THE 20TH CEl\TUl<Y
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The quality or the metal used for rnain plate, cocks and
bridges was greatly improved, and the alloys for mainsp1ings and hairsprings became harder and more elastic.
The gilding technology developed lo a higher standard, and
the use of synthetic rubies increasingly became tl1e clefaulr.
Large numbers or cylindrical parts were being produced on
automates. The dials still consisted of copper discs provided
wir.h a number of layers of enamel. The characters, which
were formerly painted on watch dials by artists. were now
applied by means of a transfer method, using a steel stamp
and rubber transfer pad in a dial-printing machine.
bCISr:.' plal C -
hase plarc -
dial side
cochs and bridges si.dc
FROM POCKET WATCH TO WRISTWATCH
FORF.RLJl\\JF.RS
Due to the simple fact that \.vomen wear jewellery and men do not, it is on ladies' anns and
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The trick of 'hiding' small watches was also applied to rings,
brooches, purses ai1d lorgnette hoxes. Ar least, rhe latter fi.gure in
the Catalogue of the famo us 185 1 London Exhibition.
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wrists that we see the f'i rst - what we now call - wrist.watches appear. I .adies were accustomed
lo wearing b ra<.:d et.s, so a<lc.li.ng a small watch w the often overwhelming numher of d iamonds and or.her precious stones \Vas quir.e
in line. It goes without saying that we are not referring to the most
u nfon.unat.e of people here.
art.de.co-style brooch
watch by Carli.a
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Alt hough by th is time we are sti ll more than hair a century away
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from the. general acceptance of the \Vristwatch by both sexes, we
nevertheless see exarnpks of wrisrwatches appearing. Around 1880
the company Girnrd-Perregaux is .said lo have ddivere<l the first
mass-produced watches for German naval officers, to wear on
chains around their vvrists, and in Lucerne ea 1886. gold and silver
watches on so-called 'scissor bands' \Vere being sold. Surely these two examples are wrislwatchcs in a wider sense, for in their appearance they hear a close re.semblance. to the pocket
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watch: round and thicl<, the only difference being the soldered-on, bow-shaped strap attachments.
There is a lovely story abou t the origin of the wTistwatch which ap peared in many
pub Iicat ions: A good woman, seated 011 a l>ench in a public parl~, was sucflling her child. In ordc~r to
observe the time, sht: had attached h<::r watch around her arm. A passer-by wm .~truck by this nalvt:
ingenuily. On his return home, he soldered two lugs onto a lady's walch, and added a slrap!
Well, ir. may have happened like th is. Bur. this 'inventor' was cenainly nor. the only one. It
may have originated in many more places at about the same Lime, for the idea \.vas in lhe air'.
just two lugs, soldered
onlo a pochel walch
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lt \Vas the very outbreak of \'vv\7 Ti11 1914 that made a
quick and direct impact on the development and mass
production of Limepieces, as Lhese were practical in
\Varfarc. for the spread of the Vt'Jist1vatch, there couldn't
have hcen a /Jeller silualion lhan lhis war reported rather cynically - a jubilee publication of the Swiss watch industry.
\Vristwatcbes wiLh protective grids across Lhe glass, with radium applied
to dials and hands, ·with (added) 24-hour indication came onto the markeL Almost all models were based on the pocket watch.
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From the gentlemen's perspective:
the montrcs-bracelets (\vatch-bracelets')
Along wiLh Lhe wristwatches for ladies, men's wrisLwatches \VCtT gradually gaining ground. Unfortunately,
iL LOok a four-year-clisasLer to trigger a clefiniLive interest in \Vristwatchcs for men, too.
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\\lhen the war was over, there were other groups of men like sportsmen
and motrnists, \Vho had good reasons to wear their \Vatchcs on tl1c \v11sts.
After about 1918 sport developed to a v·mrklvvide mass
movement, and the number of motorists was also
grmving. Whether on horseback or at the stee1ing
wheel of a car, the wrist\vatch turned out to be highly
useful.
initially, aspects of style were only of minor importance. The emphasis on functionaliLy, rather Lhan on
style, crystallized in the common use of 13-ligne lever
movements, seL in round or cushion-shaped cases, noL
unintentionally just the core subject of this book
quire an mvenlicm!
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THE MOVEMENT
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T\VO TI'PES OF POCKET WATCHES
ANO THEI R USF. 1\1 WRIST WATCHES
Ebauche man ufacturers generally offered two
types of moveme ms: the savonelle and the
lepine. T he latrer was designed for o pen face
pocket watches with the crov..'11 at 12, the
savonellc for the closed case or so-called
'hunr.er pocket. \Vat.ches' ·with the crown at. 1.
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for wristwatch es both types \\'ere initially
u sed , since move1ncnrs 1nade specifically for
\1\-Tist"vaLches were not yel in existence. It will
be clear that savonette rnovernems could be
u sed in \Vrist.\vat.cht~s wirhom any alteration.
