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Horology F
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| Factory |
In the Swiss watch industry, the term manufacture
is used of a factory in which watches are manufactured almost completely,
as distinct from an "atelier de terminage", which is concerned
only with assembling, timing, fitting the hands and casing. |
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| Fast Beat |
Historically, fast-beat refereed to watch
movements with a beat rate higher than 18,000 VPH (vibrations per
hour); today it refers to movements with 28,800 or 36,000 VPH. |
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| Finishing |
The final step in manufacturing any part or component. A crude
or rough surface created by a file or a saw blade is generally said
to be unfinished, whereas a highly polished or carefully grained
(brushed) and beveled surface is said to be finely finished (depending
on how well it's done).
Some finishing details are critical to the proper operation of
the part in question and are called functional finishing.
Other finishing details are purely decorative and demonstrate the
skill of the watchmaker.
Generally when collectors discuss finishing, they are referring
to the decorative detailing of the movement or case. There is a
complex language of finishing styles and techniques that might be
discussed by movement connoisseurs in the same way wine lovers discuss
grape varieties, vintages, and terroir.
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| Fly-back Hand |
A term that has 2 semi-distinct meanings in watchmaking.
Differentiate a flyback chronograph (the chronograph can be instantaneously
reset and restarted with a single push of the flyback or reset button)
from a conventional chronograph, in which you push the start / stop
button, the reset button, then the start / stop button again to
accomplish the same function.
Describe the reset action of a conventional chronograph or any
hand that retrogrades - or returns to a start position with an instantaneous
action, i.e., flyback hand, flyback action, flyback function.
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| Folding Clasp |
Refer to Deployant |
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| Form movement |
Any movement that is not round. Shapes may be tonneau,baguette,
rectangular, square and oval. |
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| Foudroyante |
A small dial on a chronograph marked 0 ~ 8. The small
hand on the dial completes a sweep every second, allowing the time
to be read in 1 / 8 second. Foudroyantes have also been produced with
1 / 4 or 1 / 5 second readings. |
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| Foundation Qualité Fleurier |
A new quality label launched in the fall of 2004 in Fleurier, Switzerland
by 4 watch manufacturers ( Chopard, Armigiani Fleurier, Bovet Fleurier,
Vaucher Manufacture ).
This label is open to all Swiss and European producers of mechanical
Haute Horlogerie, and takes all the characteristics expected of
a high-end watch into account: accuracy, durability and quality
of the aesthetic finish.
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| Free Sprung Balance |
A balance and hairspring that does not involve a regulator
and curb pins; instead, screws, nuts, or inertia blocks on the balance
rim alter the moment of inertia of the balance to change the rate. |
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| Full Rotor |
Automatic watches with oscillating weights, or rotors,
that rotate through 360 degrees, to distinguish them from a bumper
wind. |
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| Fusee |
During the 15th century, fusee is invented to even out
the unequal force produced by a mainspring as it unwinds. The fusee
is on the same arbor as the great wheel and has the shape of a truncated
curved cone with a spiral groove on it. |
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