Posted 13 years ago
LaBombard
(4 items)
30 Years with the same company, a feat not too often done these days. If you do, you may get a cheap watch and a coffee cup, and if you are lucky, health insurance for the rest of your life. I wanted to share a story about a little known clock to most that I purchased at an estate sale that was an Atmos Clock from an estate sale in Midland, Texas a few years back. The clock, for those who do not know, Atmos is the brand name of a mechanical clock that is not known by many common folks, it’s manufactured by Jaeger-LeCoultre, which does not need to be wound. Ever It derives energy from small temperature changes and atmospheric pressure changes in the environment, and can run for years without human intervention.
The first Atmos clock was designed by Jean-Léon Reutter, an engineer in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1928. A one degree change in air temperature will wind an Atmos Clock for two days.
The Atmos is the ultimate environmentally friendly device, there are no batteries to throw away, no electrical consumption of any kind to consider. But this is no quartz clock; the Atmos is a precision device of the first order. To convert the small amount of energy that comes from the air, everything inside the Atmos is made to be virtually frictionless and runs as smoothly and as quietly as is humanly possible.
The parts inside the Atmos are also virtually wear free, thus an Atmos can expect an operational service life of over 600 years, although with today's air pollution, an overhaul and cleaning is recommended every 20 years or so. The Atmos will be the heirloom that you will treasure in your lifetime and leave to future generations for their own enjoyment and appreciation.
In these days of mass production, every Atmos is still made in Switzerland entirely by hand. A single Atmos clock takes a month to produce and then undergoes another 5 weeks of trial and adjustment before leaving the factory in the Vallée De Joux located in the Swiss Jura Mountains. Atmos is thus a rare, hard to find item.
Admirers of advanced technology are not the only ones who get their money's worth. Connoisseurs of elegant forms, precious materials and traditional craftsmanship do so as well. For decades the Government of Switzerland has been presenting its distinguished guests with this masterpiece of Swiss artistry, it is the pride and joy of the Swiss clock making industry. The Atmos has had the honor of being associated with great statesmen, royalty and other renowned people including President John F. Kennedy, Sir Winston Churchill, General Charles De Gaulle, President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, King Hussein of Jordan and many others.
You can be among these special people and enjoy the quality and unique character of this fine clock that they have kept in their palaces and offices. From the White House to the Vatican, there has sat an Atmos clock.
Back in the 1960’s Daniel W. Cromwell, earned one of these for 30 years of service from Texaco. I wish I knew more about him. He never "activated" (removed the bellow strip to start the clock) the clock when it was presented to him. He thought it was too fragile and kept it in his study with the hands on 10 and 2. I started the clock immediately and it has lost 1 or two minutes over the past two years (this can be adjusted but for a 50 year old clock to be off 2 min, what the heck I just leave it alone) How nifty is that?
Dr. Lloyd V. LaBombard
