ADJUSTMENT
Adjustment refers to the set of actions carried out on the regulating organ and escapement to optimise the operation and, most importantly, the precision of the movement and the watch. There exist various adjustment methods, usually related to the design of the movement. It is said that a “watch is well-adjusted” when it is precise.
ESCAPEMENT ADJUSTING
Normally, refers to all the operations needed to complete a component or a manufacturing process. Over time, the term has become specifically used to refer to all the adjustment operations of the various functions of the escapement.
THE TIMING
In watchmaking, the term timing — as used and presented in this chapter — encompasses all the operations involved in assembling and regulating the watch’s regulating organ. The proper functioning and, above all, the precision of the timepiece depend on the perfect mastery of each of these steps. It is important to note that timing applies only to hairsprings made of steel alloys. Silicon hairsprings, on the other hand, are pre-adjusted during manufacture and cannot be subjected to any further manipulation.
DAILY RATE ADJUSTMENT
Many factors influence the proper rate of a watch. Over the course of its life and various events, a watch may tend to gain or lose time. Fortunately, watchmakers have developed different ways to adjust the daily rate of a movement.
Let us recall that if a watch is gaining time, the frequency at which its regulating organ oscillates is too high. Conversely, if it is losing time, its frequency is too low.
Two methods allow the frequency of the regulating organ to be corrected: modifying the active length of the hairspring and modifying the moment of inertia of the balance wheel.
PAIRING UP THE BALANCE WHEEL AND HAIRSPRING
This operation consists of pairing a balance wheel with the hairspring best suited to it in order to obtain the most accurate possible regulating frequency. It is applied to series production and requires a high level of precision in the manufacture of both balances and hairsprings.
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