Reglia Owner Review : Historical, mythical and endearing

But before going to sleep: A little history of REGLIA (the watch factory) and Christian HOURRIEZ (the designer of the dial). REGLIA was founded by VENOT & Fils. It is an old French company that sold watchmaking and jewelry tools, clocks, alarm clocks, and watches. Radio-Télévision-Française (RTF), then later ORTF, had the good idea... to film a clock in order to tell the time to viewers! The legendary clock appeared for the first time on TV screens; on December 24, 1959, in the form of a futuristic clock. The Hourriez spiral clock appeared several times a day, counting down the seconds before the day's key events, such as the eight o'clock news... Viewers could then reset their watches while watching TV. The clock's dial was permanently placed in front of a fixed camera. Its creator, Christian Hourriez, then aged 25, tells his story: "In 1959, I was a student at the Ecole Boulle... One day, a teacher told us that the RTF was opening a competition to imagine an original clock dial for TV. I had the idea of distributing the hours on a spiral. The jury adopted my project. The watchmaker REGLIA acquired the reproduction rights and manufactured a series of clocks based on this model". This television clock will be used to "open and close" all TV programs until the disappearance of ORTF on December 31, 1974. DESCRIPTION of the watch. Dimensions: width excluding winder 36 mm, length 41 mm at the end of the handles and 11 mm thick including glass, men's model, large for the time. Case: "cushion" shape, in gilded metal, with screwed stainless steel back. Glass: plexiglass, slightly domed. Dial: unforgettable design! "Baton" hands, a central second hand and the date window at 4 o'clock. Movement: French, JEJ = Joseph Jeambrun Maîche. Joseph Jeambrun Company, from Maîche, manufacturer of French movements in the Besançon region. These movements are the result of partially automated manufacturing using linear transfer machines invented by the engineer Charles Collet. Ets Jeambrun disappeared in 1967 when they merged with Technic Ebauche. This movement is therefore the Jeambrun 27D, in 11 1/2 lines format. It is equipped with an anti-shock mechanism. Mechanical with manual winding, beating with a frequency of 18,000 vibrations/hour (2.5 Hz), it has an anchor escapement, a monometallic balance (with Incabloc anti-shock mechanism) and 17 jewels, a power reserve of 47 hours.