|
Martina Pfeifle and her husband Gerd are longtime Purists and watch enthusiasts. This enthusiasm finally led to Martina's decision to attend the watchmaking school in Pforzheim, which already looks back onto a rich tradition. Currently, she is in her third and final year of the training. Some years ago, Martina and Gerd attended a Glashütte Original event for the PuristS in Basel. The contacts established there resulted in Martina's practice experience in Glashütte, and her wonderful report. Marcus Hanke |
|
|
|
by Martina © text: Martina Pfeifle, pics: Gerd Pfeifle (if not otherwise noted), 2005 |
|
ll
As the proud owner of several luxury watches, I had often asked myself whether these watches are really “worth the money,“ and if I wasn’t just helping to fill already well-filled shareholders’ pockets or finance expensive advertising campaigns.
Naturally, the practiced and experienced eye of a collector sees that the case and movement of a luxurious manufacture timepiece are far better worked than that of an inexpensive, mass-produced watch. But isn’t it just possible that luxury brands could be creating the illusion of more lavish production means with just a few cheap cosmetic tricks? Could they be blinding the consumer with decorations on the dial and movement that appear more costly, or could it be that their marketing experts are just good at creating myths? Of course, I already knew that the modern luxury watch is no longer the work of one single genius watchmaker, sitting with tools he made himself by candlelight, creating his unique pieces by hand on long, dark winter evenings in a remote little village in Switzerland’s Jura. During a number of factory visits, I was able to provide myself with an overview of modern production methods in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds, and in Saxony’s Glashütte. These insights became especially transparent in the rooms of Glashütte Original’s manufactory, in which the visitor has been guided past all production stations along a type of learning path since the renovation of the building was completed. But were these impressions really close to reality? Was it possible that the employees of a watch manufactory, over whose shoulders the visitors are able to peer for a few moments, aren’t just playing a part in a fantasy world? When the Glashütte Original manufactory gave me the approval to spend five working days in the manufactory, I was hoping to find the answer to these questions and others. I would like to make one thing perfectly clear at this point: I received a clear and positive answer! First Day: At 7:45 I left my vacation apartment in Bärenstein, located about ten kilometers from Glashütte, in order to arrive at the manufactory on time at 8:00.
Glashütter Uhrenbetrieb GmbH’s completely renovated factory building Mr. Gehmlich, the head of production, received me in a very friendly manner and explained what to expect during my next few days at Glashütte Original. I was to spend my time in the polishing department. It is here that the many individual parts of a GO caliber are finely worked after being produced and going through the first set of quality checks. While Mr. Gehmlich was introducing me to the fire, health and safety regulations, I realized that I was really excited to see what I would be doing there and what I would be experiencing. After being outfitted with a code card and a brand-new blue lab coat, Mr. Gehmlich introduced me to my boss for the coming five days, Mr. Fischer, who would be taking me under his wing. I can already reveal that Mr. Fischer is a very nice, helpful, and perennially friendly person, who would make the biggest effort to show and explain everything to me so that my thirst for knowledge could be stilled. Still overwhelmed at the amount of attention that I was being given and the amount of great friendliness shown to everyone – especially to me as I was “only” there to learn and certainly couldn’t be that productive in just five days – I followed Mr. Fischer to my workspace. Like all the rooms at the manufactory, the space in “my” department is light, friendly, and very clean.
A look into the light, clean rooms of the polishing department – my workspace for the next five days Mr. Fischer introduced me to my new colleagues in the department – and then it was time to begin working. One hundred sixty swan-neck springs were waiting to be mirror-polished by me. Swan-neck springs are a part of the swan-neck fine adjustment subgroup, an adjustment system used to very exactingly regulate a watch’s rate. This is done by precisely creating return torque for the index using a spring that is shaped like a swan’s neck.
By the time they reached me, the springs have already come a long way. Before they were cut out of a metal sheet in the shape of a swan’s neck in the spark erosion department, a hole for the regulating screw and two other holes for securing it to the rest of the movement had already been drilled.
