Using that history to inform the present, it only makes sense that the FB 2RSM.2-1 would be the modern spiritual successor to the H.M.8 and be built with the contributions of a modern apprentice.įerdinand-Berthoud Marine Clock No. 8 is therefore a crucial achievement for Ferdinand Berthoud, and it was supported by his talented apprentice. The H.M.8 then went to sea for two years, where it was tested and found to be incredibly accurate and very useful for the task of precise navigation.Īs a result of this success building upon earlier accomplishments, the H.M.8 cemented Berthoud as the preeminent horologer of the time, earning him a royal appointment as Horloger mécanicien du Roi et de la Marine or the “Watchmaker-Mechanic by appointment to the King and Navy” by Louis XV. 8, known as the H.M.8 (and, yes, I am giving MB&F founder Max Büsser a knowing glance when I see that the more things change the more they stay the same). In 1766, Berthoud’s second apprentice, Jacques-Vincent Martin, began working with him and over the next two years he supported the efforts of the master as Berthoud created his famous Marine Clock No. The watch also includes a stop-seconds mechanism to halt the tourbillon, a stop works on the fusée-and-chain device (a necessity to prevent damage to the chain), and a small power reserve indication on the rear.īut why, exactly, is this the project that the brand decided to work on with a student? The answer once again goes back to Ferdinand Berthoud the man. (a feat that most marine chronometer-inspired watches with constant force mechanisms often lack). The model is a regulator-style deadbeat seconds watch sporting a constant force mechanism, tourbillon, and fusée-and-chain device all expertly applied to achieve chronometer certification via the C.O.S.C. That spirit of knowledge and education is what urged the brand to engage with a student to create the stunning new FB 2RSM.2-1. During Berthoud’s career he taught apprentices for decades, always ensuring that his knowledge and skills would be carried onward and outward. Berthoud also taught his nephew Pierre-Louis, a Spanish watchmaker by the name of Cayetano Sánchez, and another star watchmaker named Jean Martin. His second apprentice, Jacques-Vincent Martin, was his pupil the longest, working with Berthoud for 20 years. Berthoud was known for his desire to pass on his knowledge, taking in his first apprentice shortly after he opened his first workshop and training him for eight years. And this time in the workshops of the man himself, Ferdinand Berthoud. It all began, as do most stories, a long time ago. The brand’s most recent release, the FB 2RSM.2-1, is the culmination of the apprenticeship of a student at the University of Neuchâtel. One brand that is happy to incorporate it into its organization is Ferdinand Berthoud. Though watchmaking apprenticeships aren’t exactly what they used to be, apprenticeships still play a large role in the watch industry today.įerdinand Berthoud FB 2RSM.2-1 in pink gold with gold dial Unsurprisingly, some of the remaining modern apprenticeships still exist in the same areas: stonemasonry, carpentry, cooking, and – you guessed it – watchmaking. To this day there are still apprenticeships around the world, even if the manner in which many operate has fundamentally changed from the deep origins. Apprenticeships fell from being the most common way for people to learn skills (though there was still a lot of on-the-job learning). With the industrial revolution we entered the modern industrial age in which a large portion of workers did not need to spend years learning skills as machines replaced physical labor. Some of the oldest professions used this system for centuries: stonemasons, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, carpenters, bakers, shipbuilders, and tailors just to mention a few, and this is why we still have some very old knowledge, which was passed down from master to apprentice for hundreds of years. The apprentice would work beside the master craftsman, where as much expertise as possible would be shared with the young pupil, who would carry on the knowledge. The concept generally saw a young person join a master craftsman or a craftsman’s guild to receive training and instruction in a specific skill, usually being provided food and housing during the apprenticeship. Starting to be formalized in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, the idea of an apprenticeship is ages old. But the system lives on to this day – especially in Europe, where it has a long and venerated history. Most of them would forgo extended training and get straight to work. The apprentice was once a crucial part of almost every trade and industry apprenticeship was the most common way for a person to learn a skill and then engage in a profession until it became more common to employ low-skilled workers in industrial positions.
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