Interchangeable escapement

 

 

Ever since it first made its appearance, the interchangeable escapement module from Moser has attracted a great deal of attention. It actually incorporates an entire series of accomplishments, of a kind which had long since disappeared from the arena of watchmaking technology. These are features which require extreme attention to detail in their manufacture and are not regarded as viable in large-scale production. However, this is precisely what causes the heart of all Moser enthusiasts to beat faster: a watch that embodies novel solutions, whose manufacture only makes sense in smaller series of between 5 and 10,000 watches per year: a true screw balance with weight compensation screws made from a special white gold alloy in order to combine strength and high weight. Adjusting screws in steel with crossed slots in the screw head to permit very sensitive adjustment. Slots in the screw holes of the balance with a width of only 0.07 mm, so that the adjusting screws are held securely in any desired position. A dragon lever that is precisely adjustable via cams, which guarantees that the pallet fork comes to a full stop and as such replaces the banking pins. The lateral pallets made of solid gold with glass-smooth and hardened working surfaces and, not least, an escape wheel similarly made of hardened solid gold, to ensure that the escapement in its entirety does not need to be lubricated. It will not make any difference, however, if you lubricate it.

 

 

The module itself, which represents the aspirations of the Moser watchmakers to enable the time spent in service to be reduced, has also met with a very positive reaction. It has, in fact, been found that a customer whose watch is being overhauled can get his watch back much earlier if the escapement module is replaced by an already cleaned and adjusted unit, and if the work on the dirty escapement assembly can then be undertaken by a second watchmaker at his own pace, without feeling pressurized by the customer. It makes absolutely no difference whether this work is carried out locally in the service workshop of the watchmaker or in Moser's own workshops. Both are possible and envisaged without any problem. The module as a whole is replaced by removing only two screws. The blocking lever present in all Moser movements thus prevents the spring barrel from running down by blocking the seconds wheel. This also provides additional security in the event that the need to relax the tension in the spring barrel beforehand is overlooked. As a result, the exchange of the escapement module proceeds so straightforwardly that a customer who prefers to get his “own” escapement module back after cleaning also does not pose any problem. He simply continues to wear his watch with a module provided by the watchmaker, which can be exchanged at a later date.This is ease of servicing as Moser understands it.