Wheel turning on a ruby post and something else you don't see everyday..

[caseback]

I'm servicing a nice but very dirty (gasket dust) Enicar Sherpa with a 1141 movement. It has a minute wheel on a ruby post. I've never seen this before. Is it just an Enicar thing, or more common?

Well, I'll have to re-think the "nice" comment on this Enicar. I got it from the first owner, who bought it when he was young. He told me he only got it serviced once in the 70's by an east German watchmaker, but it wouldn't run very well afterwards, so he put it in a drawer. What do you think, would a broken, warped and soldered centre wheel influence timekeeping?? 

Edited August 26, 2024 by caseback
Added the final suprise

[rehajm]

If it is one service the hope is the East German didn’t attack the screw slots and scratch up the plate and bridges

…there’s reference to the Enicar ‘Rubyrotor’ about…looks like you got one…

Edited August 26, 2024 by rehajm

[AndyGSi]

Details here show the rubyrotor on 1125, 1126 & 1127.

https://chronopedia.club/Enicar

[caseback]

7 hours ago, rehajm said:

…there’s reference to the Enicar ‘Rubyrotor’ about…looks like you got one…

I'm afraid not. You got me to do some reading on the subject (thnx! ). Enicar used the 'Rubyrotor' name on some of their automatic movements that had ruby parts in the rotorbearing, jacking the jewel count up to 30 or higher. The 17 jewel 1141 is a handwinder. Counting all the jewels in the movement (including the ruby post and the double jewel in the centre wheel bridge), I get to 17.

[nickelsilver]

I have only seen this on Enicar, I think it was just to legitimately get the jewel count up. They are decent movements, but their automatic systems range from over complicated to totally over complicated!

 

I was tasked with assembling 100 movements that had been modified for quick set day/date some years back for a small-ish brand; that was an ordeal .

[VWatchie]

2 hours ago, nickelsilver said:

I have only seen this on Enicar, I think it was just to legitimately get the jewel count up.

Unlike @nickelsilver, I don't have a ton of experience, but I too have never seen this on any movement other than Enicar's.

The above picture is from my service walkthrough of an Enicar cal. 161. As already mentioned, the purpose was likely to get the jewel count up, but I think it looks sort of pretty or intriguing.

[caseback]

Thnx for the feedback gents!

I agree it does give an impression of quality, but I think using a jewel in the mainplate for the centre wheel or jewelling the barrel would have been a bigger improvement. Must have been more expensive I guess.

[spectre6000]

As I recall, the jewel production method starts with a sapphire rod, that's cut into small discs, a hole drilled in each, then they're sort of hung and spun on a diamond impregnated string to get the hole to the right size. Seems they made the discs really tall, and just stopped.