AHA! The English system triumphs over that Metric nonsense. My Rolex stopped working about 20 years ago. OTOH, my $12 Timex analog quartz still works fine....
I think. At least it was working when I misplaced it a year ago. Since then, I've discovered I really don't need to know time to much better than +/- 10 minutes. FWIW, -John ============== > I figured someone would pounce on my post. If you think that time nuts > can > be competitive, try watch nuts. None of us agrees with any of the rest of > us, no matter what. > > It is true that the term ebauche, as it is used in the trade, very often > refers to an incomplete movement. It may or may not be fitted with > jewels, > springs, escapment, balance wheel. The term is used loosely in the watch > business except, of course, that each of us knows precisely how it should > be > used and everyone else is wrong. [?] > > Ebauche is used in a less technical way to refer to a movement that is not > built in-house but rather is purchased, more-or-less tweaked, and put into > a > house case. It is sometimes (by Rolex fanbois, for example) used as a > term > of derision, as the use of an outsourced ebauche is considered to be less > prestigious than building your own movements in house. I'll leave that > debate for another day. > > When an ebauche is outsourced, the assembler will specify what he wants to > be supplied. It can be anything from the plates and pillars all the way > up > to a fully assembled, ready-to-run movement. The more upscale the > assembler, the more likely they are to want to insert some of their own > parts, do some fancy milling and engraving, etc., some to improve > performance, some just to look sexy. The Omega Seamaster that I am > wearing > at this moment (a 2255.80.00) uses the ETA 2892-A2 ebauche and modifies it > extensively, then refers to it as either the Omega 1120 calibre or the > 1120 > movement. > > All that being said, at least Omega (won't speak for others) refers to the > uncased movement, when it goes to COSC for testing as an ebauche. Whether > they mean by that that they bought it from ETA or just that it is an > uncased > movement would be for them to answer. > > Chuck is right in pointing out that terminology should be used correctly > which is why I wrote "ebauche et assortiments" which, in context, means > "all > the parts and pieces" of the movement. And that covers it adequately > whether the ebauche, itself, comes ready-to-run or just as a handful of > components. > > He quite accurately corrects my use of the term "calibre" (yeah, we fuss > over how to spell it, too...). His definition, including both the > measurement of the movement in lignes and the general configuration of the > movement such that it will fit a specific case, is right on target. It > is, > however, not uncommon to hear people say calibre to refer to a movement as > a > whole. Omega, for example, refers in some of its literature to the "1120 > calibre," by which they mean the whole movement. > > A ligne is 1/12 of an inch, by the way. > > And we could go on from here but you would probably rather get back to > filtering that Tbolt power supply. > > Bill > > > > > > On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 11:38 AM, Chuck Harris <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I think if we are going to use terminology, we should try to use it >> correctly. >> >> The term ebauche, is very similar to the term engine block. An ebauche >> is >> an unfinished movement. It typically has not been fitted with all of >> the >> jewels, balance, etc.. In Switzerland, like in Detroit, there are >> numerous >> companies, also known as Ebauche, that build the parts that many name >> brand >> manufacturers assemble into a finished unit... be it an engine, or a >> watch. >> >> Just as a Volkeswagen Beetle, and a Porsche 914 use the same engine >> block, >> but finish it for different purposes, an ebauche movement may receive >> quite >> a lot of hot-rodding depending on the OEM customer. Some get their >> plates >> dressed up with fine gilt lettering, Damasceening, extra jewels, and >> adjustments, >> and others simply get stuffed into the watch case rough and unadorned. >> >> The term calibre, is used two ways. The first is to show the general >> size >> of a movement, in lignes. The second is to indicate the general layout, >> or >> style of a movement. Movements of the same calibre can often be >> substituted >> for an original movement, even though they are made, and finished, >> differently >> than the original. >> >> Companies like Rolex have traditionally done all of the manufacturing of >> their >> movements in house. They do not use the Ebauche market as a source for >> any >> of >> their parts. Other companies, like TAG/Heuer use nothing but Ebauche >> parts. >> >> Quartz movements as found in the typical Bling brands, are all ebauche. >> >> Mechanical watch movements have suffered greatly from the rapid >> depression >> of >> the prices of sophisticated electronics, and the rapid rise of labor >> costs. >> >> It was once possible for a watchmaker to spend his days fixing watches, >> at >> a reasonably cheap price, and still keep his wife and kids fed clothed, >> and living in a decent home. >> >> But even back then, technology brought us the "Dollar Watch" that was so >> cheap that it was never meant to be fixed. The start of the downfall of >> the watchmaking profession. >> >> Today, if a watchmaker charges $140 for a 3-4 hour service job, people >> complain >> that it is too expensive. And yet, they would also complain if they >> didn't >> get >> more than $140 for 3-4 hours of their time. >> >> >> -Chuck Harris >> >> William H. Fite wrote: >> >>> That estimate is probably about right. It hasn't been quite that >>> expensive >>> for me but then I have a couple of Omegas; gave my Rolex to my nephew >>> years >>> ago. >>> >>> For your money, they remove the movement (or the calibre...or the >>> ébauche >>> et >>> assortiments...depending on how horologically snooty you care to be. >>> They >>> clean it, inspect it and replace worn parts, reassemble and lubricate. >>> They >>> then test it for accuracy in their own lab. If it passes house >>> standards, >>> they will send the movement (still out of the case at this point) to >>> the >>> Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres where it will be tested for a >>> number of days, in a number of positions, at a number of temperatures. >>> Assuming it passes, they put it back into the case, which has, in the >>> meantime, been cleaned, repaired if needed, and buffed. They then ship >>> the >>> watch back to you with a new warranty and a new COSC chronometer >>> certification. >>> >>> Considering that the bottom end for a Rolex nowadays is on the order of >>> $3K >>> and even a lowly Omega Seamaster starts at about $1500, this fee does >>> not >>> seem excessive to me. >>> >>> Of course, if'n you don't care, just take it to your local Kay's. >>> After >>> all, every kiss begins with Kay. But understand that the kiss you get >>> will >>> be kissing your fine movement goodbye much before its time. >>> >>> But I wouldn't pay that to have a quartz watch overhauled. That is the >>> care >>> you give to a fine mechanical calibre, not a crystal and a battery. >>> After >>> all (shudder) it is quartz. Quartz belongs on the bench, not on your >>> wrist. Some Rolex owners are ashamed to admit that Rolex even makes a >>> quartz watch. If I had a pricey quartz watch and it failed, I'd >>> probably >>> just have a new quartz movement from Seiko or whoever slapped into my >>> expensive case and get on with my life. >>> >>> Those of you who no longer wear wrist watches and have some in your >>> dresser >>> drawers with mechanical movements, feel free to send them to me. I'll >>> sort >>> out the wheat from the chaff.[?] >>> >>> Bill >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] >> To unsubscribe, go to >> https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts >> and follow the instructions there. >> > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe, go to > https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
