Mystery Watchmaking Factory Tool

I asked Federhaus, a vintage watch parts and tools seller here in Switzerland that I regularly purchase from, if he would send me something for watchmaking that he had that he didn't think anyone would buy; something that might make an interesting video. This video is about what he sent me.

A lot of the vintage watchmaking tools here in Switzerland have their origins in production facilities. I find that super interesting because they are often custom-made machines that bridge the gap between hand-made and factory-made watches. Since the 1980s the high end factories have completely retooled to CNC-based processes: from Rolex to Swatch and everything in between, all of today's mass produced watches are made by computer controlled robots.

Even in the realm of traditional independent watchmaking we now have on the one hand ultra-traditional watchmakers that refuse to use any modern technology, and on the other hand independents that embrace CNC and focus on design and finishing. I'm fascinated by both, and these pre-CNC tools fascinate me as well.

Here's the page I mention in the video with links to Federhaus' current actions and others:

https://imakewatches.com/shop.html#a

https://www.ricardo.ch/fr/shop/federhaus/offers/

#watchmaking #tools #vintage #switzerland