From Spheres To Pens : A Brief Watch (Hi)story
© Jaeger-LeCoultre
It’s fair to say that by and large the key principles and ideas of watchmaking have originated from within the industry itself over the course of its rich history. Still, that’s not to say the watch-makers of yesteryear can take credit for everything! As is often the case in the design and manufacturing process, there have also been a number of developments which at the time seemingly had no visible link to horology and yet have somehow still ended up on our wrists.
So what are they?
We’re glad you asked. We did a bit of research and have come up with the following list of inventions (which is by no means exhaustive) that, directly or indirectly, have made their mark in watchmaking history…despite the fact they were never created for that purpose!
From spheres to pens
The Armillary sphere traces its origins all the way back to sometime during 276 –194 BC and up until the 17th century, this three dimensional tool was the prime instrument of all astronomers in determining celestial positions. Not only did it enable sky-gazers to model what was happening in the night sky, several centuries later, it would also lead to incredibly accurate two dimensional representations on pieces like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication.
However, this wasn’t the only role that three dimensional models have played in the forming of modern watch-making.
Indeed in the past complications were often first made using large scale models, in order to determine their feasibility before being miniaturized to fit wristwatches (a task far more challenging than we make it sound believe us!). And what better models could there be than human automatons? Jacquet-Droz (the namesake of the popular Swatch Group owned-brand) made three master pieces in 1774 using real life examples as inspiration: the musician, the writer and the drawer. As a testament to his brilliance they all still work perfectly well today, 235 years after their creation! They represent some of the very first expressions of the mechanical programming that is the common basis of most of the present calibers.
© F.P. Journe
This is quite the same story for chiming watches. Pieces like the Sonnerie Souveraine by master watch-maker F.P. Journe or the Bi-Répétition Minutes deLaCour (based upon a Christophe Claret movement) find their roots in the 14th century, in Belgium, with a bell-ringer who at the time could never have dreamed that his creation would become part of one of the most difficult complications in watch-making six centuries later! Mechanical artisans Reuge were one of the first pioneers of this art, with some pieces dating all the way to 1865. The company continues to produces remarkable pieces today (horological and otherwise), including the smallest musical watch movement in the world. Their unique talents and know-how are undisputed the world over, and even after 150 years there remains still surprises to be discovered…
Reuge are not the only multi-talented artisans however, François-Paul Journe recently turned his sublime skills to writing tools. His first collection of pens were released this year, after having been developed alongside the manufacturer’s exceptional timepieces: the cases of the pens have in fact been made by the same craftsmen who handcraft the F.P. Journe watch cases, as was exclusive opening system. The whole production process is completed fully in house, and who knows, maybe someday Mr. Journe will find a way to incorporate the two? That would be a most unusual combination indeed!
And For The Future?
The question of where tomorrow’s technological advancements will be found must be asked today.
Indeed, a number of the well-known manufactures maintain some very interesting side projects within special departments where the discoveries and advancements made could well filter down into mainstream watch-making, possibly even leading to complete paradigm shifts.
Jaeger-LeCoultre for example continues to invest in its Atmos. Its driving principle, discovered in 1928 by Jean-Léon Reutter, is still used unchanged in present models: a hermetic gas capsule contracts and distends according to the variation in temperature. This movement is associated with a spring that conducts energy to the clock. Amazingly this mechanism requires 250 times less energy to operate than a classic wristwatch!
© Jaeger-LeCoultre
Unfortunately though it seems there are no immediate plans to transfer this rather unique technology into wristwatch form. It seems the main reason for this is to do with complications around the challenge of miniaturizing the gas capsule. For now that remains enough of a deterrent, but who knows how long it will be before someone decided to take on this obstacle?
Jaquet-Droz, for its part, keeps on developing its automatons. Its Time Writer Machine almost achieves the impossible feat of capturing the time, or at least permanently recording it. However, with some 1,200 parts assembled over a period of almost 10 years and a price tag of $342,000 it seems unlikely this technology will be transposed to the wristwatch world anytime soon, but who knows, maybe someday…
© Jaquet Droz
And…after tomorrow ?
It’s not uncommon when speaking about luxury timepieces to use terms like their “heart” or their “life”, to describe the process of mechanical animation. Some researchers, however, have really pushed this idea to its boundaries and developed a…biological watch. This project uses three fundamental characteristics of the embryonic development of living organisms : multicellular organization, cellular differentiation, and cellular division. The watch links these properties to the self-repair (healing) and self-replication skills of cells to create an organism made of eight cells that are dynamically resettable.
To our knowledge there are no pictures or even plans for production of this object available to date. This remains still pure fundamental research, which as we have discovered already, is quite often the entry point to day-to-day applications…
The Final Word
Notoriously conservative, the world of Haute Horlogerie can sometimes be strangely paradoxical, identifying and adopting great ideas from seemingly unrelated areas in order to find new axis for development. Writing, astronomy, and many of the sciences it seems, among others, already have their own horologic echo.
Nowadays, biology and physics seems to be the new playground, with many turning their focus to the rapid advances in nano-technologies.
Who knows what the future will hold?
We will send you a meeting request in a century to come and check it out!
Category: Recommended Reading
Really fun article, Olivier, well researched and an interesting read. Thanks for putting time into a stimulating piece!
Thanks my dear, much appreciated ! Glad you liked it