The Federation of Technical Schools (FET) of Switzerland has just published the update of “Clockwork theory", a book whose content largely responds to the requirements of the training of a watchmaker repairer. It is good news for fans, but it is even more so for Spanish-speaking fans because for the first time it has been translated, in addition to German, English and Italian, into the language of Cervantes.
There are very few books on watchmaking written in Spanish, and few are also translated into our language from other languages. Perhaps the best known to fans is the “Swiss watch repairman's manual” by H. Jendritzki, although it suffers from a technical translation that, let's say, could be quite improved. On the other hand, the “Watchmaking Manual” by P. G. Belda exists in Spanish, but it dates back to 1954 and I don't know to what extent it has been updated in the subsequent editions, the last one from 1986. It is also not one of the favorites among professionals, from what I have been able to read.
“Clockwork theory" is written by professors from the École Technique de la Vallée du Joux de La Sentier with its director Charles-André Raymondin at the helm and – and this is important – translated into Spanish by Alberto Hernández, who works as a visitor guide to the Audemars Piguet manufacture and museum. This activity has given him a deep knowledge of the watchmaking terminology that he has applied to this translation, managing to make a text that is understandable but, above all, entertaining.
And it is precisely a text that we could say is academic, and for two reasons: because it is expressly oriented towards watchmaking students and because it does not take anything for granted: it explains from the notion and definition of time in chapter 1 but goes as far as calculating the size of the teeth of a gear. Different types of watches, complications, exploded views, sketches... all in a format that is very reminiscent of school textbooks, which makes it an ideal tool for all those who always wanted to know what was under a dial but didn't know where to start.
Furthermore, and unlike pre-existing books, it includes electronic movements: circuits, tuning forks, accumulators... which supports its validity in the absence of knowing if smartwatches can be considered watches. Here you can download a pdf containing an extract of this work of more than 350 pages, including its syllabus.
For now, “Theory of Watchmaking” can be purchased at Simonin for CHF 127 plus shipping.
www.booksimonin.ch
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