Jump to content

Pocket watch curio but can you guess what it is ?

wls1971

By wls1971
in Your Watch Collection

 Share

Recommended Posts

wls1971 Distinguished Member

wls1971

Posted
Posted

Every now and again Ebay throws up a curio and this watch is one of them, it dates from the 1880's and was used in conjunction with something else to form what could be argued as the worlds first what ?

It looks very much like a ordinary pocket watch of the period but as a number of unusual features,

IMG_2426_zpshnuiji6i.jpg

What is the curios stud on the hour hand ?

IMG_2430_zpsqnoimshr.jpg

 

And the hole in the inner bezel for ?

IMG_2432_zpszpyh7uba.jpg

 

And what is the part of the case made from that the bezel connects to ?

IMG_2428_zpsttzj861a.jpg

It also has the nice feature of a glass back but that has nothing to do with its function,

 

IMG_2427_zpsxzxqv3zk.jpg

 

It is 99% complete as far as the watch goes but it would have been used with something else, I very much doubt a complete example exists outside of a museum.

If you know what it is answers on a postcard please, I shall reveal all later

 

Wayne

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
WatchMaker Super WRT Addict

WatchMaker

Posted
Posted

With 'avertisseur' as the French for 'alarm' then was the watch then a plug-in for an alarm clock?!

So the watch gets slotted into an accompanying alarm gadget and when the hour hand reaches the allotted time the hour hand stud completes a circuit and the alarm goes off.

Maybe.

Certainly very interesting!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
wls1971 Distinguished Member

wls1971

Posted
  • Author
Posted
32 minutes ago, WatchMaker said:

With 'avertisseur' as the French for 'alarm' then was the watch then a plug-in for an alarm clock?!

So the watch gets slotted into an accompanying alarm gadget and when the hour hand reaches the allotted time the hour hand stud completes a circuit and the alarm goes off.

Maybe.

Certainly very interesting!

Spot on, The watch formed part of the worlds first electric alarm clock, patented in 1885 and invented by Jacub Burmann and made by Henri Jacot Burmann.

The bezel of the watch is rotatable and would have had a pointer connected to a wire where the hole is. The bezel is insulated from the rest of the watch via a ceramic ring. The watch would have been set atop a stand with a bell on top and holder with a clip around the winder and a clip on the bezel, when the arrow came into contact with the hour hand a complete circuit was formed and the bell sounded.

Geo, I think any anarchist of the time could have easily converted it to a bomb timer.

Below is the original patent documents for 1885, if anyone knows any site that has a picture of the complete set up I would be delighted to see it.I do have a book that describes the system but I've never seen a picture of the complete set up in the flesh.

 

US327919-1_zpssysjkvda.jpg

 

US327919-2_zpsqyy6ngep.jpg

 

US327919-3_zps0wtjhzwt.jpg

 

US327919-4_zpsao2bqi2v.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Neverenoughwatches
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      This makes much more sense now, the oil is withdrawing itself to make as little contact with the epilame as possible. Same principle as wax on a car creates a hyrophobic surface that makes the cohesive properties of water molecules pull together.  The water beads run off only when under the influence of gravity but still remain cohesively beaded up. And as mentioned earlier a pivot would keep the oil in place on a cap jewel.  Epilame on an escapement would be a different scenario, there is nothing to hold the oil in position if gravity tugs at the bead to move, plus the escape teeth pull the oil about Maybe this is why its suggested to run the watch for a short while to remove the epilame to make two oleophobic surfaces either side of the oil, creating a ring of fire 🔥 around it 😅
    • mikepilk
      Balance wheelwheel crooked

      By mikepilk · Posted

      As with every skill it watchmaking, it takes practice. Notice at the top of the document it says, "Practical work - 40 hours".  I can get the balance wheels 'close enough' to flat, but never seem to get them perfect. Same with gear wheels. Guess I need more practice.
    • transporter
      Beat adjustment

      By transporter · Posted

      Has it got a beat adjustment on the platform or is it a fixed hairspring? in short what you are looking at to get it just about in beat is to get the roller jewel sitting dead centre between the banking pins. So remove the platform and take of the pallet fork and escape wheel to give you clear line of site, sit the platform with the balance in place and with it level look between the banking pins and see if the roller jewel is sitting between them, if it is nice and central its there or there abouts in beat, if its not the the position of the pinned end of the hairspring needs to be adjusted to move the roller jewel into the correct position, thats why I asked if it has an adjustment on the platform or not, if it has its an easier job. 
    • MapleWood
      Help - London Elliott Mantle Clock Night Silence

      By MapleWood · Posted

      I've managed to adjust it. I'm going to try and explain it as well as I can with my limited horology knowledge but I hope it helps someone in the future. There is a cam to the right of the front plate as shown in the picture. As the clock ticks along, the pin indicated in the gear comes around and slots into one of the silencer cam gaps, turning the cam. The pin completes a full rotation in 2 hours. To adjust the cam to start at the right time set the clock to just before 7. I did 6:45. Then I turned the silencer cam anticlockwise, which spins freely, until it pushed the silencer lever up and was placed just before the drop. Just before the 7AM indicated in the picture. All I then had to do was progress the hands to 7-7:15which made the pin slot into the silencer cam gap and turn the cam so the lever comes down again, unsilencing the clock. That was it. If anyone comes across this issue again I'd be happy to assist. Thanks again to everyone that helped. Hey Transporter! Thanks a lot for the reply. That was a really good explanation and I'm sure it would have made my troubleshooting a lot less painful haha. I'm sure someone will find it useful in the future. Thank you again for taking the time to try and help me out with this.
    • Waggy
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Waggy · Posted

      Now I'm completely confused, it would appear that the epilame  is oleophobic  as @Marc states: This oleophobic  behavior can be seen as beading of the droplet (as above) which stops the oil spreading which is supported by what we observe on treated/untreated cap stones (for example), but as @VWatchie states this should make the drops more mobile and is supported by the literature:   A review on control of droplet motion based on wettability modulation principles design strategies recent progress and applications.pdf   However the hole point is that we have less mobile oil so an oleophobic  would see to be the opposite of what we want. In fact this beading and high mobility are desirable properties in things like smart phone covers, see below.  I am fairly sure that epilame doesn't make the droplets more mobile, so maybe its a strange coating with dual properties that are both oleophobic (beading) and cohesive/adhesive resulting in low mobility?? This may explain the high price??  
×
×
  • Create New...