Cortebert 474

Description

The Cortebert 474 pocket watch movement, nominally measuring 18 lignes and apparently existing in slightly different versions over the course of its production period, is a typical “better” lever movement from roughly the first or third of the last century.

On the gold-colored base plate, you can still clearly see how the jewel bearings are beaded, i.e., set. From the 1930s onward, jewels were simply inserted, without setting.

All important bearings are fitted with jewels, and you can clearly see the keyless winding mechanism with its lever on the base plate and not on the dial side.

The gear train is typical of pocket watches with a lever escapement: The large mainspring barrel drives the central minute wheel, followed by the third wheel, the decentral seconds wheel at position 6 o’clock, and the steel escape wheel.

The ratchet of the Cortebert 474 features a complex locking spring mounted on the underside of the barrel bridge, and the crown wheel is also driven on the underside of the barrel bridge.

A non-shock-resistant, two-leg bimetallic screw balance, in conjunction with a pallet lever, acts as the regulator. The beat rate of 18,000 A/h can be adjusted using a long regulator arm.

What’s a bit odd is that on this particular example, all the balance screws on the underside are ground at an angle, almost as if they had more of an aesthetical than a technical function.

On the dial side, you can see the yoke winding mechanism. The bell crank is deflected at the movement side, an even more traditional form of a yoke winding system.

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