A good time for the watch
With the onset of industrialisation at the end of the 19th century, watchmaking also experienced a boom. But not all watchmakers were drawn to the new factories.
IF WATCHMAKING IN SWITZERLAND WAS
TO HAVE A FUTURE, IT HAD TO ADAPT TO
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS.
Naturally, industrialisation did not change the world from one day to the next. And yet, looking back, it seems as if factories were springing up like mushrooms at the end of the 19th century. Until then, people had made everything they needed for life by hand, but thanks to sophisticated steam powered systems, it was suddenly possible to produce large numbers of everyday objects by machine. This revolution had an impact on all areas of life, including watchmaking. In 1867, Swiss-German watchmaker Georges Frédéric Roskopf presented his pocket watch “La Prolétaire” at the Paris World Exhibition. It is considered one of the first industrially manufactured watches and was affordable for the general public thanks to a simplified movement with just 57 individual parts – the ‘Swatch’ of its day, so to speak. The price of 20 francs was approximately the weekly wage of an unskilled labourer. While it had previously only been possible for the well-off to purchase a table clock or pendulum clock, Roskopf paved the way for a “watch for everyone”.
At times, the new possibilities made manufacturers almost euphoric, motivating them to come up with unusual creations. One example of this enthusiasm is the table clock in the shape of a steam engine on display at the Beyer Clock Museum. On the other hand, there was a growing underswell of resentment. Watchmaking was not simply a craft trade for building devices that can be used to tell the time, it was argued.
Watchmakers are artists and their products are unrivalled in sophistication! This was the origin of what were known as ‘cabinotiers’, specialists for individual watch parts who worked in small workshops (‘cabinets’), typically in the attics of Geneva’s commercial buildings. People were equal there; there were no bosses or hierarchies. Every worker was his own boss, and many a cabinotier made a good living as a specialist. Life as a simple watchmaker in a factory, on the other hand, was fairly bleak. In row after row, sandwiched in between loud machines and other employees, the workers performed the same tasks day in, day out.
AS A SIMPLE WATCHMAKER
IN A FACTORY,
LIFE WAS FAIRLY BLEAK.
The artists degenerated into drudges. But the industrialisation process was unstoppable: if watchmaking in Switzerland was to have a future, it had to adapt to international developments. In the 1930s, the vast majority of those pursuing employment in the watch industry worked in factories. But numerous small companies also survived. And this, so the story goes, was primarily due to the great pride watchmakers took in their work.
Times and production methods may have changed. But the watchmaker remains a special worker who creates miniature marvels.
THE LIGHTHOUSE
It is not known exactly when and where this table clock was made. But it is considered a typical representative of the era of industrialisation. Besides lighthouses, some of the most popular motifs were locomotives and ships.
THE STEAM ENGINE
Manufactured in Paris around 1875, the clock pays homage to the spirit of the age. Alongside the hour dial, it incorporates a mercury thermometer and a barometer.
Several of these table clocks were ordered from Beyer back then by the court of Constantinople.
THE CAPTIVE BALLOON
The balloon with its flags, basket and anchor in solid bronze is an exceptionally rare table clock (France, c1880). The dial features enamelled cartouches, and ticking away inside is a special Parisian movement that strikes
THE PEOPLE’S WATCH
The Roskopf pocket watch in nickel silver with a stop mechanism (c1910) displays the hours of the first and second half of the day. This made it particularly popular with railway personnel: the time could be read directly in the timetable terminology.
WORLD-FAMOUS COLLECTION
The Beyer Clock and Watch Museum is home to one of the most important collections in the world. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 2.00–6.00pm.
其他文章
