Text: Alexey Kirillov | 2014-08-21 | 20147

Our education system is geared towards a fairly narrow specialization. And while experts are arguing how justified this is today, we talked to a person who, as part of his work, acts as a designer, designer, engineer, and mechanic. He designs even the machines necessary for his work for himself. His path is watchmaking, the secrets of which were almost completely lost in Russia. At the same time, our interlocutor, Valentin Erofeev, is only 25 years old.

Valentin Erofeev

Watch master.

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- Valentin, you are engaged in the manufacture of very precise and complex mechanisms, although you do not have any engineering education. How did it happen that you became a watchmaker?

In the 8th-9th grade, I thought that I would connect my life with the exact sciences. But at the last moment he made a somewhat spontaneous decision to become a lawyer, i.e. follow in the family footsteps. I graduated from a good university in this area, where my father once underwent professional training, then ended up at Lukoil - first in practice, then worked there for some time. After Lukoil, I went to the Bar Association, where for two years I was an assistant to the chairman, until I decided to change my occupation. Moreover, the decision to leave was made immediately on the eve of the filing of documents for the defense of the bar exam.

During the time spent at the college, I understood two very simple things. The first is that jurisprudence is a matter of conflict. If a lawyer is needed somewhere, then someone has problems. I didn't like it from the very beginning. The second simple conclusion is a large amount of tedious work with the absolute absence of any result. No offense will be said to anyone, but I do not consider a few pieces of paper the result, although some of my friends see this as the result of mental activity, and I respect their opinion very much.

– How did your relatives react to the sudden change of activity?

By that time I was already married, and I had a very young daughter. My wife supported me, but everyone else - both her and my parents - were strongly against it. This is understandable: a person with a family and with good earnings suddenly leaves do not understand where, actually becomes unemployed. So it was a strong willed decision to leave and by all means start earning money with your own labor.

Everyone was afraid, they said: “What are you doing? Stop!” My father was also afraid, but at some point he nevertheless supported me and said: “Dare.”

At first it was very hard. As a matter of fact, it still remains hard, but in the end I do the work of my life. I don't work for no one knows where, no one knows what, no one knows for whom. I hope that the watches I create will outlive me, maybe even by a few generations. So there are so many pluses that the “heavy” argument is not even considered at all.

Each watchmaker has his own set of tools. The one in the photo is used daily when creating and restoring watches.

- Where did the craving to make something with your own hands come from?

It's been with me since childhood. At first I looked at my dad, who, at the hobby level, collected wooden aircraft models. Then we started doing it together.

In general, almost any thing that fell into my hands, I took and remade - apparently, due to some of my inner convictions. It was very rare that I came across something that corresponded specifically to me - maybe from the point of view of convenience or for some other reason - now it is already difficult to remember what thoughts I had in each particular case. But it was always nicer to have something that was made by hand.

– Were the first converted watches also in childhood?

No, although somewhere in the third grade, my father brought me a self-winding watch from Switzerland. Can you imagine? I, a third grader, ran swiss watches- All high school students took them from me to look. Of course, I was proud, but I lost them during the move - I still regret it.

And I became a watchmaker, oddly enough, largely thanks to jurisprudence. The profession at some point made me pick myself up nice watch, and when I bought them, then, of course, I looked inside ...

In general, I must say that all my hobbies had a certain dynamics of development: something caught my eye, I began to study it, and eventually became, one might say, a professional in this business. But sooner or later the topic exhausted itself. Let's say there was very little science in making wooden models. At some point, I realized that the plane that my father and I were building, and the engine of which was made from an ordinary sewing reel, simply would not fly. I was then very young, but somehow I understood it.

But when I climbed into the clock body, it seemed to me like a bottomless barrel. I remember very well how I opened that watch and saw that there, under the lid, was some kind of special world of its own, which ticks and lives for its own pleasure and which is absolutely isolated from the outside world. It is especially fascinating when you look at it through a microscope, you look at how instantaneous engagement works or how momentum is transmitted from the fork to the balance ellipse. At that very moment, I realized that this topic would capture me for a very long time.

What happened to this watch in the end?

In fact, they were quite simple wrist watch. I decided that I needed something of my own, special. So I also bought a pocket Lightning and converted it into a wristwatch. I redid it as best I could - I didn’t have a special tool then, just as I didn’t have the necessary knowledge. I drew drawings, and when working I used an improvised tool - a drill, files.

In the first watch built by his own hands, Valentin used a rare Soviet chronograph based on the Molniya watch mechanism.

This happened in my first year as a barrister. At that time, I still went on business trips and finished parts for watches right on the trains. Those. all this was on a very frivolous level and, of course, did not bring any money. Even then it was not even thought that someday it would turn into a craft. Yes, what I am doing now, I call craft, and I do it with special pride. It is very complex, very precise, requires precise equipment, but it is still a craft.

What was the first step you took after leaving?

For a month I went with my family to rest at sea, in Turkey. When he returned, he began to make his first watch. By that time, I already had several simple machines. First - a small English clock lathe. Then came the big turning tool. That is, by the time of dismissal, I had collected some base of the base.

As a result, he made his first watch under the order. At the same time, he managed to make watches for free sale. It was some way out of the situation. At the same time, I can even say that after two months of independent work, I reached the same salary level that I had in the company, and after 6 months I was already earning several times more. Now it happens differently. Sometimes it is 6 times higher, and sometimes there is no money at all.

The watch lathe is the watchmaker's main machine.

- Do you have a vision of what all this should result in in the end? What is the end goal?

I imagine it as my own workshop - maybe a small two-story house with a staff of 20-25 people trained by me personally. This is the picture that is in my head, and it seems to me that I am gradually moving towards it.

At the same time, I have before my eyes very worthy examples. First of all, it is the Swiss Academy of Independent Watchmakers, which includes about 30 academicians. Among them there is even one Russian - Konstantin Chaikin. His path is probably very similar to mine. Only he has already done it, and I'm just getting started.

So, these independent watchmakers keep their own, as a rule, medium-sized (although there are exceptions) workshops. The staff varies from 5-7 to 20-25 people. Each workshop produces a very small number of watches per year - something like 20 pieces. But the models of behavior of companies differ: some produce only unique watches, others produce small series with modifications, others generally make the same ones, but in very small batches.

“Would you like your daughter to continue this business?”

Oh sure. There are many companies that have been managed for several generations. And the family business is what I would like to leave behind.

– Do women meet in watchmaking at all?

In general, there are much more women in watch factories than men. Pickers, oilers are all women. For such specialties, they even came up with a term - small hands.

Another thing is that I see my daughter in a different role. And here, too, there are good examples of women who themselves design and create very interesting watch. Probably the best known to me is Eva Loib, who is now working in Australia. By the way, my daughter's name is also Eva - such a funny coincidence.

Already now, at 2 years and 3 months old, my child sees some kind of drawing and says: "The clock." The other person would not recognize.

- If suddenly the daughter does not show a penchant for watchmaking, what then?

Well, it means I couldn't. It's very embarrassing, but what can you do? But this, perhaps, is some kind of incentive to have more children, at least one will follow in my footsteps.

In general, I think that the most important thing in raising a child, oddly enough, is not to send him anywhere. But at the same time show him all the possibilities, all that he can do in this life. I consider it a mistake to push him into one area or another. It is very important that the decision is made absolutely independently, without fear of any reproach from the parents.

Is this your own experience?

Yes. There was no pressure from my parents. I made all my decisions on my own.

- Do you already understand what needs to be done to achieve the goal, the final vision?

Work, work, work. Everything else is already there.

- What about studying?

If we talk about some kind of engineering education, then it will not give me anything new. Of course, I don't know much about the production of an accurate mass-produced product, but I don't really need this. But it would be really useful for me to learn from any Swiss academic watchmaker. I would love to go to study for a year with the same Thomas Prasher, or maybe even the Englishman Roger Smith. This is my little dream, which, I'm afraid, will never come true. She demands money. What's more, it takes time. And now I am a watchmaker who has absolutely no time.

In this regard, I can tell about one rather remarkable case. Last year I was in Basel, at a meeting with Swiss academics, where, with the permission of the client, I took one of the watches I created. One of the academicians liked them very much - he stood near them for a long time, and then asked how I managed to make such a finish surface on the arrow. I told him, glad that he paid attention to this, because I spent about a month and a half to develop the ability to make such a finish. He listened carefully to my manufacturing method, and then said: “Hmm, pour some oils into it and take plexiglass instead of glass” ...

When I returned to Moscow, the first thing I did, without even unpacking my bags, rushed to the workplace, took plexiglass and oil and tried it. Everything really worked; the academician, of course, did not deceive. But the point of this story is that sometimes I have to reinvent the wheel.

What do you mean by "work, work, work"?

