Another Minor Swiss Make - Borea

[WillFly]

I'm still snapping up (where I can) little-known Swiss wristwatches for a low price. This one, at £19, was a bit more than some of the more recent makes, but it arrived this morning and looks very good - keeping spot on time when compared with my Seiko Solar. When I wound it, the click sounded incredibly loud and positive. When I got the back off, I found out why! Never seen a click like that before...

 

I like expensive "name" watches as much as the next man - but these little-known brands are fun, cheap to get and remarkably good value, in many cases, for their price. This little bit of fun rejoices in having 1 jewel!

 

 

Edited April 22, 2014 by WillFly

[Geo]

Your're very much like me it would appear, you see something a little bit different and you go for it.

You say this one has only one jewel! Surely there it has two, is there not another one on the other end of the balance staff?

[WillFly]

Your're very much like me it would appear, you see something a little bit different and you go for it.

You say this one has only one jewel! Surely there it has two, is there not another one on the other end of the balance staff?

 

Your guess is as good as mine - the movement says quite clearly "One jewel, Unadjusted"! But, yes, you would have thought that the balance staff would have one each end... I've seen one or two old watches marked "One jewel", and never understood where it might be.

Edited April 22, 2014 by WillFly

[Marc]

Typically these 1 jewellers are pin lever movements and the solitary gem is the balance cap jewel on the balance cock. The cap at the other end of the balance staff is a hardened steel plate, and all of the pivots run in plain bearings.

The rationale behind the use of a jewel in this particular location is that most of the time that the watch is not on the wrist it's likely to be sitting dial up (on the bedside table etc), with the balance staff vertical and spinning on the jewelled cap, with wear concentrated at that point. With the watch on the wrist its orientation is constantly changing and so wear is more evenly distributed. If steel were used for this bearing then the staff could effectively drill its way through.

That being said, Timex do seem to have solved the problem with their zero jewel "V-conic" escapements which just keep going with minimal, if indeed any, maintenance.

[WillFly]

Thanks Marc - that makes sense to me. I've just checked the time of this movement - wound at 9am this morning, and it's now nearly 10.30pm - and it's right to within a few seconds of my Seiko Solar. How long it remains that way, only Time will tell... :crazysmile: