Eppler 291

Description

The 10 1/2 ligne Eppler 291 is a rather late, probably from the mid 1970s, windup movement of the lowest quality level.

The crude base plate of this pillar movement has got no ruby bearings at all and shows, that we have a cheap windup caliber of the lowest quality level.

The gear train follows the common standard with directly driven center minute wheel, third wheel (with prolonged axle to carry the driving wheel for the indirect center second), seconds wheel and escape wheel.

The indirectly driven center seconds gear is flyingly beared on the movement side and secured by a spring.

The anular balance beats slowly with 18000 A/h and has got a staff with pivots, secured in a kind of shock protection.

It regulates a pin lever movement and can be adjusted with a pretty crude, punched hairspring key.

On the yet unequipped dial side, you can see the rocking bar keyless works and a well made ratchet with a true pawl. This is not self-evident in that low price level!

The “shock protection” is quite odd: It consists of a three-leg spring, which springily bears a metal bearing for the pivots of the balance staff. Any better movement will use a jewel pair here.

The calendar mechanism is pretty odd: It consists of a plastic ring with two attached plastic springs to bear and hold the date ring and also applys tension to the moveable switching wheel with its cam.

The moveable switching wheel allows a semi-fast date correction by turning back the hands (and thus disengaging the cam from the date ring) and turning them forth again.

Since the date ring is only flyingly beared and simultaneously held under tension by the plastic spring, you can easily imagine, that the ring absolutely wants to jump off that tension. On the specimen shown here, this is the case and it is virtually impossible to hold the date ring in position, even with a properly mounted dial.

As the signs of use of the watch below indicate, this movement was really rugged and alone for that one has to draw respect for this construction, regardless how little the date mechanism wants to please.

Technical data

Usage gallery