Horological Library

As enthusiasts of wrist watches and other time keeping apparatus, we invariable amass literature and materials on very many aspects of our hobby. When the material has outlived its usefulness to you consider donating it to a Horological Library. A library will preserve the material as well as make it available for the edification of others. If you do not have a favorite library, please allow us to suggest:

The Library of the NAWCC
514 Poplar St.
Columbia, PA 17512-2130


The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC, Inc.) is a nonprofit, 501(C)(3) scientific and educational organization and, is a member of The Association of Science-Technology Centers

“The path to wisdom begins by calling things by their right names.”

The ancient Chinese proverb says: “the path to wisdom begins by calling things by their right names.” In the recurring posts entitled Terms of Art- including French Horological Terms we attempt to honor those words and provide poignant definitions of horological terms so that we may call things by their right names. The definitions given are particularly germane to horology and mechanics, however, there may be other non-horological definitions for the words, as well.

Swiss to shut down time signal station

The Swiss Federal council decided that the HBG time signal transmitter at Prangins (Vaud) located at 46 degrees 24' North, and 6 degrees 15 ' East, and serving a 1500 mile radius at the heart of Europe, will cease activity at the end of 2011.

Since 1966, the HGB transmitter at Prangins has transmitted official time signals synchronized to Universal Coordinated Time (UCT), on a frequency of 75 Khz. The precise carrier frequency of 75 kHz, synchronized by an atomic, clock, and the time markers (second pulses, and coded information giving the time of day and the date), can be used for the verification of frequency standards and time control purposes.

During periodic maintenance work carried out on the transmitter, the obvious signs of age were observed on the antenna masts. Independent consultants opined that without a complete overhaul, the installation should be closed because it presented considerable risks. To maintain the transmitter at Prangins would be very expensive and the time signal is used too little to justify the high costs of a renovation, according to the study carried out by the outside experts. The Swiss Federal council thus, decided to close the installation at the end of 2011. This window of time will permit users to adapt their clocks to the signal of the German transmitter DCF77, whose signal is received in Switzerland with a quality comparable with that of the HBG. The Swiss official time will continue to be transmitted by METAS (Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology) on the Internet at  ntp.metas.ch. METAS is charged with the reckoning and the diffusion of standard units in Switzerland, of which the unit of time, the second, is one.

Bluing of watch parts--a chart

First and second prizes in the Chronometrie 2009 competition go to JLC

First and second prizes in the Chronometrie 2009 International Timing Competition were awarded to the Jaeger LeCoultre Master Tourbillon with a caliber 978 which earned 909/1000 points  and the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 with a caliber 174, which garnered 908 points.

More Swiss in the works 2009

On November 18, 2009, a bill was introduced in the Swiss Federal Council which incorporates strict new rules for the use of  the "Swiss Made" label.  Dubbed the “Swissness Amendment",  the bill would strengthen the domestic protection of both the“Made in Switzerland”  indication of provenance,  and the use of the Swiss Cross while also purportedly facilitating enforcement abroad. This is the most important and far reaching step taken in twenty years and is expected to drastically protect truly Swiss goods and services...in the future.

Two major "Swiss made" rules emerged from committee: one for the agricultural and food products and and the other for the industrial products. For machines, watches  knives and other industrial products, the rule will be that at least 60% of the value will have to be generated in Switzerland.  The current rule requires a 50% minimum. The  watchmaking  industry hopes to go even further preferring a standard for mechanical watches of 80% of the total value coming from Switzerland.


Sources: Le «Swiss made» va être renforcé (Loi, jeudi 19 novembre 2009) par Philippe Gumy


“Made in Switzerland” - Protecting the Designations and the Swiss cross

Press Release 11/18/09 on "Swissness"



https://www.ige.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Juristische_Infos/f/communiques_presse/communique_press_Swissness_20091118.pdf


https://www.ige.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Juristische_Infos/f/Message_Swissness_20091118.pdf


https://www.ige.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Juristische_Infos/f/LPM_projet_20091118.pdf


https://www.ige.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Juristische_Infos/f/LPASP_projet_20091118.pdf

Well Said: Rocket Science 102

"It's not rocket science. But it's close."

