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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Movement record · France

Lip calibre R25

Needs research

A French manual-winding wristwatch calibre from the Besançon factory, made in commercial grades for Lip's own watches.

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Technical specifications

Diameter
25 mm (per cited source)
Height
Not recorded in a source consulted here
Jewels
Made in several jewel counts
Frequency
18,000 vibrations per hour on standard versions
Power reserve
Approximately one day
Winding
Manual winding
Setting
Crown setting
Escapement
Swiss-pattern lever
Balance
Jewelled
Complications
Sub-seconds or centre seconds depending on version

Identification features

  • Signed Lip with the calibre reference
  • French case and movement marks on domestic-market examples
  • The movement often featured a dust-protecting soft iron cap, at least until the mid-1950s.

Known variants

  • Jewel-count and seconds-layout variations

Servicing notes

Parts are scarce outside France; a competent general watchmaker can service the movement itself.

General guidance only. Antique movements should be serviced by a qualified watchmaker.

Historical significance

Represents French wristwatch manufacture at Besançon, a tradition frequently overlooked beside its Swiss neighbours.

The Lip R25 was designed by the engineer Jean-Georges Laviolette during the Occupation and reached the market in 1948. Frédéric Lip oversaw the implementation of semi-automated assembly lines for the production of the R25 at the Besançon factory. The movement had a dust-protecting soft iron cap and an anchor escapement, and later gained shock protection and unbreakable mainsprings. The R25 remained in production until 1963 and was used by the French expedition to Annapurna.

The added history summarises the open references listed under Sources; each statement was checked against the cited passage.

Photographs

Omega Cal. 1861 Chronograph Movement
Omega Cal. 1861 Chronograph Movement — Shane Lin, CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Leon l gallet pocket watch movement 1879
Leon l gallet pocket watch movement 1879 — Time Maven at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Wikimedia Commons file page

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. 1948 - 1963 : Mouvement Lip R25 | Musée LIP, musee-lip.fr, retrieved 2026-11-04 (paraphrased; text © the publisher)
  2. Découvrez l'Incroyable Histoire du Calibre Lip Dauphine Petite Seconde – Un Chef-d'Œuvre Horloger Incontournable - TIR SPORTIF CHABRIS 36210, tirsportifchabris.fr, retrieved 2026-11-04 (paraphrased; text © the publisher)
  3. Archives des Mouvements | Musée LIP, musee-lip.fr, retrieved 2026-11-04 (paraphrased; text © the publisher)
  4. Lip company history and French horological collector references
  5. Detailed dimensions and production dates for this calibre were not confirmed in a reliable source consulted here; some widely circulated online specifications are self-flagged as unverified.

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.