Brussels Professional School of Precision Mechanics And Electricity, precision table regulator, masterpiece from Francis Breyne in 1931.
Extremely robust construction movement with thick plates and four large turned pillars screwed on both sides, Graham escapement, steel suspension powered by a mainspring in a barrel allowing for a three-week autonomy. Pine wood rod pendulum with micrometric crutch adjustment, graduated adjustment on the heavy brass bob.The plates nicely machined patterned. Large silvered dial with Roman numerals for the hours, bearing the signature ECOLE PROFELLE DE MÉCANIQUE DE PRÉCISION ET D'ELECTRICITÉ DE BRUXELLES, FRANCIS BREYNE 1931. Two blued steel hands, with polished conical washer at the center.
It was traditionally left to the student cabinet-makers of that same prestigious school to make the case, using the best materials and assembly methods of the time. It is made in a very fine manner, using quarter-sawn oak and glasses on four sides, to emphasize the geometrical shapes and to show the movement in its best possible view. Its trapeze shape with stepped decorations and slightly triangular hood, is directly inspired from the clocks cases made by Gustave Serrurier-Bovy (1858-1910), the famous Liège architect and decorator who was a major player in interior designs in Belgium.
The detailed plans of most parts for these masterpieces still exist and are reproduced in the PDF files with links below.
Dimensions
Height 52 cm, Width 35 cm, Depth 16 cm.
The Brussels Professional School of Precision Mechanics and Electricity,
that was to become later the Arts and Crafts School of Brussels, held the reputation of being one of the finest clock-making school in the World in the 20th Century years preceding the Second World War.
As an end of school project, the students had to entirely manufacture a precision regulator of a given design. They were left with some liberties for some of the execution details, and these finished works were to become their masterpiece, that were to stay with them for the rest of their career, so as to demonstrate their skill, but also to regulate all the other time instruments that they would work on.
Price
€ 5400.-
Pdf documents to download
en français
in English
in het Nederlands
