more
on Breguet
Abraham-Louis
Breguet. Did he really invent everything
that he is credited with? For some, the
answer is as obvious as the question is
ridiculous. In their view, the heritage
left by Breguet is so important and so far-reaching
that there has been no significant innovation
in watchmaking since his time.
Jean-Claude
Nicolet, watchmaking historian, gives his
opinion,
Pascal Brandt comments.
Setting
the record straight
There
are others, however, who would answer that
question differently. One of these is Jean-Claude
Nicolet, an expert consultant with Europa
Star and a former professor at the School
of Watchmaking in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
This watch historian would like to set the
record straight: "It would be erroneous
to say that Breguet invented all that he
is credited with. When Breguet started working
on watches, the balance spring was already
in existence and the gear train system was
already being used. It would probably be
more accurate to say that Breguet's main
contribution was in perfecting a number
of existing principles and mechanisms."
To
support his conclusions, Nicolet explains
how watches were constructed during Breguet's
time: "They were made of two plates,
one superimposed over the other, with the
various parts of the mechanism sandwiched
between them." Using this basic principle,
Abraham-Louis Breguet then adapted an idea
of Lépine, which was to hollow out
the mass, make bridges and generally improve
on the construction. In Nicolet's opinion,
Breguet certainly does deserve credit for
his remarkable sense of the aesthetic, "which
was so advanced that his cases and movements
are still very much appreciated today. In
this regard, his work is perfectly contemporary."
Setting
the record straight, again...
It
would be incorrect, however, to credit Breguet
only with having perfected certain existing
techniques and mechanisms. Among others,
he invented the drop-protection device,
the forerunner of today's anti-shock mechanism.
He also developed the Breguet key, a watch
key with a ratchet arrangement which prevents
the watch from being wound in the wrong
direction.
Jean-Claude
Nicolet does credit Breguet with his innovation
of an ingenious system using two barrel
springs geared in parallel to a center pinion,
"an idea which had not been exploited
even though it would save energy from the
standpoint of friction."
Professor
Nicolet also admits that Breguet, even though
he did not create everything, still did
give birth to a number of brilliant inventions.
Nicolet credits Breguet with the invention
of the balance spring that bears his name.
The Breguet spring, an overcoil form of
balance spring, was created by raising the
highest exterior turn of the spring and
giving it a shape which prevented it from
moving concentrically, thus maintaining
its center of gravity on the rotational
axis.
"Breguet
was, in fact, a genius in the sense that
he was among the first to make very high
quality watches." In conclusion,"
with a Breguet in your pocket today, you
will never have an outdated watch. His creations
are extremely modern."