This is work behind the machine - the direct manufacture of parts. It would seem, for example, some small arrow. But if at the factory where they are mass-produced, all procedures (stamping, polishing, etc.) take 5-10 minutes, then I have 1-2 days. So, among other things, because I make the arrows according to a completely different principle, from completely different materials. I harden, manually bring out the finishing surfaces. I really like the texture and volume, so each of my arrows is multi-layered and consists of at least three parts. The differences between stamped and hand-made arrows are clearly visible to the eye - this is probably the same as comparing a Zhiguli interior lined with cheap plastic and a Rolls-Royce interior decorated with natural thick wood.

The manufacture of clockwork parts requires painstaking work and a large number time.

At work, I spend, on average, 12-14 hours a day with one or two breaks of 30 or 60 minutes. I usually wake up late at noon. An hour later, I have breakfast and recover a little. I usually work from 15.00 to 6-7 in the morning the next day. Otherwise, there is no time for anything at all.

– Due to what do you restore strength?

It is hard to say. Motivation, self-motivation. It just turned out to be a surprisingly suitable thing for me, from which I enjoy. Of course, I get tired physically, but mentally it comes very easily to me - much easier than sitting in the office for 7 hours and talking on the phone.

– Good, but besides manufacturing parts, there are probably many other things that you have to think about - drawings, design, perhaps some scientific and innovative studies.

In fact, all of the above, in terms of time, is low-cost. Design is all about impulse. You sit down and you either have inspiration or you don't. If not, then think about it next time.

Drawing a drawing is also fast. If you have an idea, it will only take a few hours. The same “AutoCAD” saves a lot of time - errors at the level of a digital drawing are immediately visible; On paper they are much harder to see.

Do you make drawings in 3D?

No, I do not need a three-dimensional drawing - I keep the whole picture in my head. But another thing is when the task is performed by a CNC machine - for it, drawings are needed, of course, three-dimensional. I don’t have such machines now, but recently I came to understand that I still need one CNC machine. There are no machines on the market that would suit me, so it will be made to order.

- That is, personally for you?

Yes. Machine tools, like many other things, I either remake or even create from scratch. The last large machine that I finished not so long ago was assembled on the basis of a Swiss optical coordinate machine. When I bought it from the bankrupt First Moscow Watch Factory, it was in a terrible state. I sorted it out with my own hands, scraped it out, restored worn-out nodes. I made small details myself - today I can very accurately produce absolutely any small element. But I can't handle large items. Therefore, the machine spindle had to be made to order according to a drawing prepared in advance. With this in Russia in general, I must say, a big problem - there is no good precision production anywhere. And when I tried to explain what I need to do, and how accurate it should be, just no one understood me. Therefore, in the end, I had to go to the factory myself and there control the entire process of manufacturing the spindle.

Everything worked out, and now I practically do not leave this machine.

Swiss optical coordinate machine, bought from the Moscow Watch Factory for 20 thousand rubles. About 5 times more was invested in its restoration.

– As far as I understand, in order to develop such machines, as well as to make complex unique watches, you need to be savvy in many areas of knowledge. Where did all this come from?

The best teacher is the eyes. No wonder they say that it is better to see once than to hear or read a thousand times in some book. You get so much more information this way. For example, I walk around and look at the old Swiss machines, how they are cleaned. I know that specially trained people do such scraping at the factory for 500 hours. And I'm starting to study how and why they do it. Let's say the surface is milled. But it cannot be called completely accurate: firstly, after machining, cast iron floats a little, since internal stresses are partially released in it at the moment of cutting; secondly, any cutter has roughness. An oil film on such an unfinished surface will not hold well, and, as a rule, it is the sliding surfaces that are scraped. What is done in this case? A reference, as a rule, granite (less often cast iron) slab is taken. Blue paint is rubbed into it, leaned against a scraped surface, rolled and looked at the contact spots. They are usually few. Then they take a scraper and begin to scratch the surface in the contact spots. This removes a small amount of material. The process is repeated many times: paint, contact spots, scraper, until the entire surface turns blue - this means that it has become accurate.

About the same in everything else: you have to be able to scrape, and design machines, and work in AutoCAD, and understand heat treatment, hardening and cutting of metals. Recently, I even learned how to make corundum plain bearings. You have to do everything yourself, because there is simply nowhere to take it from.

As for knowledge about watch mechanisms, I draw a lot from rather trivial sources - textbooks and the Internet. The Internet is a very big and good teacher. It contains a lot of information, sometimes dubious, so you need to have an understanding of what is happening and, probably, even some intuition to distinguish correct information from false. But the main source, of course, is the mechanisms themselves. Behind them are very smart engineers, people with a lot of experience. I study how this or that mechanism is made, I look at any of its elements and try to understand why it is this way and not another. Every problem has many different solutions. You need to understand why someone chose such a solution. You need to try to understand whether this decision was correct or whether it can be improved.

For myself, I regularly buy antique mechanisms at auctions. I analyze them, study them, look for errors. Sometimes I find - and this is a great success. Finding an error, namely some kind of imperfection, and understanding how to fix it, is much more important to me than just looking at the clock. I think it's a great self-learning model.

In this regard, I am never afraid to be ambitious. I think that this is a very good engine of progress - our own ambitions. To believe in yourself, in your strengths, in your knowledge and skills is very correct.

I would like to talk about the watches you make. How long does it take you to make one watch?

In different ways: from one and a half months to infinity.

- Do you only make orders?

Now - yes, except for my personal project.

– What is the project?

Building your own clockwork. This is the way to get into the Academy, that is, the result that can be presented there. I've been working on it for over 8 months now. I planned to meet the exhibition in Switzerland, which will be held in April, but, most likely, I will not have time. To provide for my family, I have to take third-party orders, and they slow me down a lot - that's the only problem.

- This mechanism should, apparently, be somewhat different from analogues?

Of course. It will use an escapement of my own design. Of course, it was made on the basis of existing descents, but at least no one has done this yet. That is, a certain idea, an intention is present here. But whether they will be successful, only the finished mechanism will show.

Your watch has a very unusual dial. Tell about him.

What you see is a one-shot. In general, I strive for minimalism. More precisely, at some point the idea arose that the time indication could be simplified. It so happens that ideas come in the process of direct action. And as I sat and drew sketches, somehow by itself I got a window with a number and a division by seven. As a result, the dial with non-standard division and one hand was brought to life.

The early work was done exceptionally simple hand tool. Files and drills - that's all there was access to. The dial of the "one-hand" shown in the photo is made of natural material - slate. Everything else is hardened steel.

– Have you registered this dial as intellectual property?

This is not accepted among independent watchmakers. In addition, I will take it very calmly if one of them wants to do the same. Another thing is when it comes to a company. But, for example, Swiss companies have a culture. All their lives they have developed in the environment in parallel with watchmakers, and there has never been a single case of them stealing ideas from independent watchmakers. If necessary, they come, negotiate and buy.

And in general, I really like the spirit of lack of competition in this environment.

- What is the reason?

The reason is self-confidence and lack of fear of competition. I can tell anyone my secret. And it's usually mutual. Sometimes I hear about some secret centuries-old technique or secret developments that last for years. This makes me smile, because I personally see no point in protecting such inventions for myself. If someone suddenly repeats what I did, then for me it will be nothing more than an excuse to do even better. And this is a very good incentive to move on.

But I will make a reservation - my dial is still not an invention, but rather a design decision. And I know good example associated specifically with the sale of copyright to an invention. Its author is George Daniels, my idol, who unfortunately died a year ago. He is a genius of watchmaking and micromechanics in general. I think that in terms of scale this is the second watchmaker after Abraham-Louis Breguet, if, of course, not the first.

Daniels invented the co-axial escapement in watches. The biggest problem with the escapement currently in use is the need to lubricate it. But the lubricant thickens, and after some time the accuracy of the watch decreases. Friction is kept to a minimum in a co-axial escapement. It does not require lubrication, and is more precise in its mechanics.

Daniels sold this descent to the Omega company and with the proceeds he happily existed and worked further, however, in the same way as he worked before - he just probably had more free time.

But the sale process was very difficult, it lasted for five years. Every year Daniels came and brought a new watch. When he first showed this descent, he explained to everyone what was happening for a long time. He was told: "Very cool, but the size of the descent is too big." He arrived a year later - already with a thin watch and a small escapement. This time he was told: “Cool, but the descent is too difficult and we will not be able to do it serially. It's very, very expensive." He left. I spent a year on design, maybe another half a year on a prototype, I came for the third time with a simplified descent. In general, this went on for quite a long time. I think that during these trips, of course, he patented his work.

“Omega is the only one currently using this escapement?”

Yes. Most likely, she bought out this patent. But on the other hand, Daniels has always publicly stated that any craftsman who is able to make this escapement himself can make it and use it in his watch without any consequences. His student and successor, Roger Smith, today uses the Daniels escapement without any problems.

– In general, what is the path of innovative thought in watchmaking today? In the direction of increasing the accuracy of the course?

