Manufacture d'horlogerie
Encyclopedia
Manufacture d'horlogerie (literally "watchmaking manufacturer") is a French horological term of art that is also used in English
. In horology
, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form manufacture. This term of art is used when describing either a wrist watch movement/watchworks fabricator or its products. The term is specifically reserved for those fabricators which make all or most of the parts required for their products in their own production facilities as opposed to assembling watches using parts purchased from other firms.
The concept of manufacture in the Swiss watch making industry refers to any firm that at least designs calibre
s, produces the movements parts called Ébauches thereof, and assembles them into watches. For example, a company that does not manufacture of crystals or hairsprings may be regarded as a manufacture.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. In horology
Horology
Horology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.People interested in horology are called horologists...
, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form manufacture. This term of art is used when describing either a wrist watch movement/watchworks fabricator or its products. The term is specifically reserved for those fabricators which make all or most of the parts required for their products in their own production facilities as opposed to assembling watches using parts purchased from other firms.
Definition
The Dictionnaire professionnel illustree de l'horlogerie (The Illustrated Professional Dictionary of the Watchmaking Industry) defines manufacture as follows:
In the Swiss watch industry the term manufacture is used of a factory in which watches are manufactured almost completely, as distinct from an atelier de terminage, which is concerned only with assembling, timing, fitting the hands and casing.
The concept of manufacture in the Swiss watch making industry refers to any firm that at least designs calibre
Caliber (horology)
Caliber: at the beginning the denomination indicated only the size of a watch movement.Today, caliber designs a precise movement type, indicating the size, the style , followed by the mark of the Ebauches manufacturer Caliber: at the beginning the denomination indicated only the size of a watch...
s, produces the movements parts called Ébauches thereof, and assembles them into watches. For example, a company that does not manufacture of crystals or hairsprings may be regarded as a manufacture.
Related Concepts
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Chablon | French term for a watch movement (not including the dial and hands), of which all or part of the components are not assembled. |
| Ébauche | French term (but commonly used in English-speaking countries) for a movement blank, i.e. an incomplete watch movement which is sold as a set of loose parts, comprising the main plate, the bridges, the train, the winding and setting mechanism and the regulator. The timing system, the escapement and the mainspring, however, are not parts of the "ébauche" |
| Établissage | French term for the method of manufacturing watches and/or movements by assembling their various components. It generally includes the following operations: receipt, inspection and stocking of the "ébauche", the regulating elements and the other parts of the movement and of the make-up; assembling; springing and timing; fitting the dial and hands; casing; final inspection before packing and dispatching. |
| Établisseur | French term for a watch factory which is engaged only in assembling watches, without itself producing the components, which it buys from specialist suppliers. |
| Factory, works | In the Swiss watch industry, the term manufacture is used of a factory in which watches are manufactured almost completely, as distinct from an "atelier de terminage", which is concerned only with assembling, timing, fitting the hands and casing. |
| Manufacture d'horlogerie | French term for a watch factory which itself produces the components (particularly the "ébauche") needed for the manufacture of its products (watches, alarm and desk clocks, etc). |
| Terminage | French term denoting the process of assembling watch parts for the account of a producer. |
| Termineur | French term for an independent watchmaker (or workshop) engaged in assembling watches, either wholly or in part, for the account of an "établisseur" or a "manufacture", who supply the necessary loose parts. See "atelier de terminage" above. |