Watchmaker

A watchmaker is an inventor, designer or builder of watches, especially mechanical movements and their accessories. The job also includes the maintenance and servicing of watches of all kinds, the objects of a watchmaker relate partly also the display of other derived from the time values ​​(see complications) or completely different values ​​( by means of other instruments, such as barometers ) with a.

• 2.5.1 Historic Schools
• 2.5.2 Vocational training and vocational further education schools

History

The first watchmakers were locksmiths and blacksmiths. Even after mid-16th century watchmaker guilds were created in Germany, locksmith had the right to build watches. The first watchmaker associations found in 1540 in Dresden, nor associated with the Guild of small forge and without compulsion to feat in 1544 in Paris and 1631 in London with the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. Watchmaking scored first for the arts, later to crafts. The watchmakers were the pioneers of precision engineering.

Today's professional watchmakers

Vocational

The watchmaker is engaged in the manufacture, assembly, disassembly and repair of watch movements and accessories, especially the watch case, so with design drawings, mechanical, electrical and electronic components of large and small movements in series and individual production, as well as troubleshooting, maintenance, servicing, testing and adjustment of modern and antique clocks, as well as basic and applied time metrology. In addition, manufacture and maintenance of highly specialized equipment forms a portion of its activity.

Includes the professional field

• Tradesmen and specialist sales and technical service in the jewelry industry and the technical support
• In the watch industry of watchmaking is mentor and monitored as a professionist the expert, the other workers. He performs complicated operations and is responsible for quality assurance.
• In the service sector watchmakers are responsible for the care, maintenance and preservation of watches - this type of the profession is also called repairer. These can range from changing batteries on revisions to complex restorations of historical case clocks ( clocks restorer ).
• The Furniturist is a watchmaker in the spare parts trade ( Uhrenfurniturenhandel ).
• Electroplating, polishers, Cadranographen, micro draftsman and micro mechanics are more training in the watch area.

The profession of watchmaker still differs fundamentally between industry and craft, with the transitions in the small, independent watch manufacturers are fluid (eg in the Académie des Créateurs Horlogère Independents ).

• Industry: Manufacture of watches and other precision mechanical measuring devices.
• Crafts: Maintenance and repair of all types of watches and other timepieces.
• Merchandise management: managing resources and spare parts.

Watchmakers carry out their work independently through on the basis of technical documents and work orders. They obtain information, plan and coordinate their work and coordinate it with others, especially with customers, farmers and colleagues. They also carry out quality assurance measures, document their performance and take measures to occupational safety, health and environmental protection at work. Watchmakers, because of their extensive training in micro-mechanics including in aircraft, prototype construction and measurement and control technology employed professionals.

Employment figures for watchmakers in social insurance employment in Germany has decreased from 1999 to 2011 with 4,391 employees 2949 employees significantly.

Vocational training

The training as a watchmaker in Germany lasts three years and ends with the journeyman's certificate. In Austria apprentices are being trained under an apprenticeship as a time measurement technician three and a half years and submit it at the end of the final apprenticeship examination.

In Switzerland, there is formed depending on the subject area three to four years and then receives - after successfully abgeschlosser final exam - a federal certificate. In all three countries, the training can be done in two ways today:

• As dual training in a craft or industry, with accompanying vocational school
• As a full-time schooling in a watchmaking school

The remuneration during the training

The trainees received from the Company a monthly training allowance, the amount of which is determined by collective agreement and which is different from state to state. For the occupation " watchmaker / in " it averaged in 2011:

Industry and Trade, Old States of Germany

New federal states recommendation IHK ( Industrie- metal industry ) September 1, 2011

Further education

Uhrmachermeister

After the completion of training, a training for master is possible. The watchmaker is with its triple qualifications a specialist in his field, trainers and entrepreneurs.

Restoration of antique clocks

In Germany, a further learning opportunity for the watchmaking profession was created from 2007 onwards. Trained watchmaker can qualify for recognized restorer in watchmaking with the audit. Thus, a new qualification was created so that the customers - be they private clients, collectors and public institutions such as museums - have the assurance that their historically valuable instruments are in professional hands. The modern craftsman is nowadays more and more confronted with historical objects that require a different type of approach as it is taught in a conventional craft training.

In keeping with the long tradition of watch manufacturing specializing in the restoration of even the basic training is possible in Switzerland. The training as a watchmaker can be completed in the so-called Subject Rhabillage. A large supply of various specialty courses are offered to further education. In Austria refinements for restoration as a course of training watchmaker guilds and are - schools offered.

Watchmaking schools

In Germany the first watchmaking school was founded in 1850 in Furtwangen in the Black Forest, Switzerland 1868 watchmaking school in Le Locle, in Austria in 1873, Karl Stein an der Thaya.

