Yesterday the SSC, Société Suisse de Chronométrie, had their first "Petit Déjeuner Horloger" in Le Sentier.
The theme of the morning, Watches & Chimes

For those of you who may not know the SSC, it is an organisation that is dedicated to the technical advancement of watchmaking and to the exchange of information relating to watchmaking and the industry.  It holds national congresses each year and every couple of years an international congress, as last year.

This was the first "Petit Déjeuner Horloger", a kind of event meant to cover a single area of interest to a deeper level than is often done in the congresses.
On the program:
1) Producing sound: From Physics to Music, presented by Mr. E. Foltête from the Université de Franche-Compté
2) The History of Chiming Watches, presented by Mr. M. Wehrli from AP
3) Description and Construction Principles of a Grande Sonnerie, presented by Mr. P. Dufour, himself.

I am sorry for the quality of some of these pictures, but I hope you can get an idea.

Greetings by Mr. Z. Kighelman, president of the SSC

From Physic to Music
A replay of some engineering fundamentals that relate to chiming watches.

Breakfast is ready

The watchmakers are hungry

About 400 people in attendence in the sport center in Le Sentier, including students from all the 8 schools and universities in Switzerland that teach subjects relating to watchmaking.

Mr. Kighelman introducing Mr. Wehrli

Representing the industry from the Vallée de Joux, Audemars Piguet, of course Mr. Wehrli couldn't resist starting by mentioning the big watchmaking inventions that have come from the Vallée de Joux,
1820 the chimes as used in chiming watches today by Moïse Piguet
1830 the design of the perpetual calandar by Charles-Henri Audemars
1838 the use of the crown to wind a watch by Louis Audemars
1845 the modern chronograph by Adolphe Nicole and Henri-Ferréol Piguet

Some of the major watchmaking companies in the Vallée de Joux today

Note the chimes in the form of snakes with their heads at the top of the picture

Note the blued steel plate of this watch

The first wrist watch with repetition was made by AP for Brandt Fréres in Biel (now known as Omega) and is now in the Omega museum in Biel

The radial engraving on the plate allows adjusting the watch correctly without the dial mounted.

Note the size of this repeater next to a 5 centime coin. A 5 centime coin is 17mm in diameter!

Mr. Philippe Dufour

Dufour's first Grande Sonnerie pocket watch

The pocket watch movement next to the wristwatch movement

The next SSC event is in September, New Materials and Technological Innovations in Watchmaking

Driving up to Le Sentier in the morning we had bright sunshine, now at noon it was snowing.
Here the pass Marchairuz on the road from the Vallée de Joux to Geneva

 

Lake Geneva in the distance, we can hope that spring is coming.
I hope that you have enjoyed,
Don