After that, the springs were beveled and a thread was cut into the hole for the screw. After being smoothed in the polishing drum, it was now my job to make these springs gleam and shine by working them with my hands. So-called tin polishing: During tin polishing, the movement components are polished with the aid of a 20 cm long and 5 cm wide tin baton covered with very fine diamond powder (diamantine). Regular, even movements with the hand move this baton across the surface to be polished. The raw surface is thus removed and a very fine, shiny surface is created without any type of irregularities whatsoever.
A more modern process, which I will use to polish the springs and in which Mr. Fischer has instructed me: In order to make sure that the underlying material is completely flat for my polishing, so-called lapping paper is glued to a glass disk. We used the grainy Mic 12 variation for the first operation, and Mic 1 for the final operation. I lay the spring on the tip of my pointer finger and moved it in this way back and forth against the lapping paper until I thought that the surface had a mirror polish. I regularly checked the springs with a watchmaker’s loupe, and finally brought them – collected in a cleaning basket – to Mr. Fischer, who then cleaned them in an ultrasound bath and checked them meticulously, making sure that my work corresponded to his quality demands.
It didn’t take long for Mr. Fischer to report to me that two-thirds of my first production weren’t up to speed and needed to be reworked because I didn’t polish them perfectly. And I had been so proud of polishing that many springs in such a short amount of time! When I looked at the springs more closely through the loupe, it quickly became clear that Mr. Fischer wasn’t pulling my leg. In fact, after being cleaned in the ultrasound bath, some imperfections saw the light of day, which, of course, have no place in a manufacture movement by Glashütte Original.
So it was back to work. The next attempt was clearly much more successful – and after a few hours only just a few of my springs were imperfect. On my first day I can proudly report having polished 120 swan-neck springs – for a beginner probably not even that bad. My “polishing finger” ached, but the day just flew by – thanks to my interesting work and friendly colleagues. I was proud and happy to have completed the first day of my internship. Second Day: Since my finger had recovered overnight, nothing stood in the way of completing the polishing of my lot of 160 swan-neck springs. To avoid any monotony, the grinding and polishing of pallet bridges was up next, parts that are – like swan-neck springs – components found in GO Calibers 90 and 65.
The pallet bridges were not delivered to me in their original forms either. They had already been beveled using a special machine. Beveling is the breaking of movement components’ edges in a 45-degree angle while keeping them at a uniform width. The first part of my job was to smooth the outer edges by polishing them with a turning machine and most importantly to trim any burrs. To do this, I put the pallet bridge in a special vice. With the help of two pins and two screws, the bridge was secured to the vice. Thus, I had a type of grip for my hand so that I could work the piece using the turning machine’s polishing baton without endangering my hands. After smoothing, the beveled edge of the pallet bridge is given a so-called shining edge using another turning machine outfitted with a steel baton. To ensure that the surface can be made absolutely smooth and high-polished and that all burrs can be easily trimmed away, I added a drop of oil.
My colleague, Mr. Richter, polishing the outside edge of the bridge
After each and every polishing and grinding step, the pallet bridge is cleaned in gasoline and checked for imperfections with a loupe. The work is very time-consuming, not in the least because it is necessary to go back and forth between two workspaces outfitted with different turning machines. During the day, I also had the opportunity to take a look through the company’s Alfred Helwig School of Watchmaking, an institution already in existence for four years.