No, there is practically no movement in this direction. As an example, one of Daniels' first wristwatches was taken to India. During the day, their owner walked with the watch, and at night he put it on the shelf. In India, there are serious diurnal fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and this is a severe test for mechanical watches, especially if their mechanism is not protected from moisture or temperature.

But a month later, upon returning to London, the clock was only 1 second off the reference time. For comparison: in serial watches, a chronometer super certificate will guarantee the accuracy of the movement plus or minus 5 seconds per day. Per day, but not per month! And people think it's the norm. They are glad that they have such an accurate watch on their hands, they don’t need more.

Therefore, watchmaking is not moving towards precision, but towards how to surprise the client. Whoever surprised you the most won. And surprise, as a rule, design.

- But then why all this talk about unique descents? What is the meaning of your personal project that you mentioned?

This is a completely different matter. Own descent can be of interest to a very rare client, it gives a status in the professional environment of watchmakers.

My descent, I hope, will give an accuracy of at least two seconds per day. But this innovation is not directly related to the accuracy of the course - an increase in accuracy will rather be a pleasant addition.

The fact is that the second serious problem of descent after lubrication is the small amount of energy received from the main mainspring. Very, very little comes to the descent through the wheel transmission of energy. The modern Swiss escapement has a so-called escapement error. This is a mathematically forced error: there is a moment when the balance of the oscillatory system pushes the main mainspring back a little, that is, it spends extra energy on it. And it should be as independent as possible: the oscillating system should be separated from the mainspring as much as possible. This will guarantee accuracy. But since it spends energy to push the spring away, then its independence is only conditional. With my decision, I tried to fix it somehow.

Have you had unsuccessful projects?

That the project as a whole turned out to be unsuccessful - this was not the case. But there were failures in the implementation of projects. Sometimes the dates were pushed back. Once there was an error during assembly. Once the client clicked something in the wrong place. There were also watches that did not work properly - fortunately, my friend was a client at that time, and I collected watches for him almost for free. It happens. I am very sorry to my clients, but I always correct myself as soon as possible.

But experience and knowledge can always be learned from any failure, and this is the most important thing.

Before the appearance of a large coordinate machine, Valentin had to use an instrumental microscope and a self-made coordinate drilling machine.

- Who are your clients? Collectors?

It's not always the same. When I made watches for free sale, to my surprise, even people who had little knowledge of watches bought them. And now they are both collectors and people who give gifts to collectors. They usually find me on their own.

- So, among the experts you are already known?

Nothing has passed since my dismissal - a little more than a year, but in the watch environment of Russia, only the laziest know me. This is amazing: everyone already knows that there is such a young guy who started doing something there himself.

Are there foreigners among your clients?

No, they are all from Russia. But while I didn’t even try to contact foreigners, I’m not sure that I can pull it off.

Are you afraid that they won't accept you?

No, I think they will, maybe even better than here. And I will not pull it yet due to lack of time.

- The market for collectible watches, as I understand it, is a very expensive niche?

Crazy. For example, about a month ago, I was at a reception at the Swiss embassy, ​​where, together with another person, I was conducting a seminar for a limited circle of people, including the Swiss ambassador. So, the clock was brought to the embassy, ​​which became the winners of the Geneva Arrow competition in various nominations. We had a chance to hold this watch in our hands, take a good look at it and discuss it - these were probably the 13 most interesting items. Their price is from 500 thousand dollars to one and a half million.

Some watches, of course, were decorated with gold and diamonds, but many had the most ordinary steel case. Their main value is the mechanism, the incredible complexity of its manufacture and the fact that this is a unique thing that maybe 20 people have been working on for a year and a half.

But these watches were made by companies in very limited editions. Among independent watchmakers, the price tags are, of course, lower. Their price category is anywhere from 30 thousand dollars to 150-200 thousand. This is the price range that their watches are in. I can't say that they earn some crazy money. Companies yes, independent watchmakers no. But they are wealthy and happy people who live in their own world.

The watchmaker approaches each of his works individually - both from the technical and from the design side.

– Is the main market for such watches Europe?

No, today it is Asia. Probably because they have an understanding of art since ancient times. There it was valued much more than here.

– And why, then, has historically not developed its own watchmaking in Asia, in contrast to the same Europe?

They had a completely different life. They mainly grew rice and fought. The craft was quite primitive and was not supported by the education system. But even the craft that was, had a shift towards art and only art. Engineering was missing.

– Is watchmaking an engineering activity in general?

Yes, very engineering. For example, at the word “polishing a detail”, almost everyone who encounters it - let's take the same jewelers - one process occurs in their heads, while watchmakers have a completely different one. In this I very often meet misunderstanding and struggle with it. For a watchmaker, a polished flat part should have a mirror image without any distortion, that is, it should be really flat. Such a detail is specially polished on metal - neither on felt nor on wadding, as is usually done. That is, even the approach to polishing is accurate. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the wear of the metal during polishing, so as not to get a part of smaller dimensions. Even the finish in watchmaking has a precise engineering basis.

But in general, watchmaking is a combination of three components: beauty, that is, art, exact sciences (engineering) and manual experience. Maybe not even so much experience as definitely talent.

The watch industry has been hit hard by the advent of cell phones. But I suppose that for the watchmaking craft, on the contrary, they opened a new road ...

Yes. Quite right. People for whom watches were only a tool for determining the time, first left mechanics for electronics. When phones and other gadgets appeared, these people generally no longer needed a wristwatch. They can be understood. I think that this is even good, since the market was simply inundated with bad wrist watch. As a result, watches were perceived by people's minds as a cheap, low-quality thing that simply performs its function. Cell phones knocked out this particular niche from the market and, on the contrary, singled out and isolated the segment of expensive mechanical watches - works of art.

– Do you have partners?

6 months after I became a watchmaker, I was found by one person whom I am now helping to set up a whole production. I can call him my partner. This is a small-scale production of semi-jewelry watches of a very high class. Their mechanism is now being developed, and in this I also help as much as I can. There is a lot of work there. They've been making a prototype for over a year now. Some by themselves, some by my help. They are great.

We bought a lot of equipment, whole racks with tools: equipment, cutting tools, clockwork, everything is so small ... When I go there, it’s a separate occupation, even a hobby - to rummage through these boxes and look at the tool, study how and why it was made what and how they did with it. Any primitive piece of iron, when you pick it up and ask yourself these questions, gives you a colossal amount of information.

- Have you already started preparing students for yourself?

Yes, one very nice person whom I teach and who helps me, I now have. He is now about 35 years old, but I don’t have any special emotions about the fact that he is older than me. I just show him and tell him what to do and how to do it. Before, he was doing very different things.

Moreover, I will hint that there are people who are already planning to open a watch school in Moscow very soon, and I will prepare the entire program for which and teach the first streams of people. This is very interesting to me. It's like a mission that I take on.

I am a fairly modest person. I am 25 years old, I have no watch education at all. Not even an engineering degree. And I will teach. From the outside, it's weird. But I am able to estimate the scope of my knowledge and my own strength. I understand that in Russia, and this will be a somewhat immodest phrase, there are very few people with such skills. Only Kostya Chaikin and, perhaps, the craftsmen who worked with him.

Has the attitude of the parents changed now?

It became completely different. Now they understand that this, firstly, is already a certain level, a really serious and complex matter, to which I have the right approaches. Secondly, they see that I am able to independently and completely feed my family and maintain my equipment. By the way, I consider all my machines my second family.

Yes, and now I work in fact in the family. My workshop is so far just a separate room in the apartment. Some might consider this a mistake, but I think it's great.

My immediate plans, in a year and a half, are to move to the Kaliningrad region, where the foundation is already standing, and soon, I hope, my house will be. In the same place, right on the site, I will start building a small workshop. You need 2 floors - on one floor there will be an assembly, on the other - the manufacture of components. This is necessary from the point of view of the purity of production. I plan that 5-6 people will work in this workshop.

- Kaliningrad, apparently, for a reason?

It so happened that my relatives had land there. But it is far from a fact that if she were somewhere else, it would suit me. Kaliningrad suited me for many reasons, including free entry to Europe, proximity to European clients.

- Did you have a desire to go abroad?

Not yet.

- Because in Russia you actually have no competition?

Because I happened to be in this place at this time. I would gladly leave Moscow, but not for reasons of business or earnings, but simply for my inner convictions. Here you have to survive, there is a terrible environment, especially for a child, here man is a wolf to man. A lot of factors. Moscow does not live in my rhythm at all. But I won’t say that I want to leave the country at all - there are wonderful people in Russia.

The first clock built by Valentine.

What would you like to do in retirement?

The same, but only in free mode, for yourself.

- Was on your site. Liked it very much. And the design and content of the texts that are posted there. Did you make it yourself or have someone else order it?

I made the site entirely myself. And he also wrote the texts on his own. But, unfortunately, there is not enough time to maintain it. The materials that lie there are quite old. Haven't uploaded anything new for about nine months now.

- Is there a motto that you follow in difficult situations?

