Verge Fusees
The pairing of a fusee with the verge escapement made the first portable timepieces possible in the 1500s, and we know how to get these ancient engines running properly. Trust us with your rare watches for expert repairs that will take just a few days.
Pocket Watch Origins
A well-rounded collection should have at least one fusee in it, if for no other reason than to remind us of the origins of pocket watches.
The earliest fusees had no minute hand and were a status symbol of the rich. They were too bulky to comfortably carry, containing all the necessary hardware to drive a portable clock. Later examples from the 1800s were assembled by European watchmakers using Swiss-made ébauche plates and are fairly common, so our emphasis is on the few survivors that remain from centuries past.
This specialty service is for serious collectors only, since the cost and time required for these restorations can be substantial.
We only accept worthwhile examples, so if you'd like us to consider restoring yours, then write to us with photos.
The Verge
The verge escapement dates from the 1200s and was used in clocks until the 1500s when spring-driven pocket watches first began to emerge. The design used alternating steel paddles on the balance wheel to mesh with a softer brass crown wheel.
Gear Trains
The simplest of fusee gear trains consist of the mainspring barrel, the fusee cone with internal ratchet, the brass center and third wheel, the brass contrate wheel, and the brass crown wheel, which meshes with the steel paddles on the balance wheel staff.
Fusee Accuracy
Verge fusees inevitably speed up over time because of the wear to the mating surfaces. The soft brass teeth of the crown wheel become flattened against the steel paddles on the balance staff, decreasing the amount of time between impulses and causing the movement to run faster. Some of this can be corrected, allowing reasonable accuracy to within a few minutes per day.
The Problems
Age and Condition
Verge fusees are hundreds of years old and were not designed to run forever. People of varying skill levels have been working on them for generations, occasionally doing more harm than good. The components are usually completely worn out, and just getting them to run at all can be a challenge. Most fusees turn out to be disappointing money pits.
Wear and Tear
It's difficult to describe just how worn out these pieces can be. They were seldom jeweled, and since the mating surfaces were metal-on-metal the amount of wear can be extreme.
In this photo the escape teeth have worn their way through the paddles on the balance staff. The teeth themselves were ground nearly flat.
Poor Tolerances
Verge fusees are fairly primitive compared to the railroad-era watches from the 1880s. The tolerances were sometimes poor, the plate alloys were soft, and they were held together with taper pins.
This photo shows a balance wheel positioned out of parallel with with the gear train plate. This was a factory defect - the balance jewel pockets were not located or aligned properly.
Bent Pawls
Fusee cones have twin pawls that prevent the upper part of the cone from unspooling and releasing the mainspring tension; these are what make the clicking sound you hear when winding the watch.
People naturally assume that fusees are wound in a clockwise direction, but they are wound counter-clockwise. The problem is that they often ignore the resistance felt from winding it in the wrong direction, forcing it until these pawls bend or break.
Ruined Crown Wheels
Occasionally the pawls will not break, and it's the crown wheel that fails when people stupidly force the winding key in the wrong direction.
In this photo the crown wheel was broken in half and someone tried to solder both halves back on, albeit off-center. One half fell off anyway.
Note how rounded the teeth are on the remaining half.
Broken Chains
The spiral fusee cone was invented in Leonardo da Vinci's time as a method of equalizing mainspring torque, using gut or wire before the refinement of chains. They are surprisingly durable, but when the chain eventually broke the damage was severe. Chains can either be replaced outright if available or the damaged link(s) removed and new pins fabricated, though the chain will be that many links shorter.
The "Fixes"
Tinkerers often make things worse than if they'd just left things alone. This example had not one, but two broken legs on the dial plate. The original brass-on-brass rivets had failed much earlier for some reason and were repaired well with a solder joint. These also failed, which was odd, so our tinkerer rode in with his Superglue, happily smearing it everywhere. Judge for yourself how well it worked.
Unreasonable Expectations
Fusees are centuries-old mechanical marvels, laboriously finished by hand at a watchmaker's bench using oil lamps and simple tools. The fact that they can still be made to run at all is remarkable, but that doesn't stop people from believing that they are somehow capable of quartz time or obsessively checking them against their iPhone.
None of these antiques will ever be used to time an Olympic event; we collect these amazing timepieces because of the history they contain.
Under The Dial
The components under the dial are every bit as important as the ones between the plates, and yet they often go ignored. All of the hardware on your watch will be cleaned and inspected, milled flat and polished or blued, and replaced if needed.
Component prices and hourly rates apply
Dial Work
Watch dials are fragile things made from porcelain, and like a mirror, once it's cracked it cannot be reversed. We offer both dial cleaning and basic repairs, although the dial has to be reasonably intact for us to have any kind of success.
Dial refurbishing starting at $25
Hardware Bluing
Nothing sets off the plates of a movement like blued hardware, and If your watch is missing a few blued screws we can give it back that original look. Cap jewels, regulator arms, and even hairspring mounts can also be blued.
Hardware bluing starting at $15
Case Polishing
Nickel or silver watch cases can be polished up like new. These alloys make up the full thickness of the case parts, so there is no danger of polishing through to the base metal, unless there is ornate engraving. Gold cases shouldn't be buffed at all.
Case polishing starting at $25
All dial and cosmetic work is done during the restoration of the watch and none are offered as separate services.
Restoration Highlights
One of Illinois's rarest watches was the 23-jewel Washington Lafayette. Only 190 were ever made.