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where lepine watches were directly prepared
for the wrist, an awkward time reading was
the result (1). The simplest way of using the
lepine movement for a default-orientated
wrist,vatch was to tum the dial by 90 degrees,
and leave out the small second. Thus, the
result was a 'dress watch' (2). The more elaborate way of using a Lepine movemenL was Lo
add an indirecr.ly driven sweep second hand
via the third wheel. This way the second incli-
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Ll' pine movements could be used as vvell,
although alterations had robe made. In cases
cation cou ld be kept (3).
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lt'pinc di1 ccil:y t.o the wrist
2 lt'pinc as a. dress watch
3 lepine n·Uh cm indirecl
<;1vn:11 second hand
inside - outside
• •..
•lepine movement \·\
the small second wheel
pivot cw. <~({
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STMPT .F VERSUS F.NRTCHF.D: A COMPARISON
\\i11en ohserving the Movado and I'.lecta
movements, we notice - apart from the
presenl condiLion - differences in q ualil y.
The IV\ovado fact01y is well respected for
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the delivery of quality products. The first
Movado movement shmvn. l1owever. musr
have been one of lhe cheapest versions of
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The two Elecrns show similar differences.
movement.s made by 1../\.6"]. TJiiisheim (lvfovado):
a 7-jc.wd, jlai hairspring muvcmenl (qua/He' hem couran(l vs
a 1.5-je.wd, /Jregw:.l hairspring w/i.hre (quulilc' .~oignt) and
nne with additionCll scn:wed rhatcms and a s1van-ncckjl11c.·-n~~u!at.or (qualite trl:s snigne)
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their production. despite its perlagc. The
two others rcprcsenl rni d-qual iI y (qua/iii
soignt'.) and best quality (qiwlite tri::s soignd
respective 1y.
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The first one looks to be standard quality
(hon cow-ant), the 'factory-ac.~justed' second
one (qualUt' lri::s soigne) is nicely jewelled wiLh 17 rubies, and the gear
train has he.en perfocdy equipped with screwed gold chdtnns at the
cocks-and-bridges side. lr has a beautifully polished swan neck w
conlrol Lhe regulaLor index. and Lhere is a breguel hairspring. The
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pe1foge.
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winding and rnrchet wheel arc polished, a n)t.es de Gem~vc patrem is
applied Lo cocks and bridges and the dial side is deconned with a
It would have been even more attractive if cocks, bridges and wheels
had heen chamfered and polished r.o a high gloss. indl.1ding the steel
screws. A perfcct qua Iit y wou Icl have been reached irt he rnovement
had not simply been ac.~justed, but fully adjusted to 6 positions, cold,
heat and isochronism. This only occurred wir.h a few watches of the
highest quality brands like Patek Philippe.
movements m<uk by Gallet(,., Cie. S./1. (17.lecla).
a siandard 15-jcwd copy vs a wty sophlsliWlt'd
example: 17 jfwels, swan-nffh Jin~ luning..~creiwd
chatons, hoth movements do haw:. a hreguet hairspring
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and
THE RESEARCH
So far we have dealt with the history, the production, the appearance and the technology of the trench-watch. This was
done in order to bring about an understanding of this ty1X of watch, and to prepare for what follows.
The manufacLures like Lo display their mark on
bridges or cocks (first row pictures).
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vVithout doubt, having more than 240 movements at one's disposal is a godsend for co11ectors 1vho want to research
such calibres in depth. Faced \Vith such a huge amount, a first action must be aimed at organizing structure. Therefore,
fully identical movements were picked out and set aside, so that the collection was rid of its 'doubles'. The remainder
consisLecl of 121 movemenls, vvhich is sLill a
subsLanLial number Lo work vviLh.
As mentioned in the introduction, our goal
was to identify as many as possible anonymous movemenls. Out of 121 calibres 75 were
anonymous and 46 had a producer's mark.
Lcmw
Omega
'ebauche' maher's logos on the bme plate
©
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On ebauche movements producer marks generally do not occur on the visible part of the
movemem, but moslly on the dial side of the
base plate, or on a hidden place elsewhere, e.g.
underneath the barrel bridge (second row pie- ._
A. Schild
tures).
There is an explanation
for this: ebauche makers
hid their producer's
mark to give way to that
of the etablisseur (third
row pictures).
Election
Cyma
Delemonl (ehauche AM)
rleuricr
f'u ntai11mclon
Thommm
lvfan;:u11i
Sch ild f'rhfs
etablisseu r's logm on bridges:
!!!!!1!!~
Ingersoll (ebauche Damas)
~
Palri.a (ebauche FHF)
Patna (e}Jlw che Record)
63
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menLioning a first result here: it \Vas a surprise to find that one type of movement could be executed
with different cocks-and-bridge compositions. Although the inner proportions, i.e. the position of
the pivots remains the same, the number of cocks and bridges and also their shape varies .
THE CORPUS OF RESEA.RCHED MOVEMENTS
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In the course of time we have collected 2 4 3 movements, \Vithout preference for any brand.