There is a very good message, even two messages that I understood while working in watchmaking, although they are applicable not only in it. The first principle is to do it with the highest quality. One and the same detail can be done badly, or it can be done well, and it will take approximately the same time. It’s like brewing coffee in the morning: you can pour instant coffee into a cup, and then wait for boiling water, pour it in and be happy, or you can manually grind it in a mill and brew it - you will spend three or four minutes more on this process, but you will get tasty and healthy, as far as maybe coffee.

Likewise with detail. You can just carve it out of a stud and it will work. Or you can take high-quality steel, grind it, harden it, polish it. Yes, it will take time, maybe half an hour, maybe an hour more, but a hardened polished part will last almost forever. And the carnation will break in 2 months. Life is given to a person once, and why waste it on something of poor quality, if you can do a completely different thing with about the same forces.

The second principle is that any work, even if it is unsuccessful in the end, is still a big plus, because it gives you great experience.

- Was there a desire to find yourself in the future and see what you will be like in 10-50 years or what your business will be like in 200 years?

No. It's like a very good movie. Why know his ending? So uninteresting. You have to watch consistently, from the very beginning.

– During the year and a half that you are a watchmaker, have you changed? As a person, as a person... Tell me about your feelings.

Changes have taken place in everything. I felt like an established, independent unit of this society, not mixed in its general mass. I respected people who started their own business. There are quite a few of these among young people today. Some choose something difficult, others - easier. I will say without undue modesty that watchmaking is the most difficult thing that I could imagine.

I began to relate differently to people who motivate themselves, act on their own. And the two principles that I listed above are not just words for me, they are really the principles of existence, which I understood exclusively in the course of my own business. The realization that you are working for yourself, for the family is a completely different feeling.

Among my friends there are those who manage to act the same way, working in companies. For them, their very business is a career. I just couldn't do it, I'm a different person. But I began to see in people whether they have a goal, a motivation to build themselves as a person. Recently I read somewhere a funny phrase that if a person finds his life's work, he no longer has to work a day. This is, in principle, true.

So you don't work?

I do not work. I'm minding my own business, my life's business. I think I was born a watchmaker. And everything that was before that - both education and my past work - it was a kind of path to the realization of who I am.

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"Watchmaker" Synopsis of the joint activity of an adult and children (solving a problem situation) in the preparatory group Purpose: the formation of integrative qualities "curious, active", "having primary ideas about oneself, family, society, state, world and nature", " emotionally responsive", "having mastered the means of communication and ways of interacting with adults and peers", "able to solve intellectual and personal tasks (problems) appropriate to age", "having mastered the universal prerequisites for educational activity", "having mastered the necessary skills and abilities" through expanding the circle knowledge and ideas about the improvement of the man-made world, the development of emotional responsiveness, free communication with adults and children, initiatives in finding alternative ways to solve problems, the ability to plan one's activities, performing it according to an algorithm, the productive activities of children. Tasks: educational: the formation of ideas about the work of a watchmaker; expanding the horizons, an active vocabulary of children; stimulating cognitive interest in the world of objects and things; developing: developing social feelings; developing interest in the process; developing children's creative abilities; developing cognitive abilities - speech, memory, attention, imagination. educational: education of the ability to effectively interact with other children in the process of performing collective creative work, to bring the work begun to the end, the upbringing of a careful attitude to time Integration of educational areas: "Socialization", "Labor", "Communication", "Artistic creativity", "Music" Material : crocodile (soft toy), clock, bells, collection of clocks (solar, sand, candle, wrist, table, wall, pocket), a tray with disassembled clocks, workshop designations (dial, gears, clock key); medallions for each child, badges, sleeves and an apron for the teacher; clock mechanism, frame, paper watch parts, glue, cloths, backing sheets; music center, audio recordings of the songs "Watch" (cartoon clip "Watch" from the cartoon "Fixies"), "Tick-tock" (Spanish Oleg Anofriev, music by A. Ostrovsky) Progress of joint activities: 1. A crocodile is sitting on the table in the group, who swallowed the "watch". The phone inside the soft toy rings with a loud ticking sound, then a loud alarm sound. Children come to the table, listening and looking at the toy with interest. After that, the teacher approaches them. - Guys, tell me, please, what happened here? (Children explain) - It became known to me that this crocodile swallowed a watch, which caused the clock to stop on the whole planet. He wanders, and his stomach is ticking, so loudly that everyone he sneaks up to has time to escape. (The teacher looks around.) Guys, look, the clock in your group has also stopped. (The teacher looks at his watch). And my watch stopped too. - Guys, why do we need a watch? (Children answer). And if the clock stopped on the whole planet, what could happen to adults and children? And what about trains, planes, buses following strictly on schedule? - Of course, everyone needs a watch very much, they cannot stand, neither rush, nor lag behind, otherwise various unpleasant situations can occur. And, of course, we must obey them. - So what to do? How can the problem be solved? (Make the clock yourself). - Make a watch? And what is the way out! To do this, you need to enter the school of watch science and become watchmakers. Now you will receive magical medallions, wearing which you will acquire the skills of watchmakers. But know that in order for the medallions to work, you need to wear them correctly: with the image of the watchmaker facing up. Children take apart the medallions and put them on. 2. The teacher also puts on sleeves and an apron, hangs a sign "School of watchmaking sciences". - I am a watchmaker, a watchmaker, and now you are my apprentices. The wonderful world of watches awaits us. Which watch is better for you and me to make, we will find out by examining the collection of watches. For this, dear apprentices, let's sit comfortably around the collection. This is a sundial, the very first, it was not the most convenient invention - after all, you couldn’t take it with you on the road, you couldn’t tell the time from it at night and on a cloudy day, they were also called “day” hours. What kind of watch can you tell about? Are these watches comfortable? (The teacher asks 1 person). What type of watch would you like to know more about? (The teacher tells. Are these watches comfortable?) - So, guys, what kind of watches are more efficient and reliable? (working from any mechanism). So, we will make such hours with you. Turn over your medallions. On the reverse side of them there is an image of a part of the clock mechanism. Someone has a dial, someone has wheels, and someone has a watch key. If you open the lid of a mechanical watch, you can see inside... What? - That's right, dial. What is put on it? That's right, the numbers with which we can find out? (what time is it) - Well done! If you look even further, you can see various wheels and other details, which are called? (gears, levers). - That's right, they all make certain movements, make the hands move on the dial, and we can find out the time; earlier, the watch mechanism was set in motion by a clock key, now everything has become much simpler - put in a battery and the clock started. Our workshops are marked with the same icons as you have on your medallions. Dear apprentices, I ask you to disperse to workshops and take your jobs. Children go to the tables in accordance with the sign on the medallion. 3. Productive activity. - Dear apprentices, the fate of the whole planet depends on how we make the clock. However, we must hurry. I, as a watchmaker, will be responsible for the clock mechanism, and you for the dial. In each of your workshops, you will collect a part of the clock face. I will go to each workshop in turn and explain the task. Dear apprentices, if you have any difficulty, ring the bell, and I will definitely come to the rescue. The audio recording "Tick-tock" sounds (Spanish Oleg Anofriev, music by A. Ostrovsky) 1 workshop. Task "Repeat the drawing according to the model" 2 workshop. 1. Task "Assemble and glue" 2. Task "Each number has its place" 3 workshop. Task "Decorate the clock" While the children are doing the work, the teacher inserts batteries into the clock, turns on the electric clock, sets in motion the mechanism of his own clock, covers the collection of clocks. Work in the workshops - Dear apprentices, what a wonderful dial you have! Now the most crucial moment - I insert the clockwork ... Just think! The clock has gone! Wonders! The clock in your group has also gone. (The teacher looks at his watch). And my watch went too. The song from the cartoon clip "Watch" sounds 4. I put the clock on the stand. - Dear apprentices, let's look at our watch. The clock has a large hand and a small one. What does the big arrow show and what does the small arrow show? (Children answer). - Correctly. Who knows what time it is now? (Children answer). - Have we solved the problem? (Children answer) - Dear apprentices, the job is done. I, as the chief watchmaker, want to announce to you that, having assembled the watch, you have now become real watchmakers and, in memory of the fact that you graduated from the school of watchmaking sciences, you will keep the watches you have assembled. Sounds like a song from the cartoon "Watch" Assembling the dial Miracles! The clock is ready and gone! Literature used: Yudin G. N. "Primer". ABC in stories, fairy tales and pictures http://www.o-detstve.ru/ Portal "About childhood" "My pedagogical initiative"

At all times, a watchmaker is worth its weight in gold; there are no indifferent or random people in this profession.

At all times, a watchmaker is worth its weight in gold; there are no indifferent or random people in this profession. A watchmaker who is truly in love with his work rejoices at the mechanism that has come to life, just as a mathematician rejoices after solving a tricky problem. A man carefully bent over the clock - this image still inspires us with some kind of inner awe, because the secret of the clock is revealed only to the elect.

