So with the "movement crunch" in full grind, and with Selita, Soprod and others jumping into the breach, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about openmovement. Essentially, a collective of like minded individuals coming together to create a lasting solution.
Now I know, I know - watch brands by and large can buy movements, and in fact it seems that to some extent the initial panic has somewhat died down. But when we think about the brands that we admire, the independents that we admire... it's very often because they are pushing for something better. They may take an existing "industrial" movement, but in many cases you would not recognize it when they've finished with it. And that is good.
But is that sustainable? Wouldn't it be nice to have a truly OPEN SOURCE for EVERYONE?
The watch industry needs people with initiatives like this!
So here's the scoop -Now I know, I know - watch brands by and large can buy movements, and in fact it seems that to some extent the initial panic has somewhat died down. But when we think about the brands that we admire, the independents that we admire... it's very often because they are pushing for something better. They may take an existing "industrial" movement, but in many cases you would not recognize it when they've finished with it. And that is good.
But is that sustainable? Wouldn't it be nice to have a truly OPEN SOURCE for EVERYONE?
The watch industry needs people with initiatives like this!
 |
Philipp Wittwer, Roman Winiger, Urs Gottscheu, Mark Wyss |
What is OM?
openmovement is a group which has been formed to construct a new basic watch movement in the public domain based on open source principles.
What are the main goals?
Watchmaking 2.0 – Collaboration rather than isolated cottage industry
Self help / Support for small watch manufacturers
Advancement of training (Practice parts, schoolwork)
Providing unworked watch movement kits
Transparency and future security based on the availability of plans and construction details
Creation of a platform of competence and a think tank
Freeing up of unused capacities in construction and production
What does open source stand for?
Construction plans are by principle available to all registered members of openmovement.org (Join and support)
Improvements and further developments to the basic watch movement have to be made accessible and shared with the community
Active collaboration, research and development
Active collaboration, research and development
All constructions of openmovement are under the licence of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unportet (CC BY-SA 3.0)
www.openmovement.org
Who is behind OM?
The executive committee consists of:
Philipp Wittwer, Atelier Philipp Wittwer, Bern (Vice President)
“Building on the developments of the past, openmovement is from my point of view, the link with present day watch construction. It is engineering for an outstanding watch movement, a movement with longevity.”
www.openmovement.org
Who is behind OM?
The executive committee consists of:
Philipp Wittwer, Atelier Philipp Wittwer, Bern (Vice President)
“Building on the developments of the past, openmovement is from my point of view, the link with present day watch construction. It is engineering for an outstanding watch movement, a movement with longevity.”
Roman Winiger, Winiger Horloger, La Chaux-de-Fonds (President)
“ I am fascinated by the thought that, thanks to openmovement, in 100 years a watch restorer can get plans from the library or download them from the web, and be able to reconstruct an original replacement for a worn part. This also enables the restorer to become the guardian of immortal knowledge.”
Urs Gottscheu, Constructing Time GmbH, Aarau (Treasurer)
“Since I first heard about LINUX, many years ago when I was a computer novice, I have been a follower of the open source idea. I was tempted to implement this principle into watchmaking – known as a world full of small and well guarded secrets. These days the shrouding of these ‘secrets’ has more to do with marketing rather than actual technical advances.”
Mark Wyss, Wyssion GmbH, Bern (Assessor)
“As a construction engineer I am fascinated by mechanical systems which are simple as well as ingenious. I am enthusiastic about openmovement, because it offers the opportunity to build up something which will benefit many watch generations to come.”
“ I am fascinated by the thought that, thanks to openmovement, in 100 years a watch restorer can get plans from the library or download them from the web, and be able to reconstruct an original replacement for a worn part. This also enables the restorer to become the guardian of immortal knowledge.”
Urs Gottscheu, Constructing Time GmbH, Aarau (Treasurer)
“Since I first heard about LINUX, many years ago when I was a computer novice, I have been a follower of the open source idea. I was tempted to implement this principle into watchmaking – known as a world full of small and well guarded secrets. These days the shrouding of these ‘secrets’ has more to do with marketing rather than actual technical advances.”
Mark Wyss, Wyssion GmbH, Bern (Assessor)
“As a construction engineer I am fascinated by mechanical systems which are simple as well as ingenious. I am enthusiastic about openmovement, because it offers the opportunity to build up something which will benefit many watch generations to come.”
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