Forgotten landmarks in watchmaking evolution
There have been many technological leaps forward in watchmaking, but with time the novelty of these jumps soon dampens and are forgotten as they become the new norms and standards.
Shock protection
An example of a development that is taken for granted today but at the time transformed the face of watchmaking is shock protection for balance pivots, the most fragile pivots in the watch, that was industrially implemented at the end of the 1940's. Breguet had developed the parachute shock absorber system over one hundred years before, but it took another 100 years and the advent of wristwatches before an effective industrial system, came to light and eventually became a new standard.
The parachute shock protection system made by Breguet circa 1800. Click image to view deconstruction.
Prior to shock protection in watches, the military had employed watchmakers to repair balance staffs that were continuously being damaged in action. Once shock absorption systems, such as Kif and Incabloc, had been developed to protect the balance pivots, the number of watches being repeatedly repaired, both in the services and in civilian life, dramatically reduced. In virtually every mechanical watch manufactured today you will find some form of shock protection for the balance staff pivots.