146 



H O R O L O G Y. 



Repeating 

 Clocks anil 

 Watches. 



Diftcrenit 

 between 

 Quare and 



Billow's 

 repeaters. 



Difference 

 between the 

 repeating 

 and striking 

 motion- 

 work. 



This invention of repeating the hours in small fixed 

 clocks and in watches, was soon known and imitated in 

 France; and these machines were very common in 1728, 

 when the celebrated Julien LeRoy was much occupied i 

 their improvement. It was at this period that he made 

 the repeating clock of which a description i given at 

 the end of The Artificial Rule of Time. This was made 

 for the bedchamber of Louis the Fifteenth of France. 



The first repeaters, even those of Quare's, as well as 

 others, gave the number of the hour according to the 

 length pushed in of the pendant; which was very in- 

 convenient, by striking any hour, whether the pendant 

 was pushed home to the snail or not. This frequently 

 caused mistakes, in regard to the true hour which ought 

 to have been given. From the report of our predecessor, 

 Mr James Cowan of this place, who went to Paris in 1 751 

 for improvement in his profession, and who executed 

 some pieces under Julien Le Roy, it was he who intro- 

 duced the mechanism into repeaters, which prevented 

 the watch from striking any thing but the true hour. 

 This, we think, was done to the repeating clock for 

 Louis the Fifteenth's bedchamber. In this construction, 

 unless the cord or pendant made the rack go fully 

 home to the snail, it either struck none, or struck the 

 true hour, which was a very considerable improve- 

 ment. The piece employed for this purpose is called 

 the all or nothing piece. Considering the great talents 

 which Julien Le Roy possessed, we have no reason to 

 doubt of this improvement being his. 



" Although the repetition," says Berthoud, " such as is 

 now in practice, is a particular kind of striking, its me- 

 chanism differs totally from that of the striking clock ; 1 st, 

 Because every time that it is made to repeat, the main re- 

 peating spring is wound up, whereas, in the common 

 striking part, the main-spring is wound up only once in 

 eight days, fifteen, or a month: 2d, In the repetition we 

 must substitute for the count-wheel, which determines 

 the number of blows that the hammer must strike, a con- 

 trivance wholly different. The first author of this in- 

 genious mechanism substituted for the count-wheel 

 a piece, to which, in regard to its form, he gave the 

 name of the snail. The snail is a plain piece, divided 

 into twelve parts, which form steps, and come gradu- 

 ally in from the circumference towards the centre. It 

 makes a revolution in twelve hours. Each of the steps is 

 formed by a portion of a circle. Every time that the 

 clock is made to repeat the hour, the pully which carries 

 the cord is connected with and turns a pinion, which 

 leads a rack, whose arm falls on one or other of the steps 

 of the snail, (on the cord being pulled), and regulates the 

 number of blows which the hammer ought to give ; and 

 as this snail advances only one step in an hour, it fol- 

 lows, that if it is wanted to be made to repeat at every 

 instant in the hour, we should have always the same 

 number of blows of the hammer ; whereas, in setting off 

 the wheel- work of an ordinary striking movement more 

 than once in the hour, we would have a different hour. A 

 count-wheel would then not be fit for a repetition. The 

 mechanism of the repetition has a second snail, which 

 bears four steps also in portions of a circle, to regulate 

 the blows which the quarter hammers must give." 



The count and hoop wheels, and locking plate of the 

 old striking clocks, for regulating the number of blows 

 of the hammer, and locking the wheel- work, was ex- 

 cellently contrived. It had only one inconvenience, for 

 when set off by accident, it would prematurely strike 

 the hour to come : this made it requisite to strike ele- 

 ven hours before it could be again brought to the hour 

 wanted. Had it not been for the invention of the re- 

 peater, these would have continued, and would have 

 5 



been still made in the modern clocks, the same as in the Repeating 



ancient ones. But the snail of the repeater showed that ( ' |oL ' ks "< 



it could be adapted for regulating the number of blows 



for the hammer of a common striking clock, and has * ""V" 1 



prevented the inconvenience of striking over a number 



of hours, before the clock could be set to the right hour 



of striking. 



" We owe to Julien Le Roy," continues Berthoud, 

 " the suppressing of the bell in repeating watches, a 

 change which has made these machines more simple, by 

 rendering the movement larger, more sc^d, and less ex- 

 posed to dust. These watches, which he ciHled raised brass 

 edges, are of a more handsome form. From the time of 

 this celebrated artist, all the French repeaters have been 

 made according to this model ; but in England, where 

 repeating watches were invented, they make them for 

 the most part with a bell; and in Spain, this construction 

 is still more preferred. In repeating watches without 

 a bell, the hammers strike on brass pieces, either sol- 

 dered or screwed to the case. Repeating watches with 

 a bell, have also, as those without one, the property 

 of being dumb, that is to say, of being able to moke it 

 repeat at pleasure, without the hammers being allowed 

 to strike on the bell, or brass pieces." 



This effect is produced after the pendant is pushed in, 

 by putting the point of the forefinger on a small spring 

 button, that comes through the case. Being a little pres- 

 sed in, it opposes a piece against the hammers, which pre- 

 vents them from striking either a bell or the brass pieces 

 inside of the case; by which means the blows for hours 

 and quarters arej'elt, though they cannot now be easily 

 heard. This makes this kind of repeaters very conve- 

 nient for those who are deaf, as during the dark of 

 night they can feel the hour at a time when they can- 

 not see it. These sourdine or dumb parts have been 

 left off of late years ; yet they are not without their ad- 

 vantages, as has been now shown. 



The late Julien Le Roy had tried to render repeat- Lc Roy's 

 ing watches more simple, by suppressing the wheel- repeaters, 

 work which serves to regulate the intervals between the 

 blows of the hammers, and also the main repeating 

 spring. This celebrated artist succeeded in these, to 

 construct new repeating movements, of which several 

 have been made. But it appears that the public have 

 not found them very convenient, so that this mode of 

 composing them has not been imitated. 



The only one of this kind which we have seen of 

 Julien Le Roy's, was a very good one in the pos- 

 session of John Rutherfurd, Esq. of Edgerston. Al- 

 though they have not been copied, they certainly de- 

 serve to be so. 



Repeaters have of late been made with springs in place Repeaters 

 of bells, which are a very ingenious substitute, it must be witl1 spring: 

 allowed, of Swiss invention, though they are as superflu- l n .P lace ' 

 ous as bells. Considerable trouble is necessary in mak- 

 ing and placing them. They ought never to be recom- 

 mended, if it could be avoided ; but we are often obli- 

 ged to yield to the fashion of the day, even when it 

 does not coincide with our own opinion. When three 

 or more hammers are used to give the quarters, we then 

 would admit springs in place of bells, as when they are 

 well tuned, they give a most beautiful chime for the 

 quarters : were bells introduced for this purpose, they 

 would give a clumsy appearance to the watch. Julien Le 

 Roy saw good reasons for setting aside the bell; and no 

 plan of a repeater will ever be superior or equal to that 

 of his, which Graham frequently adopted in many of his 

 watches, though hisrepeatingmotionswere different; Ju- 

 lien Le Roy's having what iscalled theplain, and Graham's 

 the Stogden motion, a most ingenious contrivance, re- 