We collected whatever \Ve could find. These calibres were partly incomplete, but still good en ough
for the purpose of our research. Other movements were in excellent condition and could be u sed to
assemble complete vvatches. This stock was the basis for our research. As there are many idenLical
movements, we didn't need to research all of them. Vle already mentioned that we co unted 121 different calibres after picking out the doubles. The research taught us that this corpus con tained a
number of the mentioned 'variations on a theme' (one of \vhich is shown on th e previous page) , in
such a way that finally we found 49 basic types. This means that the database will record 121 m ovements and 49 footprints.
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We do not pretend our collection to be complete. From the moment we decided to stop input for the
purpose o[ preparing this publication, \Ve discovered more 13 111 movements. Because we had
randomly collected, we guess that the collection more or Less represenLs the market of our period.
Apart from the 2.5°,{) of movements that we could not trace, the group of 233 identifiable movements
is clearly dominated by three e/Jauche manufacturers: AS, FHF and AM, immediately foll owed by
G.vV.Co. These four manufacturers already cover 42% of our stock. Cyma and Movado are
represented in our collection as the largest manufactures. The remaining group con sists of medium
players and quantitatively marginal manufacturers.
©
The real manufactures (the ones listed in blue) take 35%, the thcwche producers 65% (listed in red).
A number of factories not only had a brand of their own (e.g. G.W.Co. with Helvetia) but made
movements for etahlissrnrs as well (e.g. Record for Patria), these are listed in black.
Top segment brands like Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger le Coultre, Vachero n & Constantin
and IWC have not been included, as we never came across these brands and even from the literature
we were unable to discover whether these manufacturers ever produced 13 1" movem ents at all. W e
only managed to include an Aegler/Rebberg!Rolex.
FABR/QUE
#
CY'v!i\
18
12
l'v!OV,\DO
Bl.11'1.'"
ET ECTA
T.O'\GTNES
REVCE
OM!.'GA
BUJ OVA
ET ECTTOJ\
ETERNA
ORIS
Zl.'NlTll
09
08
08
04
03
02
02
02
02
02
G.W.Co
14
MARVT'l
lA='C:O
Rf CORD
PllLNlX
08
AS
j-Q
l'lll'
AM
DAMAS
29
19
sov:rnoz
l\l.'LL'\
SFG
E W RE
1'1AIRE E
CORTERERT
FH
KURTH
tvL\ lRL 0
Rff\BERG
HP
1N V1CTA
LWlNA
tvL\NZO Nl
M ONTTl .lfR
RODE
AN<h
T OT A L
04
03
03
06
06
05
05
01
01
02
02
02
02
02
01
01
01
01
01
01
07
243
69
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lv!OVEMENT 1DENTTFTCATTON
DATA RASE l\o 01 a
lvlanulact urer
A. Michel S.A., fabrique d'ebauches, Grenchen
Calibre tnie
220
Manufacturer's brand name
AM
Serial number
at
ur
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e
Bi\SE PLATE
29.5 mm
Dial fixation
top screws
Case filling diameter
29.1 mm
No. of setting wheels
1
Iland selling by
lever
4.4 mm
Settmg mechanics
Inscriptions logo
type 4
lit
Height
er
full diameter
savoneu e
en
Orientation
lnsc1iptions SWISS MADU3
.u
Grouping
hr
COCKS & BRIDGES
Manufacturer's brand mark
©
RESOURCcS 01-' llJl::iN IW!CAI ION
Type of click spnng
w
12-08 CCW
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Position of pallet l"ork cock
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Position of click pivot
Catalogue/book reference Jobin/Paulson
{)
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d<
1-3-1
02
external
t Ill
(
Ill lt
l
r mi
r
RI'.tv1ARKS setting lever spring patented: No 73212 (information from Mr Urs RothKaspar, C H-Kerzers)
103
lv!OVEMENT 1DENTTFTCATTON
DATA RASE l\o
Manulacturer
A. Schilcl S.A., Pabrique d'ebauches, Grenchen
Calibre type
137
Senal number
63
Manufacturer"s brand name
AS
at
ur
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Bi\SE PLATE
29.5 mm
Dial fixation
top screws
Case filling diameter
29.0 mm
No. of setting \Vheels
1
Hand setting by
lever
4.5 mm
Setting mechanics
Inscriptions serial no./logo
type 4
savonette
lit
Height
er
Pull diameter
en
Orientation
lnsc1iptions -
1-4
.u
Grouping
hr
COCKS & BRIDGES
Position of click pivot
I(.
,t
I I µ \.II
' ·
RI'.tv1ARKS -
106
· r
c
l
l
©
lvlanufacr.urer's brand mark
Type of click spnng
w
RESOURCcS 01-' llJl::iN IW!CAI ION
w
12-08 CCW
external
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Position of pallet l"ork cock
02
{)
, l l
d<
<..h
F
l
11
p
r
r
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