Historic schools

• German School of Watchmaking Glashütte ( DUS), Germany ( 1878-1956 )
• School of Watchmaking Le Locle: since 1868, now part of the Ecole technique neuchâtelois, the building Château des Monts houses since 1959, the Clock Museum Musée d' Horlogerie du Locle

Vocational training and vocational further education schools

• Germany Bavarian Master School for the watchmaker's craft
• Vocational School for Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia at the Franz Oberthuer School Würzburg
• Vocational School Hamburg
• Professional education center "Otto Lilienthal " Freital- Dippoldiswalde, branch Glashütte
• Goldschmiedeschule with Watchmaking School Pforzheim
• The Nicolas G. Hayek Watchmaking School Pforzheim
• Hessian Watchmaking School (HUS ), master and training school for watchmaking
• Watchmaking School Furtwangen at the Robert- Gerwig School Furtwangen (since 1850)
• Watchmaking School with Master School at the State Feintechnikschule Villingen -Schwenningen
• Max Born Berufskolleg

• Federal vocational school for watchmakers Karlstejn / Thaya (since 1873), also looks after the Austrian Clock Museum Karlstejn

• Ecole technique neuchâtelois (ET ) at the Centre de formation des Montagnes interrégional neuchâteloises ( CIFOM )
• International School of Watchmaking WOSTEP
• Time center watchmaking school Grenchen

• Watchmaking School Ringsted, Denmark
• Technical school Schoonhoven, The Netherlands

Associations

• Germany Central Association for watches, jewelry and Time Measurement
• Association of the German watchmaking industry (WPG )
• German Society for chronometry ( DGC )

• Austria Federal Guild of gold - and silversmiths, jewelers and watchmakers

• Switzerland German Association of Swiss watch manufacturers ( VDU)
• Swiss Association of Goldsmiths and Watch Retailers ( VSGU )
• Horlogère Académie des Créateurs Independants ( AHCI)
• Convention patronal de l'industrie suisse horlogère (CP )
• Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry ( FH).

• United Kingdom Worshipful Company of Clockmakers

Well-known watchmaker

→ see list of major watchmakers (chronological)

In addition to extremely artisanal watchmakers find yourself in this list, some physicists and engineers who have extensively studied watchmaking.

• One of the most famous German watchmaker was Peter Henlein (around 1479/80-1542 ) from Nuremberg. Probably developed in Germany first and he made small, portable body clocks.
• Not quite so well known is his colleague, the Nuremberg watchmaker and precision mechanic Hans Gruber (around 1530-1597 ). He put in diameter only 2 cm small pocket watches there, and was also of the Nuremberg locksmith guild.
• On Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) the first real pendulum clock with verge escapement back (1656 ) and the theory of spring and pendulum goes ( Horologium oscillatorium. Paris, 1673 ). He also constructed planetariums and worked on the basics of astronomical chronology.
• Daniel Jean -Richard -founded in 1681 the Swiss watch industry.
• Thomas Tompion (1638-1713, London) in 1695 developed the cylinder escapement.
• George Graham (1673-1751) is one of the most important English watchmaker. On him the Graham escapement ( the Graham escapement, 1715 ) goes back.
• Matthew Stogden can be 1728 patented the Repetitionsschlagwerk.
• Pierre Le Roy in 1724 developed the first chronometer escapement.
• Pierre -Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799) invents the double comma inhibition, whereby the construction of much smaller and more precise gear watches became possible.
• John Harrison (1693-1776) solves the length problem - he is considered the father of modern chronometry, although the recognition (H5, 1761 ) he was denied long lifetime.
• Abraham Louis Breguet (1747-1823) invented in 1800 in Switzerland, the Tourbillon and performs the bent- spiral curve ( Breguet hairspring ) that in 1810 he built the first watch, also some other inventions ( parachute shock protection, escapement naturel, Pendulum sympathique ) go back to him.
• Urban Jurgensen 1807: First pocket chronometer
• Carl August von Steinheil (1801-1870) in Munich developed an electric slave clock system (1829 )
• Adrien Philippe (1815-1894) invents the bow elevator ( lift Remontoir, 1842).
• John Harwood designed the automatic wristwatch (1923, patent 1924, Harwood perpetual self winding Basel Fair 1926).
• The physicist Adolf Scheibe (1895-1958) and Udo Adelsberger (1902-1992) built in 1934 ( according to the invention by Warren Alvin Marrison 1929), the first working quartz clock.
• Reinhard Straumann (1892-1967), a Swiss engineer, developed in 1926 the first time scale and the Chronokomparator, as well as the alloy Nivarox for the self-compensating spiral spring (1932) and the unbreakable mainspring ( 1952).