What would a spring labeled Res. Masse AS976
Be? I thing it is Swiss. Is it a setting spring? Is AS976 a popular size?

Melvin,
Res. masse is an unfamiliar term to me but, to answer your second question, the A.S. 976 was a hugely marketed watch movement and employed by dozens of manufacturers. Parts should be available for many years to come.
-Cort

Thanks Cort. The reason I asked about the AS976 is that I have several GROSS of the springs described above.

My "Dictionnaire Technologique" published by Ebauches SA lists the terms used for various parts in five languages. "Res." is probably the abbreviation for ressort, French for "spring". The only place I find "masse" is in the parts for automatic watches where it refers to the oscillating weight. Could your parts be a spring associated with a self-winding mechanism?

All,

AS 976 is a very common base for a lot of ladies movements. It's a 5 1/2 by 7 ligne manual wind movement, so I doubt that the "Masse" refers to autowinding material.

If my high school french doesn't fail me, which it often does, I would think that "masse" (which literally translates as "mass") means "bulk", as in a bulk lot of springs.

Melvin, are these mainsprings, click springs, hair springs, setting springs or what?

For what it's worth.

Cary

Hi I have tried to add a picture. I hope it came thru.

Melvin,

They look like setting springs to me. Used to put pressure on the setting lever to allow it to snap from the winding to setting postions. Old-timers call these clutch lever springs, or shipper springs.



Regards,

Cary

Well now that you guys have helped me identified the part as a setting spring for an AS 976, does any one have an interest in purchasing a gross of them? I have about 100 gross available.