Today in Russia, this profession is going through difficult times: according to statistics, once in the USSR over 50 million people a year received the qualification of a watchmaker, and more than half of them were employed at home. In the 90s, the institution of the Soviet watch industry was destroyed, and in fact it was once the strongest rival of the Swiss. Watchmakers in modern Russia are mostly elderly people, specialists of the “old school”, this profession attracts less and less young people, but, fortunately, kulibins have not yet died out on our land ...

What qualities should a person who decides to make watches his profession have? With sniper vision, a firm hand and a phlegmatic temperament, working with complex mechanisms requires perseverance and readiness for long, focused work. For beginners who are preparing to learn watchmaking, a medical examination is held, where they carefully check, mainly eyesight. By the way, drinkers are eliminated immediately - trembling in the hands is unacceptable when working with watches.

There are several ways to get a watchmaker profession in our country; you can go the beaten path, i.e. go to study at a special department of a technical college or PU - the basics are taught even here. According to the latest data, higher education as a watchmaker is provided by the only university in Russia - Penza.

The term of study of the specialty is from 2 to 5 years, the curriculum is overwhelmingly represented by technical disciplines: mathematics, physics, chemistry, drawing, geometry, trigonometry. Future masters are also taught the basics of electrical and radio engineering, the technology of processing structural materials, and many other complex sciences. A modern watchmaker is engaged in adjusting and repairing wrist and interior, quartz and mechanical watches, reinstalling obsolete parts, replacing watch stones, adjusting the movement - to become a professional, you will have to work hard!

Theoretical knowledge is closely related to practice: students learn how to make small parts, handle tools, disassemble and assemble watches, clean and lubricate the mechanism ... at the exit from the educational institution, young craftsmen should be able to independently determine the malfunction and, of course, eliminate it.

After the final certification has been successfully passed, the graduate has a direct path to the plant, for invaluable experience. By the way, you can learn the profession of a master assembler right away at the training center at the plant. Based on the results of the work, the student can be offered training directly as a watchmaker.

Increasingly today, apprenticeship with a private master is practiced; beginner watchmakers usually work with their teacher as an apprentice and even receive a small stipend. Those who have chosen this path for themselves are trying to find the most highly qualified masters in order to make the training most effective and, by the way, to collect their own "client base".

Outstanding masters of their craft say that for a watchmaker there is no limit in knowledge where he could stop - continuous development and self-learning is the main key to success.

Russian watchmakers are not averse to learning from the unsurpassed Swiss. True, it costs a lot of money: a weekly refresher course in Switzerland costs an average of 6,000 euros! By the way, it is not recommended for beginners who have barely mastered the workshop to go to these courses - they need a very solid knowledge base and experience. Today, the Watchmakers Of Switzerland Training and Educational Program (WOSTEP) - the Institute for training and advanced training of watchmakers in the city of Neuchâtel - enjoys the greatest authority.

So, knowledge and experience have been gained ... what's next? Anything: a master of industrial training, a private watchmaker, an employee of an authorized service center - take your pick! Even if over time your passion for watch movements has cooled down, the knowledge gained will not be in vain: today, due to the active promotion of foreign and Russian watch brands on the market, distributing companies with open arms meet people who understand watches - a very complex product and prestigious.

But back to watchmakers: the average salary of a watchmaker in Moscow today is 36,000 rubles. As we have already said, these are average figures, and there are no limits to perfection, as well as to self-development. Private practice is the pinnacle of professionalism in watchmaking; those few who were not afraid of difficulties and did not leave the profession, tempted by another dream, are brought wristwatches of the exorbitant cost of politics, influential businessmen, the creative elite. Of course, in this case we are talking about a fee of a completely different level ....

But for today, the most relevant direction is the economy! This direction provides!

Alyonkina Olga Arnoldovna, Volzhsky, Volgograd region

WATCHMAKER

(WATCH REPAIRER)

Tick-tock, tick-tock

Watchmaker at work.

So that the clock does not fall behind,

To not run ahead

He's ready to fix all day

Lots of watches.

He can make new

He will always help

He is used to treating hours -

Good doctor watchmaker.

… The movement of the clock is only monotonous

Resounds near me...

A.S. Pushkin

Vocabulary:

Watchmaker - profession, formerly handicraft specialization. Master in the manufacture and repair of wall, wrist and other clocks. Also, “watchmakers” are people who are professionally involved in watches, working in the watch business (watch manufacturers, watch shop owners, watch designers, etc.)

Clock- a tool for measuring the duration of time intervals, in units smaller than one day.

« Time - one of the unsolvable mysteries of Eternity. A person in vain seeks to drive it into the framework, somehow measure it. No, we cannot accelerate or reverse it. We just have to keep an eye on him. This is what watches are made for. And as long as they are needed by mankind, the profession of a watchmaker or watchmaker will not die for centuries. .

The main application of the watch

This is the orientation during the day. With the help of a watch, it is possible to plan one's activities, measure the duration of various events, the intervals between them, determine the duration of the position in the temporal process from any reference point to the moment of measurement, that is, keep a record of the number of past reference events.

Characteristics of the profession

A watchmaker is a person who repairs or makes watches. In the old days, watchmakers had to be both artists and jewelers, as watches were very often decorated with precious stones and made from precious metals. Today, a watch is not only an ornament, but a necessary and familiar object for us: after all, we determine the time by it. If there were no clocks, we would not know when we should go to school, to work, when an interesting movie starts on TV. And how could you gather friends on your birthday if no one knew what time it was in this moment?!

Only all watches break and deteriorate at some point, electronic watches need to change the battery from time to time. When this happens, people turn to the watchmaker for help. Only he will be able to properly and efficiently repair any watch. A watchmaker must have great patience as well as good eyesight, for some watches are so small that the parts and movement are no more than a few millimeters in size. To repair, and just to see such small details, the watchmaker uses a special device. It looks like ordinary glasses, but instead of two glasses, this device has only one, but this glass is magnifying. Looking into it, the watchmaker will see even the smallest details close-up.

Training as a watchmaker takes two to five years. The program necessarily includes technical disciplines - mathematics, physics, metal science, drawing, as well as courses on the history of the development of watchmaking.

Students should know the principles of operation of all existing watch mechanisms, including electronic and rare complications of mechanics.

An indispensable condition for obtaining a certificate of professional excellence is good vision - even when entering an educational institution, applicants undergo a mandatory medical examination.

In addition to theoretical disciplines, students undergo practical training. Often, there are workshops at educational institutions in which senior students and graduates work. Watch repairs in such "experimental" workshops are usually cheaper, and the quality is no worse.

The most important thing is that in order to become a watchmaker, you need to be well versed in the clockwork, have "golden hands" and, of course, love your job: after all, the clock counts time like a living thing with us!

Historical facts

If you follow the shadows of the trees during the day, you can notice that the shadows move, as if running away from the sun. People noticed this a long time ago, so the shadow was the very first indicator of the time of day. A stick stuck in the ground, and lines dividing the drawn circle into sectors, became the first sundial. When the sun was just rising, the Egyptians believed that it was six o'clock in the morning. When objects cast the shortest shadow, it was believed that it was noon. Sunset announced that it was six o'clock in the evening. There were similar sundials in many countries of the world.

However, the sun does not shine at night. How to define time? It turns out that this can be done at night, if you look at the starry sky. All stars move slowly, but one in the Northern Hemisphere remains stationary. This fixed star is called Polaris, it shows the direction to the north. Not far from it there are seven bright stars, located, as it were, along the edges of a ladle with a long handle. This is the constellation Ursa Major. During the day, she goes around the North Star, describes a full circle, during the night - half a circle. During the day we do not see these stars, but at night the Big Dipper is star clock .

Then they invented water clock , which could count the time at night. They were called so - "night hours". They were a vessel from which water flowed through a small hole. All the water flowed out in one hour. The vessel was then filled with water again.

In the II century BC. the mechanic Ktesibius, who lived in Egypt, created a water clock with a dial: evenly flowing water rotated a wheel with blades, and it moved the arrow along the dial with the help of a gear.

The next hours were sandy . They were made in the form of two vessels connected to each other by a narrow neck. The measure of time was the period of pouring sand from one vessel to another. Such watches are still used today in clinics, hospitals, where people take any procedures.

Worked on a similar principle "fire watch" they first appeared in China. In the old days, the huts were lit with a burning wooden torch. Time was determined by the number of burnt splinters. Sometimes candles were used for the same purpose.

Mention of mechanical watch are already found in ancient Byzantine manuscripts, but it is reliably known that such clocks appeared in 996 in the German city of Megdeburg. It was a tower clock with weights.

In Russia, the first tower clock was installed in 1404 in the Moscow Kremlin. All tower clocks had approximately the same design and were driven by a weight. A rope with a weight tied to the end was wound on a horizontal shaft. The weight pulled the rope, rotating the shaft. Through a system of gears, the rotation of the shaft was transmitted to the clock hands. The dials did not have marks for minutes, so only one hand was enough - the hour. Subsequently, the dials were divided into minutes, and then a second one was needed - the minute hand.