  Buzz Aldrin
 Apollo 11 Astronaut
First man to walk on the Moon
commenting on the Omega Co-Axial

Rolex unveils its new factory in Bienne

The nature of time

Practical lubrication of watches

Swiss Hallmarks


An official punch is a “hallmark.” A hallmark is struck or etched on gold, silver, platinum and in some countries palladium, confirming (after an appropriate assay) the fineness, karat or purity of the precious metal. In Switzerland, only watch cases must be hallmarked.  A maker's Responsibility Mark, an indication of  the purity of the alloy, the official Hallmark, the "head of a Saint-Bernard dog" and the optional Common Control Mark must be applied on all gold, silver, platinum and palladium watches cases made or imported into Switzerland. You will find a most complete source on Swiss Hallmarks from the year 1424 to date, here.

Terms of Art: chronostasis

Summary

What is “chronostasis”?

Rather than jumping abruptly ahead, the hand glides smoothly around the dial…it…avoids the annoying illusion of chronostasis, i.e. the phenomenon which makes the seconds-hand of a clock seem to stand still at first glance.”[1]
"Chronostasis" is an illusion of time that can cause a clock's second hand to appear to stand still during an eye movement.[2] When saccading[3] to a silent clock, observers sometimes think that the second hand has paused momentarily. This effect has been termed "chronostasis" and occurs because observers overestimate the time that they have seen the object of an eye movement.[4] They seem to extrapolate its appearance back to just prior to the onset of the saccade rather than the time that it is actually fixated on the retina.[5] This saccadic suppression prevents erroneous and distracting motion percepts resulting from saccade induced retinal slip. Although saccadic suppression occurs over a substantial time interval around the saccade, there is no “perceptual gap” during saccades. The mechanisms underlying this temporal perceptual filling-in are unknown. When subjects are asked to perform temporal interval judgments of stimuli presented at the time of saccades, the time interval following the termination of the saccade appears longer than subsequent intervals of identical length. This illusion is known as “chronostasis”, because a clock presented at the saccade target seemingly stops for a moment.[6] A clock positioned halfway between the initial fixation point and the saccade target does not exhibit prolongation of the interval following the saccade. The characteristic distortion of temporal perception occurred only in the case of a clock being located at the saccade target. This suggests a local, object-specific mechanism underlying the stopped clock illusion that might originate from a shift in attention immediately preceding the eye movement.[7]


[1] WatchTime Special Issue for Wempe Jewelers, June 2009, at page 53, Ebner, NY 2009
[2] Since motion is perceived both by speed and distance, scientists measure our ability to follow and distinguish objects moving past our visual field by the amount of arc they cover in a fixed amount of time. Most people have difficulty registering identifying details about an object that moves faster than 36 degrees per second. Since your visual field is around 180 degrees, anything that crosses in and out of your visual field in less than five seconds starts to blur. Because the cells in your eyes get tired of stimulation after more than two or three seconds, anything that doesn't move significantly in that amount of time will be perceived as stationary. Salzwedel, M., How Fast Can the Eye See?, citing, Vision Research, Sept. 1997, vol. 37, pp. 2505-10
[3] "Saccades" are quick, simultaneous movements of both eyes in the same direction. Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. Dictionary of Eye Terminology, Gainesville, Triad Publishing Company, 1990.
[4] Brown, P., & Rothwell, J.C., Illusions of Time, Society for Neuroscience Abstracts: 27th Annual Meeting. 23 (2):441.4: 1119 (1997).
[5] Yarrow, K., Haggard, P., Heal, R., Brown, P., and Rothwell J.C. Illusory Perceptions of Space and Time Preserve Cross-saccadic Perceptual Continuity (2001). Nature 414, 302-305.
[6] Karsten, G., and Lappe, M., Spatio-temporal Contingency of Saccade-induced Chronostasis, Experimental Brain Research 2007, vol. 180, no3, pp. 535-539, Springer, Berlin, 1966.
[7] Id.

Just Say the Word: Pronouncing Tough Watch Terms

Just Say the Word: Pronouncing Tough Watch Terms
Posted using ShareThis

Well Said: Can’t survive without a Rolex

Henri Germain Delauze stated:


«Un plongeur à l’hydrogène ne peut pas vivre sans sa Rolex »
“A hydrogen diver just can’t survive without his Rolex”.
Delauze is one of the world's leading underwater technology pioneers and founder the COMEX (Compagnie Maritime d'Expertise) in November 1961 at a time, when industrial deep-sea diving was in its infancy. Mr. DeLauze pioneered deep saturation diving using synthetic breathing mixtures. DeLauze was the first man to reach the 335 meter depth during an experimental dive in May 1968. His company holds world records for both deep sea and chamber saturation diving.


