Verge Fusee English Pocket Watch Example

Verge Fusee English Pocket Watch Example

Although the history behind the invention of the fusee is not known, some give credit to Leonardo da Vinci based on drawings he did in 1490.

In the picture below, the fusee chain can be seen on the left. Look over to the right to see the fusee cone. As you can see in this example, the watch is completely unwound. The watch shown here also features a Tompion regulator and a verge escapement.

Verge Fusee English Pocket Watch Chain

How it works:

When winding the movement, the fusee chain would unwind from the mainspring barrel and transfer over to the fusee. As the watch winds down, there is a loss of torque in the mainspring, that’s where the fusee saves the day with “constant force”.  The fusee balances out the distribution of force from unwinding mainspring, which in turn improves accuracy.

This setup also creates a disadvantage for watch repair. The chain and the mainspring are dependent on each other, so replacing the mainspring also means readjusting the chain.

How to open a fusee pocket watch?

If you have a fusee pocket watch, it may have a cover with no obvious way inside. There should be a tiny lever to slide and gain access to the movement beneath the cover. Here is a video:

Modern Fusee Movements:

A great example of a modern watch using fusee technology is the Zenith Academy Georges Favre-Jacot. The video below shows more on how a fusee works.

This post is still actively being created, so more will be added later.

 

You are reading Caliber Corner, the most popular resource for watch movement pics, specs, mods and DIY repairs. Follow @calibercorner on Twitter, Instagram but NOT Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube. Join our mission to spread movement awareness!
What do you think about Fusee? Keep comments respectful and follow our community guidelines.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
trackback
Lépine Caliber Watch Movement | Caliber Corner
1 year ago

[…] the concept of the Lepine movement was seen as a radical break from tradition, particularly the fusee which used two parallel plates. The Lepine only uses a bottom plate, with bridges. This made pocket […]

;
Venus Caliber 178
1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x