“fale | cf: Os <4 Ine WnzIr7 OF cloroleycp7 NS ME THE SWISS FEDERATION = OF = TECHNICAL COLLEGESCHARLES-ANDRE REYMONDIN GEORGES MONNIER DIDIER JEANNERET + UMBERTO PELARATTI \ NAO A les line Theory of Horolegy Edited by = THE SWISS FEDERATION OF TECHNICAL =a a = = m= In collaboration with TRAINING si a "AND EDUCAI 2 ATIONAL PROGR ARForeword Numerous books, many of which are quite old, deal in detail with the various aspects of the theory of horology, but none entirely meets the requirements of the present day. Itis for this reason that the Swiss Federation of Technical Colleges (FET) has now published a work whose contents are aimed at fulfilling all the needs of today’s trainee horologist. The scope of the book was decided upon by a working group comprising representatives from industry, schools of horology and the Employers’ Association of the Swiss Watchmaking Industry. Charles-André Reymondin, the director of the Technical College of the Vallée de Joux, kindly agreed to carry out this ambitious project, with the assistance of his staff. It would not be possible to produce such a reference book without expert contributions from specialists, who all reacted positively to requests made by the editorial board. The reading committee, appointed by the FET, was made up of Daniel Favre and Jean-Paul Ducrest, director and head of faculty respectively at the Geneva School of Horology, Michel Vermot, a senior lecturer at the Neuchatel Cantonal Engineering School, and Christian Jubin, a lecturer at the Technical College of Upper Neuchatel Canton. | should like to take this opportunity of offering my sincerest thanks to all those who con- tributed in any way to producing this book. This work lays out all the information used in the industry today - which is everything a stu- dent of horology needs to know. The FET very much hopes that those who are fascinated by this field, as well as qualified practitioners who want to broaden their knowledge and skills, will find the answers to many of their questions in this book. Robert BESANCON Chairman of the FETPreface Dear Reader, Horology must be one of the finest professions in the world. The range of skills needed by the horologist is incredibly broad: he or she must be a sculptor and an artist, must be totally familiar with the materials used, and must be a master of technical and scientific precision in everything from the finest mechanical parts to up-to-the-minute electronics. The qualities of a horologist include artistry, craftsmanship, engineering, micromechanics and many more. And at the end of the day there is the even greater and more fascinating element: the finished product. ‘watch is one of the rare products which reflect the personality of its creator as well as that of the wearer. It is a product which emits a positive message, full of beauty, optimism and sensuality, despite the stringent mathematical precision which inevitably goes into its making. I love watches. They fascinate me. And | admire watchmakers. The specificity of their trade opens unknown horizons which embrace the planets and stars and dance with the infinite universe. And, in particular, the watchmaker deals with Time... the Time that | love because, as an entrepreneur in the watchmaking industry, it allows me to create new products, to give them a soul. And the Time that | hate because | cannot master it or stop it. | hope that all readers of this book will find enrichment and fascination in its pages. Nicolas G. Hayek Chairman of the Swatch GroupForeword to the English edition What is special about this book? Information on the theory of watchmaking has been available in all forms, in many places and in many languages. Watchmakers and teachers have written many valuable elements on the subject over the years, but today we have everything under one roof and it will be much appreciated by all those who care about our profession. Not only is this book very thorough, it includes the latest elements of watchmaking in a very clear form and will quickly become the “bible” for schools, training centres and even watch specialists. Since the introduction of the WOSTEP “Worldwide partnership with watchmaking schools” in 1992, we have produced many teaching aids for those schools which are part of this program and we are now able to offer an additional service which was clearly missing Writing this book involved quiet a few specialists, translating it required some more and we are specially grateful for the important work contributed by Mrs. Rosamund Bandi-Tebbutt, translator concerning the language and by Mr. Derek Pratt, watchmaker, on the technical side. It was a privilege to have had such highly qualified person for this important and time-consuming job. Many thanks to both of them. We wish all our readers many happy hours of studying and reflection. Antoine Simonin Director of WOSTEP September 1999 Foreword to the second English edition The first edition was such a success that the second edition had to be planned much earlier than foreseen! We took this opportunity to improve the translation of technical terms which needed to be adapted. This important work was made possible thanks to the help of the Lititz Watch Technicum in Lititz, Pennsylvania (USA) and more specifically through the expertise of Hermann Mayer, Principal of the school, and Joanne Weinzier!, translator. Thanks to all those who have been involved and we say farewell to this important book. Antoine Simonin Director of WOSTEP April 2003