Movement record · France
Lip R148
Partially verifiedIn-house French calibre from Besançon, the historic centre of French watchmaking; Lip was unusual among French firms in designing and making its own movements rather than buying Swiss ébauches.
Technical specifications
- Diameter
- Approx. 25.6 mm (11½ lignes)
- Height
- Approx. 4.5 mm class
- Jewels
- 17 jewels typical
- Frequency
- 18,000 vph
- Power reserve
- Approx. 40 hours (period figures vary)
- Winding
- Hand-wound
- Setting
- Stem setting
- Escapement
- French lever
- Balance
- Monometallic
- Complications
- None
Identification features
- Lip signature and R-calibre number on the plate
- French case marks where originally cased
Known variants
- Calendar derivatives
- Higher-grade adjusted versions
Servicing notes
Cleaning, lubrication, mainspring and pivot work belong with a qualified watchmaker working from calibre-specific documentation. Conserve original parts: replacing a worn component with a modern substitute changes the object, and refinishing plates or dials destroys evidence.
General guidance only. Antique movements should be serviced by a qualified watchmaker.
Historical significance
Lip's in-house calibres are the documentary core of French industrial watchmaking; the firm's later collapse and 1973 workers' self-management experiment make its movements artefacts of social as well as horological history.
Related photographs
No confidently matched photograph of this subject has been found yet. These photographs show a closely related record, and are not examples of the type described on this page.
Sources & references
- de Carle, D., Watch and Clock Encyclopedia
- Period trade material catalogues and calibre reference compilations (edition-dependent)
- Published manufacturer technical documentation where available
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.