Service upgrade to silicon?

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Yehoshua

·May 13, 2021

I wonder if in the future we might expect overhauls to include a silicon balance spring upgrade. And perhaps other parts.
Or an option for that.
I wonder if that would be feasible.

 

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Archer

·May 13, 2021·Omega Qualified Watchmaker

Very unlikely, at least in the near term. The only movement that it would be feasible on would be an older 8500.

 

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WestCoastTime

·May 13, 2021

I would assume that the impulse force provided provided by the pallet fork to the roller jewel is not the same between a steel hairspring movement & a silicon hairspring movement (but I could be wrong). Just wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for the ability to mix & match parts among unlike movements, silicon material or otherwise.

 

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Yehoshua

·May 13, 2021

Archer

Very unlikely, at least in the near term. The only movement that it would be feasible on would be an older 8500.

I've read how brittle these springs are when manufacturing the movement. Is it a real hassle for you watchmakers to take them out, clean them and put them back in when overhauling?

 

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Archer

·May 13, 2021·Omega Qualified Watchmaker

Yehoshua

I've read how brittle these springs are when manufacturing the movement. Is it a real hassle for you watchmakers to take them out, clean them and put them back in when overhauling?

They aren’t brittle at all...

 

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Gruesome

·May 13, 2021

The combination of balance and spring still has to resonate at the same frequency. So you would get some of the benefits of a silicon hairspring by swapping out the assembly, like the amagnetic properties. I'm not sure (I don't know) whether silicon hairsprings have lower losses, but without a change in the mainspring (longer and weaker) you wouldn't be able to take advantage of that.