According to Larry Taylor, Ph.D., Diving With Gas Mixes Other Than Air a chapter in T. Mount,T., and Gilliam, B., Mixed Gas Diving: The Ultimate Challenge for Technical Diving Watersport, 1993, in 1983 COMEX, began a series of dives to investigate the narcotic potential of hydrogen. Divers including DeLauze descended in the open sea to depth of approximately 300 feet for five minutes. The divers could not perceive a difference between Hydox and Heliox at that depth. Chamber dives to 300 m (984 ft) demonstrated that hydrogen possessed a narcotic effect different from nitrogen. Hydrogen narcosis (the "hydrogen effect") had a tendency to be more psychotropic i.e. more like LSD, while nitrogen narcosis had an effect similar to alcohol. This deeper work suggested that Hydrox as a binary gas mix would not be too useful at depths below about 500 feet.

VADE MECUM (va dé-mé-kom)

VADE MECUM (va dé-mé-kom)

A small handbook containing a brief summary of the principal concepts of a science, an art, etc.

FAKE WATCHES ARE FOR FAKE PEOPLE!

Faced with a scourge that undermines companies and countries alike, the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) has joined forces with the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS) to launch a vast information campaign aimed at the general public. It will take the form of powerful visuals backed by a simple, hard-hitting message: "Fake Watches are for Fake People."

The FHS estimates that over 40 million fake Swiss watches are made each year (compared with exports of almost 26 million authentic Swiss watches in 2007) and that they generate net profits of around one billion dollars. This illicit trade, whose main victims are the most prestigious Swiss brands, is equivalent to around 6% of total Swiss watch exports for 2007.

Well said: La scienzia strumentale

La scienzia strumentale over machinale è nobilissima e sopra tutte l'altre utilissima.
Leonardo da Vinci


The science of mechanics is a noble one, and of far greater practical use than all others.

This statement must occupy a secret place in the heart of every watch enthusiast.
The Da Vinci from Schaffhausen Since 1969, IWC Schaffausen, 2007 at page 13.

Terms of Art: Chronometer/Chronomètre

More specifically, Swiss Chronometer or Chronomètre Suisse is the
official name given to a precision time-keeping instrument regulated for various conditions of use (for example: ISO 3159 for mechanical wrist chronometers.)[1]
This is the definition according to NIHS (Swiss watchmaking standards) Chapter 2 section 2.7. Conformity with the definition of "chronometer" is, according to those same standards, approved by the impartial official body which carries out the inspection on the time-keeping instrument or, if necessary, on the movement, and grants an individual ,official attestation (rating certificate). [2] N.B. In 1960, the Chronometer Agencies moved away from individual rating certificates to collective rating certificates indicating the results of a lot of watches. This was due to what was perceived, at the time, as an unmanageable increase in submissions for testing.[3]

According to Von Osterhausen, Wristwatch Chronometers, in watchmaking the term chronometer always referred to precision watches. [4] The first use of the term was by the English watchmaker, Jeromy Thacker in his 1714 abstract on the longitude problem. John Arnold first used Thacker's term in 1782 for pocket watch with a "chronometer escapement." Chronometer escapements were spring detente escapements and pivoted detente escapements. [5] This is corroborated by Brunner The Art of Horological Complications, 2006/7, at page 11.[6]

According to Thys Willemse Switzerland has been officially testing chronometers since 1878.[7] In 1925 the Swiss Association for Chronometry (SSC) defined the Swiss Chronometer as

"a watch which has received a certificate from an astronomical observatory."[8]
This definition was based upon the criteria for a chronometer and not its escapement type. The term "chronometer wrist watch" thereafter appeared in Switzerland and in 1941 the Canton of Neuchâtel, overseer of the Observatory there, instituted a new testing category for "chronometers which are made to be worn on the wrist," category "E".[9]

Until 1951, a definition of chronometer espoused by FHS (an industry trade union) held sway:

"a chronometer is a precision watch, which is regulated in several positions and at different temperatures, and which could have received a certificate from the Bureau Officielle."[10]

This liberal definition permitted a manufacturer to call a watch a chronometer if it fell within the guidelines. However, in 1952, at the June 8 meeting of the Commission Internationale de Coordination des Travaux des Observatories Chronomètriques, at Spiez, the definition was changed again (to some degree under pressure from Rolex and others) to read:

"a chronometer is a precision watch, which is regulated in different positions and at different temperatures and which has received a certificate."[11]

What legal authority this International Commission possessed or if a treaty resulted is unknown to this reporter.