The inventor of the first mechanical clock is the Dutch scientist Christian Huygens, who in 1657 used the pendulum as a clock regulator. Subsequently, the rope and weight were replaced by a spring, the pendulum - by a balance (a small wheel that rotates in one direction or the other). This made it possible to drastically reduce the size of all parts in the clockwork. Appeared pocket watch , and then wrist .

In 1764 - 1767. Russian inventor Ivan Petrovich Kulibin made a unique pocket watch, which is now kept in Hermitage. The clock chimed every hour, played a few melodies that accompanied the theatrical performance of small figures. It was a gift to Empress Catherine II.

With the development of navigation, especially accurate watches were required, which showed not only hours and minutes, but also seconds. They were used in determining the coordinates of a ship on the high seas. Then the most accurate chronometers appeared (from the Greek “chronos” - “time” and “metron” - “I measure”) to determine geographic longitude.

Mechanical watches were replaced by electronic ones, where a quartz crystal maintains the constancy of electric current oscillations. In pursuit of accuracy, atomic (quantum) clocks began to be used. They are no more than 1 second behind in 500,000 years!

city ​​clock

(A little information about the watch, the most-most ...)

The most ancient , the clock without a dial that has survived to this day dates back to 1386 and still continues to work. They are on the English Cathedral in Salisbury. In 1956 they were restored. By that time, they had been regularly serving the townspeople for 498 years.

Most Accurate mechanical watches in the world were made for the Copenhagen City Hall in December 1955 and are called "Olsen". It took more than 14 thousand parts and 10 years to produce them. They operate in 570 thousand different modes. This mechanism is the slowest in the world. The error of its course is half a second in 300 years.

The oldest pendulum clock known on the territory of the former USSR are on the building of the Farny Church in Grodno (at first they were located on the tower of the City Hall, then the Jesuit Collegium, and later on the belfry of the Church of Francis Xavier). Presumably, they were made at the beginning of the 17th century and are older than those that adorn London's Big Ben. Their mechanism uses the escapement of the London watchmaker Clement and a non-second pendulum. The movement of the clock is carried out under the action of gravity of the load - a stone weighing 60 kg. By rotating the clockwork shaft, the stone falls from a height of 15 meters within 36 hours. The clock is located at the height of a 10-story building; in order to start it, you need to overcome 132 steps.

The biggest in the world, a street clock was recently installed in Tehran. The diameter of their dial is 15 meters, and the length of the minute hand is seven and a half meters. The total weight is 750 kilograms. The clock mechanism created by local specialists is unique and designed for any weather conditions. It took two years to create it. The error of the watch-record holders does not exceed one hundredth of a second per year.

most expensive pocket watch (not adorned with precious stones) were made in 1922 by Patek Philippe for the American automobile magnate James Packard. On the enamel dial of his gold watch, craftsmen engraved a perfect astronomical map showing the position of celestial bodies over Warren, Packard's hometown in Ohio. Moreover, exactly in such a position in which he could observe them from the window of his bedroom. In 1988, this company bought a unique watch for 750,000 pounds.

Clock on the Spasskaya Tower

In 1625, a clock was installed on the Spasskaya Tower under the guidance of the English master Christopher Golovey by Russian blacksmith-watchmakers Zhdan, his son Shumilo Zhdanov and grandson Alexei Shumilov. 13 bells were cast for them by Kirill Samoilov, a foundry worker. With the help of special mechanisms, they "played music", and also measured the time of day and night, indicated by letters and numbers. There were no arrows on the dial. He rotated, bringing the number to a special mark. In 1706-1709. By order of Peter I, these watches were replaced by Dutch ones, which served with some interruption until the middle of the 19th century.

Modern chimes were made by the brothers Nikolai and Ivan Butenop in 1851-52. and installed on 8-10 tiers of the Spasskaya Tower. In October 1917, a shell hit the watch, and it stopped; in August 1918, at the direction of V.I. Lenin, they were restored by the watchmaker Nikolai Berens. The clock began to perform at 12 o'clock "Internationale", at 24 o'clock - "You fell a victim ...". However, already in 1938, the chimes fell silent, becoming only the strike of hours and quarters.

In 1996, during the inauguration of Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin, the chimes began to play again after 58 years of silence. At 12 and 6 o'clock, the chimes began to perform the "Patriotic Song", and at 3 and 9 - the melody of the choir "Glory" from the opera "Life for the Tsar" (Ivan Susanin) also by M.I. Glinka. The last major restoration took place in 1999. The hands and numbers are again gilded. Restored the historical appearance of the upper tiers. By the end of the year, the last tuning of the chimes was also carried out. Instead of "Patriotic Song", the chimes began to play the national anthem Russian Federation officially approved in 2000.

The dials of chimes with diameters of 6.12 m go out on four sides of the tower. Their rims, numbers and hands were gilded in 1937. The height of the Roman numerals is 0.72 m, the length of the hour hand is 2.97 m, the minute hand is 3.27 m. The clock is struck by a mechanism with a bell system. Initially, watches were wound manually, since 1937 - with the help of electric motors.

I - one

II - two

III - three

IV - four

V - five

VI - six

VII - seven

VIII - eight

IX - nine

X - ten

XI - eleven

XII - twelve

Roman numerals

Clock face

Hour, minute, second hands

When did the second hand appear on the clock?

For many centuries, people have evaluated time and distance in a different way than now.

The speed of movement was very small: the traveler traveled from London to Rome for about seven weeks. And time flowed slowly: there was no need to know the exact time: there was no need to know the exact time, and a minute was not perceived at all as a segment of an hour - what can we say about a second!

The day was divided into morning, afternoon, evening and night. For most people, the main indicator of time was the ringing of church bells, calling the faithful to prayer.

The second hand appeared on the clock only when people needed to measure time "to the nearest second." That is much closer to our days. We can say that the second hand is the "youngest". The first appeared - the hour hand, the second - the minute hand, the third - the second hand.

Who "keeps" the exact time?

Measuring time proved to be a very difficult task. It has become inconvenient to measure time only in years - it has become inconvenient for large intervals, and the length of the day varies throughout the year. For example, the ancient Greeks and Romans at first divided the daylight hours into twelve parts - hours, and it turned out that in winter and summer these hours had different durations.

Is it possible to choose processes in which time is divided into equal parts? They tried to measure it with the help of dripping water, pouring sand, shadows. But neither the water clock, nor the hourglass, nor the sundial gave the necessary accuracy, especially when it came to measuring short periods of time.

And so it continued until a man in the 17th century created an artificial, mechanical standard of time - pendulum. A weight suspended on a thread or a wheel fastened with a spring can be adjusted in such a way that their oscillations will occur within a strictly specified, including a short, period of time.

The invention of the pendulum mechanism dramatically advanced the production of precision clocks. They began to be installed on the city towers, setting the pace for the lives of a large number of people at once, and the workers of English textile factories pooled their money to buy inexpensive watches to keep track of the length of their working day.

And in modern electronic watches, we will find repetitions of the device of mechanical watches, only they are made of other materials. The spring winding was replaced by a battery, the rhythm was set not by a metal pendulum, but by a quartz crystal oscillating under the influence of current, the moving arrows were replaced by numbers displayed on the scoreboard. All other parts of the watch serve to transmit electrical impulses in the same way that gears transmitted movement.

It is interesting…

The flower clock in St. Petersburg is a gift from the city of Geneva for the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city. This happened in May 2003.

One second is 9,192,631,770 oscillations of the radiation of a cesium-133 atom.

There are: millennium, century, five years, year, quarter, month, decade, week, day, hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond, picosecond, femtosecond and so on.

No one knows exactly why the year is divided into 12 months (such a division does not correspond to either the lunar or solar calendar). It is believed that the division of the hour into 60 minutes is associated with the Babylonian number system, which was based not on 10, but on 60.

Although there are 60 seconds in one minute, and 1000 milliseconds in one second.

24 hours of sidereal time equals 23 hours 56 minutes 4.091 seconds of mean solar time.

The creation of a marine clock to accurately determine longitude was such an acute problem that in 1714 an award was established for its solution by the English government. It ranged from 10 to 20 thousand pounds sterling - depending on the accuracy achieved.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the production of watches in Switzerland was done by hand, and sometimes more than forty people were involved in the manufacture of one copy.

Mechanical watches with a balancer have the ability to maintain uniformity in any position. Therefore, they were used both for marine navigation and for determining the exact time by astronauts in conditions of weightlessness and overloads.

The most accurate in the world atomic clock have recently been launched in the US city of Boulder. Over the next three million years, they should not go ahead or lag even a second! However, employees of the Institute of Quantum Optics from Munich are ready to break this record - the error of their clock is one second in a billion years!

