The Construction Of A Simple But Mechanically Perfect Watch - Horology

Prize essay on The construction of a simple but mechanically perfect watch by Moritz Grossmann Translated by Richard Watkins Kingston, Tasmania, Australia Published by the translator August, 2002 © Copyright 2001, Richard Watkins. This book may be reproduced without permission provided that it is reproduced in its entirety without any changes and it is distributed free of any charges. Grossmann, Moritz, 1826-1885. [Preis-Schrift Abhandlung über die Konstruktion einer einfachen, aber mechanisch volkommenen Uhr Glashütte in Sachsen] Prize essay on the construction of a simple but mechanically perfect watch. ISBN 0 9581369 0 4. 1. Clocks and watches. I. Watkins, R. P. (Richard P.). II. Title. 681.114 ii Contents Translator’s preface iv Chapter I Introductory remarks 1 Chapter II The frame 3 Chapter III The barrel and mainspring 7 Chapter IV Clickwork 10 Chapter V Stopwork 12 Chapter VI The train 17 Chapter VII Motion work 21 Chapter VIII The escapement 24 Chapter IX Case fitting 26 Chapter X Jewelling 28 Chapter XI The fusee 30 Chapter XII Keyless winding 36 iii Translator’s preface Karl Moritz Grossmann was born in 1826 and apprenticed to a watchmaker in 1843. He served in the army until 1852 and in 1854 he established a factory in Glashütte, making tools and watches. He was involved with the Glashütte watchmaking school from its start in 1878. He died in 1885. Grossmann was an excellent watchmaker and a manufacturer of note. He was also one of the few nineteenth century horologists who was a thoughtful and competent writer. Paul Chamberlain (in Its about time) says he was inclined “to dig unremittingly into the basic reasons, which habit so distinguishes his writings and which places him among the great horologists”. His main work Prize essay on the free lever escapementis a classic. Grossmann, who was fluent in several languages, originally wrote it in English for the British Horological Society and then translated it himself into French and German. On the construction of a simple and mechanically perfect watch is a superb analysis of watch design in the latter half of the nineteenth century. It was written in French in 1869, and later Grossmann revised this original essay, translated it into German and published it in 1880 together with Über das reguliren der uhren mit tabellen. There were later printings in 1890, 1897 and 1903. The 1880 edition was reprinted in 1981. In 1871 he was asked to translate the essay into English for the American Horological Journal, but I don’t know if that translation was ever published. An English translation was produced in 1891 by Hazlitt and Walker in Chicago and this may be Grossmann’s own 1871 translation, but it is extremely rare and I have not seen it. As a result, it almost impossible for English language readers to access this significant contribution to horological literature. My translation is of Grossmann’s 1880 revision. I was more concerned with expressing Grossmann’s ideas than producing a literal translation and where I felt that the original could be advantageously re-expressed I have done so. Although Grossmann’s writing is very clear, he sometimes used long and convoluted sentences. Consequently there were a few instances where I was not sure of his meaning and I have added some footnotes to his two original ones. However, most of the changes