When we speak of chronometers today, we invariably refer to watches with certificates issued by the official Swiss testing agencies, Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC). COSC tests watches which are made in series for sale, for compliance with certain industry standards. According to Von Osterhausen "testing at the official agencies is strictly voluntary: any watch can be sold without having been tested.[12] However, [as it is often repeated without an authoritative citation] only a watch which had passed these tests could be called a 'chronometer' ; and this was important to some clients to buy a particular watch. "Chronometer" usually was printed on the dial, sometimes with additions (such as "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified") and with an inscription on the movement." [emphasis in the original].[13]

Until 1973, the several official testing agencies (Bienne/Biel in the Canton of Bern established 1877; La Chaux-de-Fonds established 1887; St. Imier established 1888; Le Locle established 1901; Le Sentier established 1944; Geneva established 1965 [14] (N.B. the Geneva Seal testing office had existed since 1886) and, Solothurn established 1956)

"were operated independently from one another and each had its own direction. They did, however, work under and follow the same guidelines and in some cases were governed by city governments (as at La Chaux-de-Fonds, LeLocle, Le Sentier and Solothurn) or by the canton (as at Geneva, Bienne and St. Imier) and in each case were associated with the local watchmaker school."[15]

Presently, according to Daniel Favre, Director of the Geneva Watchmaking School responsible for the Geneva Seal, testified for the Rapport de la Commission des finances chargée d'étudier le projet de loi du Conseil d'Etat relative au Laboratoire d'horlogerie et de microtechnique de Genève, December 9, 2008, that the COSC office at Le Locle remains attached to the city and the COSC Office in Bienne remains attached to the canton. [16]According to Paolo Lupo, Administrative Director of the Geneva Department of Public Education, testifying in the same proceeding, only Geneva kept its link with the watchmaking school because the school is still very active. [17]

As Von Osterhausen recounts, in 1973, these offices were put under one central administration with one director in La Chaux-de-Fonds, with three branches in Bienne, LeLocle and Geneva" and the name was changed to COSC.[18] According to Desmond Guilfoyle, Omega Movements Part 1, (2007), the merger was meant to lend a greater level of consistency and credibility to the Swiss chronometer appellation. It was clearly also an attempt to rationalize a hodgepodge of testing bureaus at a time when the Swiss watch industry was coming under increasing competitive pressure from quartz technology. [19] As Von Osterhausen notes, the threshold testing values were higher than the astronomical observatory standards, which means the standards were lower. But Observatory Chronometers were specially prepared for competition not for regular, retail sales. But, in Omega Movements Part 1, Guilfoyle writes, chronometers do have status over non-Chronometers, as can be seen in the demand and values.[20] One can also survey the annual report on Chronometer certifications issued, publshed by FHS.[21] He adds, the materials and finish of chronometer movements are generally of a higher quality than lower level production watches. But, one can’t help but thinking that some of the premium paid is for value that has been created by Swiss spin doctors who have been highly successful over time in convincing consumers that Swiss is best and chronometers are better.[22]

The COSC is today accredited by METAS, the Swiss Meteorological Service, for the accuracy of COSC's time-measuring/testing equipment. METAS does not enforce the HIHS 95-11 Standard (ISO 3159). [23]It appears that the Bienne/Biel office of COSC is overseen by the Directorate of Public Economy of the Canton of Bern, just how is not yet clear.[24]

According to the Director of the Geneva Watchmaking School, COSC does not have a true legal status. See, Rapport de la Commission des finances chargée d'étudier le projet de loi du Conseil d'Etat relative au Laboratoire d'horlogerie et de microtechnique de Genève, December 9, 2008.[25] Moreover, there is no indication that the definition(s) of chronometer were ever, even to this day, more than voluntary industry standard. There does not appear to be any enforcement power to interdict non-conforming use of the word chronometer on watches even though COSC states on its web site the aims of the COSC include undertaking any necessary action in matters relating to marketing, communication and defense of the chronometer in the broadest sense of the term and promoting the chronometer and undertaking any legal action aimed at defending and protecting this title internationally. Case in point, the use of the word Chronomètre à Resonance or Chronomètre Souverain by F.P. Journe, which brand admits its movements are not COSC certified yet carry the name "chronometer". There does not appear to be a trademark for the phrase Chronomètre à Resonance, which describes the mechanism of the escapement, nor Chronomètre Souverain.