French, Swiss and Chinese firms designed a wrist electronic watch, powered by solar battery, the sensitivity of which allows you to move the arrows from the light of a candle standing 30 centimeters away. And if the watch stays in the bright sun for five minutes, then it will be able to work 100 hours.

Kulibin's watch

The “Egg-shaped” watch was created by Ivan Petrovich Kulibin, a wonderful Russian self-taught inventor. Kulibin owns more than thirty inventions. But now we can see all Kulibin's inventions only in drawings and descriptions, except for watches - the only thing that has come down to us from Kulibin's hands.

Ivan Kulibin spent two years creating unique watches... They consisted of 427 parts and three factories: watch, chime and combat.

Rice. Kulibin's watch

Every hour a door opens in the building and a "tiny theater" made of silver and gold - miniature figures, distinguishable only through a magnifying glass, play scenes on gospel stories, and give a performance. The clock strikes every quarter and every half hour with a bell ringing, and at noon a melody is heard, which, according to legend, was composed by Kulibin himself.

Tale of the Tiktak clock

This story is about Vova's friend, the old magician Yurkin. You remember, my friend, that Vova lived on the edge of a city called Tiktak, next to the Forest. And Yurkin did not live on the edge of the city, but in its very center. Since time immemorial, there has been a house called the Tiktak Clock. Right against the wall of this house, Yurkin built a tall, tall clock tower. And these hours were not simple, but magical. They kept time. It was said in the city that many years ago, forest blacksmiths brought this clock from the thicket on a cart. And Yurkin then raised them to the tower. The old wizard was short, wore round spectacles, and, as expected, had a long, long gray beard. All the watches that Yurkin invented were able to keep minutes. He made a small clock, and they kept quite a few minutes. He also made bigger hours, in which there were more minutes. In addition to the fact that the clock kept minutes and showed the time, there was some other special magic in them. But Yurkin did not tell anyone about this, except for those people for whom this watch was intended. For example, once Vova was running out of time. He comes to Yurkin and says:

- Lend me, grandfather Yurkin, a watch that keeps half an hour. I really miss these half an hour to come up with a poem for one girl. And Yurkin gave Vova a watch with a magic parrot Gosha. In the morning, the parrot got out of the clock outside and cried:

- Wake up! Climb! On charge! Vova opened his eyes, looked at his watch and said, “Don't shout! It's still early to get up! - And it's not too early! Gosh said. “If you don’t get up now, I won’t give you a minute!”

“Ah, that’s what you are, it turns out,” Vova said and woke up completely. - Get on the charger! Gosh ordered. And Vova began to squat, bend over and wave his arms. This is how he did the exercise. And when Vova finished, a scarlet luminous ball suddenly appeared in Gosha's beak.

What is that glowing in your mouth? Vova asked. Gosha opened his beak, the ball fell down, hit the floor, then jumped up and unexpectedly fell into Vova's palm.

“This is your minute,” Gosha said. - Take care of her! And then Gosha ordered: - It's time to have breakfast! And then: - Work! And so he commanded all day. The next day, Gosha did not stop commanding. And on the third day, Vova had a lot of luminous minutes, which all together became like a big apple that lay on Vova's table and glowed brightly. Then Vova sat down at the table and wrote a poem for the girl. When Vova finished writing, the apple disappeared somewhere, as if it had never existed.

"Now you have to take me back!" - said the parrot Gosha. “You don't need me anymore. I'm out of minutes. And Gosha climbed back into the clock.

“Sorry,” Vova sighed. - I'm already so used to you! But there is nothing to be done. As Vova was not used to the parrot, he still had to carry it back. The old watchmaker put the clock with Gosha in his big chest for recharging. This is so that the parrot has minutes again. There were many other clocks in that chest - the magician's handicrafts. And, of course, they are all magical.

For you, I will reveal a secret. AT big clock Tiktaka, - in the tower of the house where the old wizard lived, not a minute was kept. And not even an hour. And not even a day. The Tiktak Clock was kept for a whole year.

Y. Orlov

Happy hours

E. Permyak

Once a great magician named Trud rewarded three brothers with happy hours for Good work and said:

– Anyone who has been given this watch can manage his life, his time on his own. If you want - work, if you want - walk. If you want, play the flute. These watches allow everything until the factory in them runs out.

Then the elder brother asks:

- And how to wind them up, the great magician Trud?

The brothers attached the watch and began to think about how to continue to live in a new life, in which everything is possible and everything is permitted.

- Why not go for a walk, - the elder brother asked himself, - so that the dust is a pillar, so that the sky is hot?

And so he did, went for a walk, danced, feasted, played the harmonica ...

The second one was quieter. He loved to sleep. He will eat, drink - and on his side, and before that he tells the happy hours to show dreams.

And the third brother kept his secret thoughts in his head. He really wanted to be first in everything. To study all sciences, to speak all languages, to overcome any art.

Time passes, the happy clock is ticking, it does not stop, and each of the brothers manages his life, his time in his own way.

You never know, how many years have passed - no one measured. The day came, the minute came when the elder brother's clock stopped. The feast ended with a mountain, the dance broke off, the accordion died down. And the second brother, not seeing the sweet dream, woke up. And he also realized that he had nothing to start his happy hours with. Lost all conscience.

Meanwhile, the third brother became the most learned of all the scientists. Not only did he learn all human languages, but he could also easily talk with birds. And as for all the arts, at least on the harp, at least in the opera - everything can. Sings and draws. Poems composes like seeds clicks. Ah... And his watch also stopped.

– How is that? Why, why, on what occasion, the great magician Trud? I did not sleep, did not walk, like those two. Day and night he worked hard!

- And according to conscience? Trud asked him. - For whom did you study the sciences, comprehended the arts? Whom did you benefit from it? Whose heart did you warm? Whose eyes pleased them? He only amused himself.

The third brother lowered his head. Silent. And what can he say, if he has no conscience, too, to start happy hours with it.

The brothers got together and thought. And it was over.

No wonder the wise man said:

“A man is known in work, and in rest he reveals himself”

Merry Poems

Lives in a carved hut

Cheerful cuckoo.

She cuckles every hour

And wakes us up early in the morning:

“Ku-ku! Ku-ku! It's already seven in the morning!

Ku-ku! Ku-ku! It's time to get up!"

The cuckoo does not live in the forests,

And in our old clock!

They say: the clock is standing,

Saying the clock is running fast

They say the clock is ticking

But they are a little behind.

Mishka and I watched together

And the clock is in place.

V. Orlov

What time is it now?

The sun shone in the sky,

And the shadow of the old column

circling in

sundial

And she became the first arrow.

Water flowed. And the years went by.

Another clock was invented.

They called them - sand.

They just need to be turned over.

The grains of sand are on their way.

They run in a cheerful stream

On the way, minutes are counted.

Where do the clocks live?

Both on land and on water

Manual - clear:

Pocket -

in the pocket.

School clock.

On the rink.

And there is in the airplane.

Years went by again

Step by step.

A lot has passed yet.

And the day has come:

- Tick tock!

- Tick tock!

It sounded a little.

Clock for chess -

Think guys:

Why do the clocks alone

Two dials at once?

The dial flashed with a plate,

And on his plate...

- Here! Look old and young!

Arrows running in a circle!

Marvel, people, at miracles!

Run your own routes!

Less score leads -

Big -

minutes count.

But who turns them?

Here is the question...

And here is the answer: a spring!

And with her gear wheels

Merry squad.

Although the spring is strong

Sits in hours, in a dungeon.

And that's it, she's stubborn, she

Strives to unfold.

Her pressure is transmitted

Wheels to each other -

And the arrows know yourself running,

Run, run in circles!

Needed by an athlete, for example,

Your watch is a stopwatch.

And divers from the depths

Where did they go

Signaling: "We need a watch,

So that the arrows glow!

Adults and children know

Known everywhere on the planet -

In the cities, in the taiga village,

At both poles

They know for sure:

Impossible,

Impossible,

No clock!!!

old watchmaker

All mountains, rivers and forests

Woke up from sleep.

The snow melted and finally

spring has come again.

Standing on the bank of the river

Ancient town.

An old man lives in that town

He was an expert on watches.

And every day from year to year

He is in the city tower.

Gives life to ancient clocks,

With a skillful hand.

He lubricates with an oil can,

Clock mechanics.

Seeing inaccuracies

They, grandfather, are ready to repair.

Y. Orlov

Striking clock

Once upon a time there was an old woman

(For a long time already at rest),

And the old woman had

Clock carved with a fight.

"Ding dong, ding dong!" -

Beat every hour

Rumble filled the house

And they woke us up at night.

Of course, we were not silent

We knocked on the old woman's door:
"Save our ears,

Stop the clock fight!"

But the old woman answered us

She answered: "No and no!

The clock speaks to me

I love their gentle fight.

Ding dong! Ding dong!

How beautiful is their chime!

Even though he's a little sad

But transparent and crystal!

