theCROWNprince
53
Angle of Interest
Nov 23, 2011,17:37 PM
Don,
Hopefully the following picture will be helpful. The pallet fork and escape wheel are rather traditionally placed. The balance is mounted in an angled bridge. The pallet lever has long lever (compared to modern dimensions) and due to the platform style of the tourbillon carriage it is curved to avoid the centrally located tourbillon axle while maintaining the layout of a straight line lever escapement.
Remember the tourbillon was invented in 1795 and this one of a kind was created in 1857, roughly 62 years later. This may seem like a long time for something like this to evolve but only a few hundred traditional tourbillons are believed to have been produced by all manufactures world wide in the first 175 years. It wasn't until recently that tourbillon production skyrocketed with the modern wristwatch boom.
It is interesting to read correspondence from this era as we take for granted out constant connectivity today. This is what marvels me so much about this golden age of horology, the disconnect forcing ingenuity.
If I get a chance to see this watch again I will try to get additional pictures.
Andrew H. Potter Tourbillon platform
Andrew H. Potter Tourbillon - angles of interest
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American Independent Watchmaking
By: theCROWNprince : November 22nd, 2011-15:20
Andrew H. Potter Tourbillon Pocket Watch with Inclined Balance Wheel (circa 1857) It is believed Andrew Potter used a Howard ebauche noted by it's distinctive patented barrel design with maintaining power invented by another famous American watchmaker - G...
Very interesting post....
By: tempusfugit : November 22nd, 2011-19:02
Thanks for providing this information about an early American independent. tempusfugit
Interesting tourbillon
By: Damo : November 23rd, 2011-05:17
Do you know what happened to watch at the closure of the museum?
What happened to theTime Museum...
By: theCROWNprince : November 23rd, 2011-10:30
When The Time Museum closed most of Seth Atwood's collection, including this watch, went up for auction. However for those interested in more information on this great collection and former museum, they did publish 3 books about the collection. One was on...
Very interesting
By: DonCorson : November 23rd, 2011-11:31
This is very interesting. It looks like the escape wheel is not angled. Do you know where in the energy flow the angle is introduced? At the anchor axle? fork? and how? That looks like a potential big loss of energy if not carried out correctly. A very in...
Angle of Interest
By: theCROWNprince : November 23rd, 2011-17:37
Don, Hopefully the following picture will be helpful. The pallet fork and escape wheel are rather traditionally placed. The balance is mounted in an angled bridge. The pallet lever has long lever (compared to modern dimensions) and due to the platform sty...
