The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-06-09
WILL NOT WORK IN FACTORIES.
The Finest Swiss Watches Are All Made
in Little Cottages.
lFrorn Cassel,s Magazine. J

Is IS most interesting to compare the
different methods by means of which the
highest grade mechanical perfection is
attained in .arioNs countries. Not
withstanding the high character of Amer
lean watches for example, the finest
Swiss watches still maintain their great
reputation. The Swiss workm an receives
The parts from The man ufacturer in the
rough, takes them to his home, puts his
best Individual skill into the finishing
and assembling, and brings the complet-
ed watches to his employer. The latter
inspeots tho work, and ont of batch of,
say fifty, watches he selects five or six
as worthy of his own attention, and puts
the others into his regular trade under
goao general trade name. The selected
watches he readJuats, working over them
for days, weeks and months before he
cGrsiuors them worthy to bear his own
name, and 1t is these watches which go
to those who not only have the money
to buy, but also the patience to wait :
A prominent firm Of American Jewell
ers, chatting under the Inconvenience of
r.,
sought to introduce American methods
and see if the highest grade of Swiss
wstahes could not be made more meth
odically. 4 factory was built, enticing
rates OF wages were offered to the most
sfiilful workmen, and tho experiment.
WIS tried. But, alasl The Swiss work
man soon found that no regular wages
could pay him Tor his loss of liberty
10 be on hand when the whistle blew in
the morning, to have his stated hour for
dinner and his fixed hour for quitting at
night-these restrictions he could not
long stand Formerly he had worked
when he felt like it and stopped when it
pleased him, and when he was paid for
one job he took his time TO begin the
next, generally waiting until his funds
ran low. The factory plan did not work
fer long, and the idle building now bears
silent testimony to the Swiss love for
Independence, which is as much fec
tor i'll present life as it has been in past
history.
Che fact that much of the work of the
Swiss Watchmakers and instrument
makers is done in this primitive manner
does noIbin the least detract from it's high
quality, but rather adds to its perfection
BY embodytng in each article the indiyid-
ual skill of the workman. The writer
desired to procure one Of the famous
Goldschmidt aperoid barometers, and
OILY after some difficulty and many in
quiries did no succeed in finding the
whereabouts Of the maker at ali. AT
last he was directed to the quaint street
il the quarter Of the city of Zurich
known as tbs ''TrittIgasse' (the street
of the little ateps.) There be found g
gate iii q wall Tearing the desired num-
her, blg no name or sign of Hpy desorip-
ti5n 10 iHuicaso what was within.
Knocking to ob;a ain admission he was
finally let INFO garden, over another
wal and VI a picturesque set of steps
and usherea into Il lltgIe room in which
was goriz cf the finest DESCRIPTION. A
lew men aud boyE, a couple of women
this was the working force, but here
were products which surpassed the finest
instruments of any he had ever seen.
hach article vas shown and handled as
If it had been personal pet, hardly to
be partial with; and it was, indeed, in
terssting to see how every instrument
was ealibred and tasted ana recorded in
manner which could not but Er0ye that
for such work individuAlisnl had It's 90
vantages over colleotiyisin. The articles
were indeed manufactured" in The
true genealogical gense of the term.
handmade, " and head-made too, for
that matter; and all this in little out
1nilding accessible only after diligent
ssaEch and many misadYenture.