Richard Daners

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard Daners (born May 28, 1930 near Essen ; † April 9, 2018 in Lucerne ) was a Swiss watchmaker of German origin. He is known for his individual productions, which he carried out on behalf of his employer Gübelin . After his retirement he worked for his customers under his own name.

Life

Richard Daners grew up with his sister in modest circumstances that were made even more precarious by the aftermath of World War II . Friends of the family advised his parents to let the boy learn a trade, as this was more promising than an academic career in the post-war period. Richard Daners was given the choice at the age of 17 to complete an apprenticeship as a watchmaker or as a typewriter mechanic. He chose the former.

He did his apprenticeship at Josef Deiter KG in Essen. As a result of the war, spare parts for watches were rare, which is why many parts at Deiter had to be remade by hand, which would later prove to be a useful skill.

After successfully completing his assistant examination in 1950, Richard Daners stayed with his instructor for another year. Then he wanted to look for other horizons. His employer recommended him to the Gübelin house in Lucerne, to which he sent a blind application in 1952. In May 1952 he was employed in the ateliers of the family business. After a year in the clock department, Daners switched to the clock department in 1953. In 1958 Richard Daners completed his apprenticeship when he obtained the watchmaker's certificate. In 1966 Richard Daners became a Swiss citizen.

Richard Daners stayed with Gübelin until his retirement and beyond. Most recently he worked in the workshops of the watchmaker and prototype builder Marion Müller, a former colleague from Gübelin's time. He died on April 9, 2018 in Lucerne.

Services

Richard Daners dealt intensively with alternative escapements and tourbillons for pocket watches during his time as an employee at Gübelin . A handful of watch collectors challenged and furthered his skills by regularly giving him new orders.

During his time at Gübelin, he created 14 different tourbillon watches. He also perfected a type of time display that became Gübelin's specialty: the so-called “Bras en l'Air” time display, in which figures on the dial show the time with their arms. Whereas previous “Bras en l'Air” watches could only show the time at the push of a button, Daners designs were able to move their arms continuously. He also built this mechanism, known from pocket watches, into a wristwatch for the first time in 1989.

Another specialty are repeater watches with moving figures on the dial, so-called jacquemarts . Richard Daners modified existing historical clockworks, which were already equipped with a repeater mechanism, for these custom-made products .

Since much of the watchmaking literature was written in French, Daners took lessons in this language and in English during his time with Gübelin. He translated many specialist books for personal use. His translation of the book "La Montre Compliquée" by François LeCoultre ISBN 2-88175-000-1 , "Complicated Pocket Watches" ISBN 2-88175-002-8 was published in 1985 by the "Editions Simonin".

honors and awards

In 1997 Richard Daners received the Prix ​​Gaïa , which is awarded annually by the Institut l'Homme et le Temps in the Swiss city of La Chaux-de-Fonds in collaboration with the Musée International d'Horlogerie to people who have made a name for themselves in watchmaking. Ten years later, the museum honored the watchmaker with an exhibition of his life's work and an illustrated book. ISBN 978-2-940088-23-2

Special inhibitions

  • 1979: Tourbillon with Benoît escapement No. 1 and 2 ( Musée International d'Horlogerie La Chaux-de-Fonds)
  • 1981–1989: three tourbillon cages with chronometer escapement
  • 1987: Tourbillon with rocker-type chronometer escapement after Otto Ahrens and Richard Lange
  • 1992: Riefler escapement in an English pocket watch
  • 1992–1993: constant force tourbillon. Chronometer escapement with two rockers. In-house construction.
  • 1995: Tourbillon with constant power thanks to 1/5 second remontoir on the escape wheel. Lever escapement after Xavier Theurillat.
  • 1996: Experimental tourbillon. Semi-flying with a cage below the balance wheel. Modified seesaw escapement, own construction.
  • 1998: Flying tourbillon with angled balance wheel. Constant power in the gear train according to PR Jaccard.
  • 1999: Flying tourbillon with angled balance wheel. Chronometer escapement with spring. Constant power according to Jeanneret.
  • 2000: Flying tourbillon with angled balance wheel. Lever escapement. Constant power according to Jeanneret.
  • 2001: Double-wheel escapement according to George Daniels in an astronomical clock with sidereal time, civil time and equation of time.
  • 2001: Turbulences. Construction of a three-axis tourbillon with constant force according to Jeanneret on the escape wheel drive. Manufactured by Marion Müller.
  • 2002–2003: Flying tourbillon with constant power according to Jeanneret, directly on escape wheel drive.
  • 2003–2004: twin tourbillon with two separate cages. Driven by a differential on a seconds shaft.
  • 2005-2006: Gemini. Twin tourbillon on a cage with two balance wheels and two escapements. Differential on seconds wave.

Publications

literature

  • Richard Daners; His work Editions "Institut l'Homme et le Temps", La Chaux-de-Fonds 2007, ISBN 978-2-940088-23-2
  • Chronométrophilia, booklets nos. 9, 18, 20, 21, 25, 33, 35, 40, 43, 44, 46, 48, 56, 57, 66
  • Old clocks 1/86, 2/87, 6/89, 4/92, 6/94, 5/98
  • Friends of Age Watches 1989
  • Swiss watchmaker and goldsmith newspaper No. 12, December 1977

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary , accessed May 20, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Daners, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Swiss watchmaker
DATE OF BIRTH May 28, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH at food
DATE OF DEATH April 9, 2018
Place of death Lucerne