Weiss - almost 100% American made

[Baco Noir]

Weiss is releasing a watch on July 4th that has an in house made movement but based on an existing movement from another company. I'm excited to see watch manufacturing return to the US.
M

gearpatrol.com/2016/06/21/weiss-in-house-movement/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Gear%20Patrol&utm_content=Daily%20Gear%20Patrol+CID_ccccc6d8c8d3d40b808493d0483945c3&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=Weiss%20Announces%20the%20First%20Mass-Produced%20American-Made%20Movement%20in%20Decades

[rw16610]

It's a nice looking watch. I'm also glad to see a watch company based in the states.

[shawndl5]

It looks good. I wonder what the price will be? Or did the article say and I just missed it

[dsimon9]

Nice looking watch.

[marinoc81]

Cool to see this, but, I am the oddball out I guess, I don't really like the looks 

[Baco Noir]

Jun 25, 2016 19:49:42 GMT -6 shawndl5 said:

It looks good. I wonder what the price will be? Or did the article say and I just missed it

No price mentioned yet.

[carl]

Excellent! I guess this is the next US watch manufacturer after Shinola. Looks like a fine timepiece, and will look forward to seeing more. I have often looked at the Shinola watches at Nordstrom and Holt Renfrew and really admired them, and hope that the quality of Weiss will be comparable.

[Archer]

While I applaud them doing some of the work themselves, being honest and up front about what parts they are producing and what they are not would avoid the kind of marketing issues evident in this article. I saw this news posted somewhere else, and it's clear this is based on an ETA 6497. They say only the balance spring and jewels are made by others in their "clarification" but I suspect it's more than that. The entire regulator assembly and stud carrier is an ETACHRON system, so right away the claim that it's "only" the 2 items mentioned seems quite dubious. Are they really making their own wheel train, including the escape wheel (which is a complex part to make)? Or their own mainsprings, pallet forks, balance wheels, collets, staffs? Somehow I doubt all those are being made in house.

Now what they are doing is not that different from what a lot of other companies do. From the data I have seen published, 90% of Swiss watches use balance springs made by Nivarox (including Rolex up until the parachrome spring came along) so there are plenty of other companies that use parts made by others, and call the movement "in-house" whatever that really means.

With other companies like Tag and Bremont taking a massive beating over making claims that were not exactly true or complete, you would think companies taking these steps would be more honest with what they are and are not doing.

In the end it's good to see, and they have to start somewhere, but looking at the finished (?) result, what is the advantage here? Would I pay a premium for this watch, given that the end result for the dial looks the same as a 6497, and given the quality of the finishing on the movement? With what I know and see now, I would say not very likely.

Although I am not a particular fan of their styling, RGM seems a lot further along the path than this new Weiss movement is.

If this is just a step along the way to producing a truly new movement (not just a partially US made version of a Swiss movement), that's great. Let's hope that's what it is...

Cheers, Al

[Baco Noir]

I always appreciate your insights Al. I too hope this is just the first step in the process to bring complete watchmaking back to the US and would also appreciate companies that are completely transparent.

[Archer]

I do appreciate that they are doing something, so not meaning to sound overly harsh. I think a lot will depend on the price point.

But I look at the click for example, and that looks like it's just one used again from a 6497, and not something that was made by Weiss. Did they really make the crown and ratchet wheels, that also look exactly like those from a 6497? What about the screws, did they make those?

I look at the main plate, and see on one side the holes for the dial feet and the cam style screw that clamps the dial - see the red arrow:



But the problem is, the cam screw is not there, just the hole for the dial foot and the hole that the cam screw goes into. You need 2 of these screws that are accessible from the wheel train side of the movement (the side they show) in order to properly clamp the dial in place - here they are on a 6497 main plate:



On the 6497 and 6498, these screws are in the gaps between the bridges, but on the Weiss version there is no gap opposite the one that I have put the red arrows on in their photo. There is a hole that is almost 180 degrees from the spot where the cam screw would be, but it's not really lined up the best I can tell, so I'm not sure these cam screws are being used to hold the dial on. So why make a main plate with these features if they are not going to be used? The simple answer is that you didn't make the main plate, but are using one from a 6497. Now maybe there is a perfectly valid reason for what I'm seeing, but the more I look at this movement the more I think they remade the bridges and that's all, which puts the claim that they only sourced the balance spring and jewels look a little off.

This is just my opinion based on what I see.

Cheers, Al