Dr. N.
I in-house movements they are among the strong points on which the marketing departments of fine watchmaking leverage. There are quite a few cases in which prestigious watch companies proudly display the “in-house” brand regarding their movements, only to later discover that they are modified versions of movements produced by third parties. In some cases the border is quite "grey": the movements are perhaps produced by a subsidiary of the group that owns the watchmaking company, which then defines “manufactured” the movements themselves.
But how important is it really to mount a manufacturing movement and how much you can also rely on “supply” calibers? Let's find out together by analyzing the in-house movements and, in a future article, those of supply.
The manufacturing movement 3135 di rolex, which for decades has animated watches like the Submariner and Datejust
Manufacture caliber: what is it?
Un movement, o caliber, manufactured – for Anglophiles, in-house – it's a movement designed and manufactured within the watchmaking company which produces a certain clock.
An example are i movements Rolex, or those Omega. Fit a in-house caliber it is an indication of technical capabilities and economic availability within the manufacturing company. And therefore It is common to associate the manufacture caliber with the idea of a luxury watch: an object finished in every part and created with an eye to the integration between its components.
Il Omega Co-Axial movement, an innovative example of a manufacturing caliber
Pros and cons of the manufacturing movement
I in-house movements allow you to create a union between the watch and the mechanism that animates it, designing all the components together. This turns out to be a great advantage in the case of shape or high-performance watches, as in the case of the Richard Mille Rafa Nadal. The prestige of a manufacturing movement It therefore derives above all from being made expressly for a certain watch, albeit sharing, if necessary, part of the components with other calibers from the same company.
Il Richard Mille RM11-01 of the coach of the European champion national team, Roberto Mancini
- disadvantages of manufacturing movements they are essentially linked to costs. A manufacturing movement is more expensive to produce, and it does not necessarily mean that it performs better than a supply one: it is no coincidence that many manufacturers develop supply movements, especially ETA, replacing some components. In these cases we are faced with a hybrid product, which is born as a supply caliber and is then modified. Another problematic element is the maintenance: Manufacture calibers have spare parts that are more expensive and rare to find than supply ones.
