Before friction jewelling arrived in the 1930s, replacing jewels and jewel settings was not easy; it was straightforward but it could be time consuming and therefore expensive.
The advent of friction jewels made watch manufacture cheaper and made life easier for the watchmaker.
Tool manufacturers were quick to provide watchmakers with specialist equipment and there was a plethora available in the 1940s (although very few have survived).
A Swissman by the name of Pierre Seitz all but blew the competition away when he introduced his new system.
He standardized the jewels and provided all the equipment to work with them.
The sets are designed to provide everything you need to replace a jewel.
Bergeon and Horia still make jewelling tools, but you won’t get any change from £1,000 for a comprehensive set.
On the left, a faceplate/clamp with three interchangeable arms for holding small parts. Centre, a pivot straightener and a very useful bit of kit this is too! On the right, a grinding stone to ensure the flatness of pushers and anvils.
A comprehensive set of pushers, reamers and anvils.
Twelve tins of brass chatons (2 tins missing), a faceplate/clamp for holding the jewel setting and chucks and a chuck holder for inserting the chaton into the setting using the main tool.
A set of sprung centring points.