The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-27
FROM GLASS GLOBES.
How Watch Crystals are Made In
Elsass-LothrinRen.

From the Neto York Mail and Express
"Do you know that the watch crystal was
made in Elsass- Lothringen. and that when
you break it and have to get new one, that
too Will come from the same placel You
couldn't buy watch glass that was made
in this country IL you should try. American
watchmakers have tried to compete with
the foreign workmen but it didn't pay. They
! can sell watch crystals here cheaper than we
| can make them even after they've paid a
duty of 60 per cent. But they don't have
to pay such heavy duty now; that was
when the crystals were imported as glass
Some ingenious person has discovered that a
watch crystal Is part of a watch. AS
such it can be imported by paying rs per
cent duty"
HOW THE WORK IS DONE.
This same Maiden lane dealer in watch
crystals who gave this information not long
ago described 70 a reporter the interesting
process of crystal making. ~ suppose"
said he, that you had an idea that the
glass was spread out in long, thin sheets on
a table and then stamped into shape by
rapidly working presses or something of
that sorts 1t isn't as easy as that to make
watch glasses; IL it were, we could do it
here.
There is a district in Elsass- Lothringen
where the watch crystals that are used all
over the world have been made fer hun
dreds of years. Boys and girls begin this
work when they are very young that they
may acquire the necessary skill and nicely
Of touch, for the process is a delicate one
Even these hereditary crystal MAKERS have
improved on their earlier process. They
used to make the glasses one by one by
blowing small. long glass bottles ana cutting
of the bottoms. These little caps were the
crystals and had TO curve enough to allow
the watch hands to move freely. By the
present process all watch glasses are cut
from glass globes. These globes are made
Of fine flint glass and are blown to the
proper diameter to allow the required
initial curve. This Is from few inches to
several feet.
CUTTING OUT THE CRYSTALS.
1.-THE work of cutting the crystals from
the globe Is done by women. They break
the globe into strips by a series of light
taps. These strips are placed with the con-
vex side downward on a thin india rubber
plate. On this plate is a little apparatus
provided with handle, which works dia-
mond cutter. With this the women traces
circles on the concave side of the glass as
close to each other as possible. so as to leave
little waste. Then the disk is broken out
by quick tap. This is one of the most
difficult parts Of the work, and is done best
by women.
1.-THE next thing is to put bevel edge on
the crystal, and this is done by men with a
small lathe, which holds the crystals so that
they are ground by rapidly revolving
stone. This finishes an ordinary crystal,
except the polishing, testing and packing"
A MORE ELABORATE PROCESS.
"But what about the fat crystals we use
In open-faced watohes-are not they made
in this countryp
"No, It is more difficult to make them
than the ordinary thin crystal. The work
on these begins where it stopped on the
others BY a special process which consists
OF hammering and molding them under the
influence Of heat the edges are raised and
the surface hattened SO that when the glass
is fixed in the bezel frame OF the watch, the
hands can move freely while the watch is
quite fat. This work is done by men.
Each workman has a retort, some fire
clay and coke, for the glass must be sufi-
ciently softened to allow it to take the
shape Of the mold. With his fire clay the
workman makes bed for the oven, which
is surrounded with coke and brought to a
dull red heat. He sits at a heavy table be
fore the mouth of his little oven, aud with
long pair of tongs places the mold to
which he intends to fit the crystal In the
retert. When is is hot enough he takes a
paper pad on a cork handle aud pounds the
glass to the shape Of the mold.
'By the way the paper in these pads must
be made entirely Of rags, and the stock of
this kind OF paper is getting 30 small In AL
saoe-Lorraine that they are beginning to
use old ledgers This process Is 80 difficult
that many glasses are warped and furnished
and have crooked rims. The perfect ones
are polished and packed and sent to the
market.
FASHIONS OF WATCH CRYSTALS.
Are these the only kind of crystals that
are madep
"There are about thirty different varieties,
and for each one a different sized globe must
be blown. You know, the old-fashioned
watch was 30 fat and its crystal had such a
swollen appearance that the watch was
called 'turnip.' These crystals are occa-
sionally called for now and are made to
order
SIN some countries. particularly Ia Ger
many. it is considered to add strength to
the glass II there is depression in the CEN
ter Of the surface. This is put in by grind
Ing. Some crystals are ground with figures.
Others have the initials of the owner cut
in, but the chief difference is in the amount
OF the initial curve Of the original globe
from which the crystals are cut"