Wilmington journal., 1860-02-16
How Watches are Mad..

ROW watches are Made.
N. P. Willis short time since visited the too..
the American Watch Company at Waltham, in cosy
ny with Mr. Robbins, one of the proprietors. Woll&
the following extract from Mr.. Wis's accom- @at
establishment, in the last number of the Hon. u u
nal JOY
1t is a curious necessity of a watch factorv q
should form part oil beautiful landscape soa
place, moist soil, or the bank of river bpin uot
site to its operations. The original site Of th6 PIQ
at Roxbury was abandoned because the LIGHT Jl"G0
character OF the soil, and the degree to which tho
phere was charged with dust by the wind and %IuuS
dustrial movements of the neighborhood, materoS n
tertered with the nicely OF the work. Hence po H.
the present beautiful site on the bend Of tI@ ~
river, where the hundred or two OF male and ffoI
ratives, they sit at their benches, regulating ~
ferent movements OF the machinery, can look ont ~ VI
windows before them upon bits of river scenerU vi Y
would enchant artist U&
| 1t is another poetic pecuiarity of Watch.maki,
Waltham, at least,) that the more delicate fngao
woman, is found to work best at it, OF the hrnn 4
Der of persons employed in the factory more than lug
if / observed rightly, were OF the sisterhood left iI
the sewing-machlne-a happy compensation of P,,g
dence Gradually, in this way, probably tho j. ny
employment of all trades and vocatons that do NV
quire muscular strength will be given over to womo
The watch factory is OF brick, two stories in L1r
and inclosing quadrangular court, and along the G
ly-paced inner and outer window stand the work.
es at which are seated the SUGGESTIONS of operatives
of the one hundred and twenty parts of the watch o
ing separate manufacture and adjustment Whatla
pressed me particularly, as | walked through these ia
galleries OF seated and patient arfCes was the eycG
delicacy and mnuteness of it all-the inevitable mo
merry accomplishing with such powerful exactDess Al
almost invisible wonders of transformation and conss
tion, and human aid seeming only needed to supDyt
material and measure the work, with movements Of h
scarce perceptible
The SUGGESTIONS of minute instruments wele like L
ranges of little fairies each weaving lis c0bweb r
cles under careful sentinels experimenting eye I
the novelty of the Watham factory that this is sor
chinery doing the hundred little deXerities that Aq
hitherto been done only by the variable hand Of tS
workman. With the machinery once regulated tbar
fore, any number of watches of the size and r
tern made with invariabe exactness-all eoGgr
sure to keep time whereas, formerly each watch w.
only probability by itself.
The mnuteness of very essential parts of the vat5
astonishes the visitor. A small heap of grains va.
shown to us, looking like iron filings, grains pep
from pepper castor, apparently the mere dust Of h
machine which turned them out-and these when pv
amined with a microscope, were seen to be pera
screws, each to be driven to its place with screWdr
1t is of the Watham Statistics which is worth r.
membering that a single pound OF Steel costing tr
fifty cents is thus manufactured into one hundred m
sand screws, which are worth eleven hundred dOaB
The poetic part of watch OF course, is what t5
truth in womans heart has been SO often compared
the jewel upon which all its movements are piyOte
and which knows no wearing away nor variation and
to see these precious truth jewels and their adusme
was one OF my main points OF curiosity The aid t
microscope was again to be called in to see these-
precious stones, as we first saw them in the glass vial
resembling grains of brilliant sand. they are rubs
sapphireS, chrysoites, and to be drilled by tie d
mOndS point into pvoted relianceS. The process ,
described in the article to which indebted for n
statistics:
The Jewels are first drilled with diamond, and then
opened out with diamond dust, on a soft hair-lke iron
wire, their perforations having certain microscopic d.
ertnces. La like the pvOts OF steele that are
to in these jewels without wearing in the least mus
be exquistely polished. By this operation their
slightly reduced. The jewels and pivOt8, after BEN:
thus finished, classified by means of guage so del.
catey graduated to detect difference OF the n1
thousaudth part of an inch. The Jewels are cassf4
by means OF the pivOts, the jewels and pyOb Of The
same number lifting each other exactly. The Sizqhn
the several pivots and jewels in each watch csbun
recorded under its number that if any Cd we warn
shall tail in any part of TIE Sd H. and shant be a
ber of the watch to Walthan tney ~ bnn,huos sy
readily and cheaply replaced with unerrilfedes attn
On this, and ali other operations, too minute read
tailed descrptionthe first cutting OF the stamps anc
dies from sheets of brass, hardening and forming t
barrels and chambers, cOing and fastening the mar
Se0lIS "Heelo anu CuItlHS tuelr etll, Suapl
OF pinions and axles, cutting of escape wheels burning
and marking the porcelain dials, and final putting to
geher and adjusting of the various parasitic supun
tendent, Mr. Denson dScoursed to US most interesting
ly. | could not but think, as listened to the phOs
pher of mechanic art, telling us these beautiful slucg
with his quiet concentrativeness of voice and eye
bis brief, expressive language how much better va
than the seeing of play the reading Of novel. Nj
two hours Of following him and listening to his ds
course with Illustrations were like the passing Of
dream.