At the Heart of the Workshop; The Adjustment Question

Description

At the heart of the exhibition La Haute précision, a door opens. That of the workshop. Behind the workbench, the restorer works. She welcomes young and old for an hour close to the watchmaking gesture — the one that, for centuries, makes watches tick. The day's workshop is dedicated to the regulating organ: the balance wheel and the spiral. Two parts with a fundamental role. They are the ones that regulate time, oscillation after oscillation, with a precision that the eye does not perceive but that the watch translates, hour after hour. The demonstration relies on a counting stand — a handcrafted tool fallen into disuse in industry, but still alive in the hands of those who know how to use it. The principle: synchronize your own balance wheel and spiral with a standard, adjusting the spiral length to the thousandth. Too short, the balance wheel races. Too long, it drags. The correct adjustment is the exact moment when both systems beat together. This gesture unites the balance wheel and the spiral. It has earned awards for the best adjusters in major chronometry competitions. It deserves attention. A camera projects the manipulations live. Nothing is lost. Everything can be seen. Everything is explained. And even experimented! Open to all, free Registration required with the museum Slow down with the museum team at 5 pm

Highlights

• Interactive workshop on watchmaking adjustment
• Presentation of the balance wheel and the spiral
• Registration required, free for all

General Information

The event takes place at the Musée d'horlogerie du Locle and invites the public to discover the precise gestures of watchmaking. Participants will be able to observe and experiment with the adjustment of the balance wheel and the spiral, essential for time regulation.

Location

Route des Monts 65, 2400 Le Locle, Switzerland

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