Mechanism of the pocket watch

✍ Scribed by H.E. Duncan

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1895
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 974 KB
• Volume: 139
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-0032
• DOI: 10.1016/0016-0032(95)90035-7

✦ Synopsis

be expected where the workman entered an unexplored field in which he was so sadly handicapped by lack of suitable tools and of the knowledge necessary to make them.

Watchmaking, so-called, or the construction of a portable time-piece of such size as to be readily carried upon the person, must have severely taxed the mechanical abilities and the patience of the artisan; but, as I have mentioned, there is a certain fascination to one mechanically inclined, who enters this branch of fine mechanics. I imagine these pioneers in watchmaking caught this fever, and that they could not stop, if they would, until death relieved them from its fascination.

This I call the Infant Age of watchmaking. I am of the opinion that there is not at present in existence a watch of this age.

It is not the purpose of this paper to deal with the watch historically, beyond presenting what is necessary to convey to you an idea of the particular basis upon which the American syszem of watch manufacture was established. With regard to these earlier watches, I will only remark that they had but one han'd, and that they served only to mark the hours in a very indifferent manner. The next period of advance worthy of note is one that I call the Age of Itandicraft. This period is marked as one in which the workman showed great progress in the mechanical execution of his work. He learned to execute parts in a very delicate manner, to give them graceful shapes, and to polish, in a masterly manner, those parts made of steel--his gain in handicraft enabling him to make movements-in many odd forms and sizes. Artists in gold, silver and enamel, made and decorated cases for his movements. Most beautiful specimens of these cases are to be found in many collections of the present time. These watches were most artistic throughout, in appearance, but they still remained of but little value as time-keepers.

From this stage the improvement in time-keeping qualities becomes very marked. Large bounties were offered by Act of Parliament for portable time-pieces sufficiently accurate to ascertain the longitude at sea. These awards