[time-nuts] Tool Needed to Access my Timer Battery

William H. Fite omniryx at gmail.com
Wed Feb 16 19:13:43 UTC 2011


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 <cfharris at erols.com> 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
>>
>
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