The Importance of Shock Resistance Feature is designed to protect the balance components of the watch movement. The balance component consists of the balance wheel, balance spring, and balance staff. These components help the watch ticking, so, as you can imagine, any impact on these components will affect the watch’s accuracy.
The ISO 1413 is a standard for shock resistance, and a watch must withstand a one-meter drop on a hardwood floor, which most modern movements can easily overcome. Watch brands usually do internal testing for their shock resistance feature. This is usually done with a plastic hammer attached to the end of the pendulum, then swinging it to strike the watch.
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Invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1790, ‘pare-chute’ is one of the earliest forms of shock resistance. It consists of small steel springs, which hold the endstone and jewel balance out of place to let the jewel hold the balance and provide a space to move. Currently, Breguet uses the latest version of ‘pare-chute’ in La Tradition watches.
Developed by Swiss engineer Fritz Marti and patented in 1933, Incabloc is the earliest shock resistance system consisting of a single spring to hold the gem mounted in a conical cup. This system will absorb and return the gems to their position if they move.
Marti continued to improve his inventions and eventually developed it into the spring-shaped lute of today. In its heyday, Incabloc was so influential that several watch brands inscribed the feature on their dials.
Incaloc soon became the most common feature on the watch, with more than 500 million units produced in the mid-seventies. Today, Incabloc SA remains the largest independent manufacturer of shock resistance systems. In the decades following Incabloc’s invention, competitors emerged with systems based on the same principles.
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Meanwhile, Rolex, Switzerland’s largest luxury watch brand, has also developed its own shock resistance system known as Paraflex, which is said to be 50 percent more effective than Incabloc.
So, that’s the importance of Shock Resistance feature on a mechanical watch. Almost all watch collections in The Time Place are equipped with this feature, so it will not affect the movement when your watch falls. Find the watch with the most suitable features and design for you only at the nearest The Time Place boutique.
