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An introduction to the remontoire

Watch Affinity takes a look at the remontoire watch complication, a solution to the constant force problem in watchmaking.

I particularly admire this in the likes of Abraham-Louis Breguet and John Arnold – appreciating the complexity involved in watchmaking even today, it frankly astounds me that these folks were able to do what they did in the time in which they lived. Whilst gravity itself is of course a constant force, in Bürgi’s era these clock movements had many mechanical inefficiencies within the geartrain owing to the size of the parts, the materials, finishing, lubrication etc. Given the advancements that have been made in horology since the likes of Breguet, in a similar vein to the tourbillon one could argue that there is little functional value added by introducing a remontoire into a modern mechanical watch.

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