Days, weeks passed.

But the clock suddenly rattled

The arrows shuddered and stood up,

And the clock stopped striking.

It became quiet. Even creepy!

We have long been accustomed to the fight,

(But this is not a joke!)

There was something alive in him!

We, of course, did not remain silent,

There was a knock on the old lady's door.

"Why can't you hear the fight?

We need a watchmaker!"

Here comes the watchmaker -
Wise, experienced old man,
And he said, "That's it!
Here the spring is weakened,
The mechanism will be lubricated
And the clock - love and affection!
He changed the spring.
And the bell rang again
Silver chime:
"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!",
Bringing the whole house to life!

Question answer

What is Bic-Ben?

This is not the name of the tower, but of the 13-ton bell that rings inside. This tower is in England.

Which clock preceded the modern one?

At different stages of the development of civilization, mankind invented and used many different clocks: solar, star, water, fire, sand, wheel, mechanical, electric, electronic, atomic clocks.

Why does the clock go clockwise?

Clocks run clockwise because that is the direction in which the shadow of a sundial in the northern hemisphere moves.

When was the first sundial created?

The first sundial was discovered by archaeologists in ancient Egypt, and they were created in the 15th century BC.

Excerpts from literary works about clocks and time

... That's how, it turns out, it works in the world: a person who wastes time in vain does not notice how he is aging. And the evil wizards found out about it, and let's catch the guys wasting time in vain. And so the magicians caught Petya Zubov, and another boy, and two girls, and turned them into old men. The poor children grew old and did not notice it themselves - after all, a person who wastes time in vain does not notice how he grows old. And the time lost by the guys was taken by the wizards for themselves. And the wizards became little guys, and the guys - old old people.

Tale of lost time

E. Schwartz

... It was a lot of fun at the ball, and she completely forgot about what the sorceress ordered her to. She thought that it was not yet eleven o'clock, when suddenly the clock began to strike midnight. She jumped up and flew away like a bird. The prince rushed after her, but could not catch up with her.

Cinderella

(French fairy tale)

Riddles

Who, moving his mustache,

Commanded by us:

- You can eat!

- It's time to go for a walk!

- Wash up and go to bed!

(Clock)

Two sisters next to each other

They run circle after circle.

Shorty - just once

The one above - every hour.

(Clock hands)

Their mustaches are not for beauty -

They show the time

And are called … (clock)

Go round the clock

Not worth a minute

And everything is in one place.

(Clock)

He swings all his life

Forgiveness over time.

(Pendulum)

It has no legs and no wings,

flies fast,

Don't overtake him.

(Time)

I warned him

To wake me up.

Until the morning he worried

Walked, walked, walked!

(Alarm)

Aunt's sleep became bad

And ... a bit,

She slept no less... (days)

Proverbs and sayings

Business time, fun hour.

Nothing educates a person like time.

Time is the wind: what the wind brings, the wind takes away.

Golden time - young summers.

I've been going for two hours

Washed for two hours

One hour wasted

Day dressed.

Time and stone grinds.

A minute saves an hour.

Tongue Twisters

Watchmaker screwing up his eye

Repairs watches for us.

Winged words and expressions

Skillful fingers. A master of his craft, a very skillful person, everything he does turns out very well.

A lot of water has flown. A lot of time has passed.

Questions for self-examination

Who is a watchmaker or watchmaker?

Why is the work of a watchmaker considered painstaking and requires perseverance, precision and attention.

When was the first sundial created?

What is the main use of watches?

Who is I. Kulibin? What is he famous for?

LITERATURE

Alyonkina, O.A. Occupational and labor socialization of youth / O.A. Alyonkina, T.V. Chernikov. – M.: Globus, 2009.

Alyonkina, O.A. Profile training in a correctional school // Modernization of management of an educational institution / O.A. Alyonkina [i dr.]; ed. V.V. Serikova, T.V. Chernikova. – M.: APK i PPRO, 2004. – S. 73–79.

Bulycheva, N.A. Features of the professional choice of graduates of correction classes / N.A. Bulycheva // Correctional Pedagogy. - 2004. - No. 2 (4).

Gerasimova V.A., Cool hour playfully. Issue 2. - M .: TC Sphere, 2004. - 64 p.

Proverbs, sayings, riddles of the peoples of Russia / comp. M.P. Filipchenko. - Rostov n / D: Phoenix, 2011. - 378 p. - (Wisdom of millennia).

Chernikova, T.V. Vocational guidance support for high school students / T.V. Chernikov. – M.: Globus, 2006.

Chistyakova, S.N. Professional orientation of schoolchildren: organization and management / S.N. Chistyakova, N.N. Zakharov. - M .: Pedagogy, 1987.

What. Who is: children's encyclopedia. In 3 vols. T. 1. A-F / comp. V.S. Shergin, A. I. Yuriev. 5th ed., revised. and additional - M.: AST, 2007. C - 519

What. Who is: children's encyclopedia. In 3 vols. T. 2. Z - O / comp. V.S. Shergin, A. I. Yuriev. 5th ed., revised. and additional - M.: AST, 2007. C - 503.

What. Who is: children's encyclopedia. In 3 vols. T. 3. P - I / comp. V.S. Shergin, A. I. Yuriev. 5th ed., revised. and additional - M.: AST, 2007. C - 519

Shalaeva G.P., Big Book of Professions / G.P. Shalaev. – M.: AST: WORD: Polygraphizdat, 2010. – 240p.

I know the world: Children's Encyclopedia: Inventions. - M .: LLC Firm "Publishing House AST"; 1999.

I know the world: Children's Encyclopedia: History. - M .: LLC Firm "Publishing House AST"; 1997.

I know the world: Children's Encyclopedia: Animals. - M .: LLC Firm "Publishing House AST"; 1997.

1000 riddles. For children 3-6 years old. - M.: CJSC "OLMA Media Group", 2011. - 240p. – Series “The program for the development and education of a preschooler

Drawings: Abutkina N.Yu., Alyonkina O.A., Alyonkina O.M.

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watchmaker

A watchmaker is a rare profession in modern Russia. Back in the Soviet Union there was a watchmaking school, but now it is lost, and not very much in demand - Cell Phones did their job. But in vain - a watch is not just a time meter, it is a work of art and a status symbol. Alexey Cherkasov, watchmaker at Rado service center, has been repairing and maintaining watches for 4 years. He studied in Moscow, in the Swiss office of Rado.

- How did you become a watchmaker?
- Of course, I didn’t have a dream since childhood, and I didn’t set such goals for myself. But here - they just offered to try it, and I really liked it. This work is a true work of art.
- Can you assemble a whole clock from disparate parts?
- I can, if the parts are technical specifications suit each other.
- And what kind of hours do you prefer?
- "Omega" - in them I am attracted by the accuracy of the course.
- And what, the inaccuracy of the course is noticeable even in Swiss watches?
- Of course - insignificant, but it happens.
- Can you tell the time without a clock?
- I can. It is now the beginning of the seventh.
- Yes, 18:20. Has your character changed under the influence of the profession?
Yes, I have become more patient.
- And can you determine the character of a person - by his watch and the way he wears it?
- Not. You can only determine what a person is doing, for example, by whether it is a sports watch or a classic. Jewelry is usually worn to show status. Sports are also high-status - Omega, Bvlgari, Cartier.

Master's advice.

• The most important principle is that it is possible and necessary to service the watch only in authorized service centers. As a rule, self-taught craftsmen who do not know many subtleties work in "spontaneous" workshops. And when the watch is brought to the service center after the workshop, it turns out that it is already seriously damaged, and instead of simple maintenance, it has to be repaired and paid a lot of money for it.
• Watches must be monitored and serviced on time, once a year - before the swimming season - be sure to check for tightness. Many people think that if the watch says Water resist 30, it means that you can dive 30 meters with them. Nothing like this! The maximum that you can do with such a watch is to wash your hands or get caught in the rain. If Water resist 50 is written, then in such hours you can take a shower, swim without diving. And if 100, then in such hours you can even go diving. Although it is better to check them in before diving service center. Water proof is almost the same as water resist, but this marking is usually put on professional watches. With these you can fly into space. By the way, astronauts use only Omega - other watches can not withstand the loads.
• If your watch is fogged up - you must immediately carry it to the service and sort it out - sooner or later it will let you down, and according to the law of meanness - at some crucial moment.
• cracked glass- this is a sign that a person treats the clock carelessly. A watch is a thing that needs to be taken care of.
• If quartz batteries stop, they must be changed immediately. An electrolyte can leak out of a battery that has not been thrown away in time - although the clock does not run, the circuit pumps out energy to the last. Then the watch will need serious repairs.
• Back arrows can be translated, but it is better not to do this. Now almost all watches with a calendar have a fast-forward date. So, you can’t quickly translate the date between 9 pm and 2 am, because the mechanism starts to translate itself. you can break calendar device, and to get to it, you need to sort through everything.

Galina Gagara