There does appear to be a Statute of the Association for the official Swiss control of chronometers of June 29, 2007[26]; and a Compact among the Official Authorities of the Control Offices of Bienne, Geneva and Locle, which came into effect on January 1, 2008. [27] Their contents and import are not yet known to this reporter. It is unclear whether these are federal acts or otherwise.

Notwithstanding, neither the term nor the definition(s) seem to constitute a legal standard (or a legally enforceable standard) as is the case with the Swiss laws defining: a watch movement; a Swiss watch movement; a Swiss Made watch or; the minimum thickness of gold watch cases. In fact, there is no registered trademark for the word "chronometer", except in the following unique combinations: "Chronomètre Royal" a trademark registered to Vacheron-Constantine as trademark No. P-351910 and noticed in SOGC no.89 (April 21, 1989) for chronometers and movements from Geneva[28], and "Chronometer Star" a trademark registered to Rolex and noticed in SOGC no. 201 August 28, 1980, as trademark No. P-305125 for chronometers and their parts.[29] There is no registered trademark found for "Superlative Chronometer".

In strange contrast, the "word mark" or phase "Swiss Made" [presumably a geographic origin] is a registered trademark of FHS.[30] The only trademark owned by Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres is trademark No. 513097 published in SOGC no.152 (August 8, 2003), depicting COSC's stylized symbol with Swiss Cross. [31] Although one would presume that the exclusive use of the word "chronometer" could not justifiably be claimed by any entity. Under Swiss law, one is not supposed to be able to trademark overly simple, common marks, geographical origins, object descriptions or descriptive adjectives, marks which are offensive to the public, deceptive, misleading or illegal. Among other things, chronometer would appear to be an object description and therefore open to use by anyone, hence no violation by F.P. Journe. But, then again, Seiko was purportedly prevented from using the term on their watches based upon the elusive Chronometer Appeal of 1966 although COSC only determined to certify only watches meeting the Swiss Made Standard in 2003.[32]


Notes:
[1][2] NIHS Standards
[3] Revue Internationale de l'horlogerie, La Chaux de Fonds, Sept. 1960 by Roger Defossez
[4][5] Von Osterhausen, Wristwatch Chronometers pp. 9~41
[6]Brunner, The Art of Horological Complications 2006/7, Wempe, Hamburg 2005
[7] Thys Willemse
[8] SSC
[9]-[15]
Von Osterhausen
[16][17] Rapport de la Commission des finances chargée d'étudier le projet de loi du Conseil d'Etat relative au Laboratoire d'horlogerie et de microtechnique de Genève, December 9, 2008,
[18] Von Osterhausen
[19][20]Desmond Guilfoyle, Omega Movements Part 1, (2007)
[21] FHS
[22]Guilfoyle
[23] METAS
[24] Directorate of Public Economy of the Canton of Bern
[25]
Rapport de la Commission des finances chargée d'étudier le projet de loi du Conseil d'Etat relative au Laboratoire d'horlogerie et demicrotechnique de Genève, December 9, 2008
[26]-[27] See Loi relative au Laboratoire d'horlogerie et de microtechnique de Genève

[28] P-351910
[29] P-305125
[30] 513097
[31] 513097
[32]The Chronometer Appeal of 1966 is sometimes mentioned but no documentation concerning it has yet been found.

Terms of Art: Assortiment


Assortiment (assortment in English) or more specifically, l’assortiment à ancre (pallet assortment), is a French term used as a shorthand for the essential parts of the escapement: the escape-wheel, the pallet lever and roller table (with impulse jewel). The term is defined in NIHS 02-04 at chapter 6, section 6.4.

Terms of Art: Trotteuse

Trotteuse (French) a seconds hand, mounted either in the center of the main dial or in a subsidiary dial. More specifically, a directly driven seconds hand. The traditional carrier of the seconds hand is the forth wheel. For example, the Rolex 3135 uses a directly driven seconds hand, peculiarly, however, given the arrangement of the going train in the 3135, the fourth wheel is located in the center of the movement and appears to be the center wheel on cursory examination.