Roskopf clocks
Roskopfuhren , named after their inventor, Georges Roskopf , were inexpensive mechanical watches that were affordable for everyone. They had their heyday from 1860 until the quartz watch crisis in the mid-1970s.
history
Roskopfuhren ( pin lever escapement ) were simplified industrial clockworks of reduced quality compared to the so-called "anchor watch" ( lever escapement ), but they were affordable for the general public. That was also the intention of the inventor, he named his model, which appeared from 1867, “La Prolétaire” (worker, proletarian). Until now, watches have been produced in factories and not industrially. G. Roskopf won a bronze medal at the Paris World Exhibition in 1867. Louis Breguet recognized the importance of this invention and pointed out the advantages of industrial production. This new development was necessary because cheap watches from the USA were in the watch war added to traditional Swiss watchmaking.
For decades, inexpensive “System Roskopf” watches have been produced in large quantities and further developed by the Swiss and foreign watch industry (in some cases with capacities built up with Swiss machinery and know-how). In addition, there were still the higher-priced, high-quality anchor watches from the classic watch manufacturers. The increased trend towards a second watch or a fashionable watch gave the concept of the inexpensive watch mechanism an additional boost in the middle of the 20th century, alongside the cheap or high-volume markets in the Far East and the USA. In the mid-1970s, Switzerland exported 99% of Roskopf clock production, 41 million clocks or movements with a value of 534 million CHF.
The high Swiss franc for export and the development of the inexpensive, trendy electronic watch (first the tuning fork movements and then the quartz watches ) quickly put an end to the cheap mechanical watch. The so-called quartz watch crisis began . The production of Roskopf clocks almost disappeared and with it the associated association of Swiss Roskopf clock manufacturers . The Roskopf concept was only able to last a little longer in individual developing countries. Towards the end of the heyday of Roskopf clocks, there were also some higher-quality clockworks with bearing jewels (rubies) for the medium price segment from Oris and a few other clock manufacturers.
Web links
- Estelle Fallet: Roskopf, Georges-Frédéric. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Estelle Fallet, Béatrice Veyrassat: Watchmaking. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Neue Zürcher Zeitung. May 30, 1975, p. 19