I have a couple of swiss watches with the word "remontoir" on the back dust cover. I understand that a remontoir was a device that served the same purpose as a fusee, but apparently the word came to be used much like the word "chronometer," as a generic term whether the watch had this device or not. How can a person tell whether or not a watch has a remontoir?

I am by means no expert in this but I think I read somewhere that a lot of swiss watches have that on them but is actually French for stem winding.

The REMONTOIRE was a slave drive spring that got its power from the mainspring. The salve spring would only get a few seconds of power & it was this slave spring that then powered the escapement. So the mainspring didn't actually drive the escapement so this slave spring helped solve the problem that the fusee could not completely solve.

Here is an image of one I found on the web, but I guess they came in different styles, the REMONTOIRE is on the left.

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I have a couple of swiss watches with the word "remontoir" on the back dust cover.

The French word remontoir = constant force.
Cooksey

Hummm. That thing doesn't look anything like my watches.

Thanks Cooksey

I have trouble with english let alone French, I was told once by someone that the wrist watches marked with that applied to them being stem wind, thanks for setting me straight.

Tom

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I was told once by someone that the wrist watches marked with that applied to them being stem wind, thanks for setting me straight.

Tom that is some what true. Harrison introduced a device to maintaining power during the operration of winding clocks. But is also used later in watches. This device thus had a constant force while winding. Fasolt used this "maintaining power", "constant force ", device and called it remontoire. Some early Howard and Waltham watches used it. Watches of to day use a "remontoir" (Constant Force) to insure the optimun balance amplitude of maintaining the inetria problems of accelerating and declining are fundamentally eliminated. Hope this helps Cooksey