ROSKOPF - Georges Frédéric, La Chaux de Fonds
Georges F. Roskopf (1813-1889) was born in Germany and became a naturalized Swiss.
In 1829 he went to La Chaux de Fonds and began training in commerce with F. MAIRET & SANDOZ who dealt in ironmongery and watch parts.
In 1833 he decided to become a watchmaker and went as an apprentice to J. BIBER in La Chaux de Fonds to learn watchmaking.
Financed by his wife, he then set up in business as an établisseur,
that is, a watch producer who bought the ebauche and all other parts of the
watch and assembled them. He made cylinder and lever watches for export to North
America and Belgium.
The watches were well made, the business was not profitable and in 1850 Roskopf
sold it.
In 1851 he became joint manager of the La Chaux de Fonds branch of B. J. Guttman Frères of Wurzburg. They made English-type watches.
In 1855 Georges Roskopf set up in business with his son, Fritz Edouard, and Henri Gindraux as ROSKOPF, GINDRAUX & CO.
After two years his son opened his own business in Geneva and Gindraux went
to Neuchâtel to become Director of the Watchmaking School.
Roskopf was an idealist who dreamed of making a good quality, cheap watch for
working men. To accomplish this he used an old idea and reworked it, that of
having the hands driven directly by the mainspring.
In 1860 he began to design such a watch which could be sold for 20 francs, and would still be of excellent quality, simple and solid. The watch had a large barrel in the center. a "Perron" pin lever escapement, and a monometallic balance. After discussions with Moritz J. Grossman he adopted the simple detached pin lever escapement.
Listing of the features for the new caliber:
1 Escapement on a platform normally using a pin lever design but possible with
a lever or cyinder escapement;
2. No center wheel but a large barrel;
3. Motion work to hands direct from the barrel arbor;
4. Philippe free spring with no stopwork;
5. Button wind but with handset by finger pressure.
Roskopf met indifference and hostility among the watchmakers of the area who
were still working as a home industry and who did not wish to make a watch such
as he was offering. It is said, that in 1866 Roskopf ordered two boxes of ebauches
from EMILE ROULET and asked GUSTAVE ROSSELET to make escapements; both refused
to take his orders because of the novelty of the work. He finally succeeded
in producing a watch in 1867, using ebauches and cases from the MALLERAY WATCH
CO., and parts from many other makers, and having them assembled in Damprichard,
Doubs, France, by M. Chatelain. The original order to MALLERAY was 2000. By
the end of 1867 he was in business and by 1870 he had ordered 20,000 ebauches.
Roskopf was granted US patent No. 75,463 10 Mar. 1868, for a changeable escapement
for watches (this patent said that the escapement could be adapted for use with
a cylinder or lever as well as a pin pallet). Roskopf patented his watch in
France with French patent No. 80611 of 25 Mar. 1868 for a watch with a type
of platform escapement. He patented his designs in several countries (Belgium,
No. 21988, 3 Aug. 1867) but never in Switzerland, because Switzerland did not
yet have a patenting system, and because the idea had been used there before
his use of it.
Through the influence of the House of BREGUET in Paris, Roskopf was able
to present his watch at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1868 and won a
Bronze Medal. From then on BREGUET began to send him orders. Some movements
were supplied to BOREL & COURVOISIER. Other orders poured in.
The Roskopf watch was exhibited at the Amsterdam Exhibition in 1869 and won
a Silver Medal.
In 1870 Georges Roskopf introduced a second design with a setting mechanism;
this watch cost 25 francs. In it he reduced the number of parts, simplified
the escapement fitting, and introduced an improved winding. The escapement was
assembled on its own adjustable platform. The watch was SW and pin-set.
In his oversize barrel he arranged to use Adrien Philippe’s (Patek,Philippe)
patent free mainspring without stopworks for which he paid a royalty on each
watch.
In 1873 Roskopf handed over his business to WILLE FRERES and their associates,
CH. LEON SCHMID.
When Roskpof died in 1889 a number of firms claimed to be his ‚true successor‘
But WILLE FRERES actually had the rights on the firm.
WILLE FRERES and VVE CH. L. SCHMID had been using Roskopf trade mark for
years before G. F. Roskopf’s death, with his permission.
By this time the idea of the Roskopf-type watch was becoming popular in Switzerland
and a number of Swiss companies began making ‚Roskopf‘ watches.
In order to be really cheap, the watch had to be machine-manufactured and not
so well made.
These watches were pin-levers and did not have the platform escapement.