Uwe Bahr, director of the watchmaking school, guided me through all of the teaching rooms and workshops. It immediately became clear that the school places a great deal of value on cleanliness and order in the workplace. Every trainee had his or her own workplace with a tool cabinet and drawers, the contents of which were graced with a precise order. It is obvious that the watchmaking students work with the best technical equipment that one could imagine – also respective of the quality and quantity of attention that the students are given by the highly qualified teaching personnel, one can only be envious of those attending the Alfred Helwig School of Watchmaking. The 48 apprentices are cared for by four master instructors. These are the best prerequisites for educating future top junior members of staff, as they want for nothing during their time at the school. Mr. Bahr told me that each practical period of four weeks is followed by two weeks of theory. The practical education takes place in the school’s teaching workshop and is supplemented by internships in the manufactory. The practical education also includes language training in French and English. With this additional education as well as participation in the WOSTEP program, the students are given the best conditions possible for future careers at Glashütte Original or another company belonging to the Swatch Group. In order to obtain one of the sought-after spots in the Alfred Helwig School of Watchmaking, a candidate must have at least an intermediate school certificate with a grade point averaging at least a B (American system comparison). Additionally, the candidate is also tested in a practical suitability test to determine whether he or she “has the stuff” to become a watchmaker. Third Day: I needed just about the entire day to smooth and polish the edges of “my” almost one hundred pallet bridges. In the remaining time, I prepared the bridges for their surface polishing. This entailed cleaning them in gasoline and drying them with a soft towel. My respect for the care and precision with which the individual components of Glashütte Original’s manufacture movements are treated grew with every passing minute. The parts that I worked were only a miniscule fraction of the up to 450 individual components of some of the calibers. As soon as one realizes that the other components are certainly no less carefully worked, and that their production takes no less time, then even the most critical of critics would certainly recognize that this amount of quality and care have their price. During my time in the manufactory, I was able to see for myself that that best conditions exist at Glashütte Original to create outstanding performances in watchmaking. Alongside a light, visually friendly, and always clean work environment, the interpersonal environment is also harmonious: I have rarely experienced such a friendly and relaxed work environment as the one here in Glashütte. It is obvious that trust in each other and the feeling of all pulling in the same direction is not only preached in internal guidelines and company policies, but that it is also truly practiced. Fourth Day: Today I was able to begin working on the surface polishing of the pallet bridges. I first polished the back of the bridge with lapping paper (Mic 12), which had also been glued to a glass disk, until there were no more changes in evenness to be seen on the surface. Then the back was polished using a so-called stripe polishing process. All scratches and pocks must be completely taken out. This polishing has no visual reason for being, but rather a purely functional one. The surface must be completely flat for it to function properly. Then I very carefully rubbed out the screw drillings with a counterbore in a punch anvil on the front of the bridges. This counterbore was, by the way, made by the manufactory’s own tool making department especially for the hole size and depth needed. Finally, I stripe polished the surface of the bridge’s front, which also needed to be visually perfect. The direction of the stripes has to be in exact alignment with the two screw holes. After completing the surface treatment, all the pallet bridges were cleaned in an ultrasound and alcohol bath and dried. Naturally the results needed to pass the strict, though always friendly, controls of Mr. Fischer. Parts that were not perfect needed to be improved upon. Since my quota of mistakes was decreasing, I was able to quit for the day having experienced a real feeling of success before my fifth and final work day. Fifth Day: On the last day there was no grinding and polishing in store for me: Today I practiced pressing gold chatons into the wheel bridge.
To this end, I received some bridges to practice on. These are wheel bridges that had been sorted out of the production as defects. First, I had to measure the pre-fabricated, stripped gold chatons in height and according to the endshake of each bearing using a micrometer gauge and turn the pre-fabricated chatons individually according to their height with a turning machine. The height of the chatons must be precise so that the bearings have enough clearance. For this reason, the chatons may not be left too long or turned so that they are too short. At every control, the chatons are pressed in with a special pressing tool and – in case they’re still not right – carefully removed again so that the clearance and height can be corrected. Since the heights on the chatons found on a wheel bridge are usually different, each chaton needs to be fitted individually. After being pressed in, the chatons are secured with two little blued screws, the drillings for which are made by a drill. The end assembly will however encompass three screws.
At lunchtime I take my leave of Mr. Fischer and the other colleagues in the department and thank them for the many good impressions and information that were transmitted to me in the past few days. This way, I have some time to watch the dome being added to the newly renovated observatory in Glashütte. The next day I start out home with the feeling of having learned a great deal of new things and above all having met a few nice, helpful, and highly qualified people. Summary: Before beginning my internship at Glashütte Original, I had already known that this company’s watches are manufactured in the best handcrafted quality. However, if I hadn’t been able to experience it for myself during my internship, I never would have believed the actual, extremely high amount of time and costs that Glashütte Original invests in the surfaces of its movement’s individual parts to decorate them. I take my hat off to the committed and always friendly employees in Glashütte who, day after day, work on true masterpieces, both technically and aesthetically. They should be proud of “their” manufactory!
|
|
ll Copyright October 2005 - Martina Pfeifle and ThePuristS.com - all rights reserved |
