Switzerland · Incabloc system introduced and trademarked from 1934
Shock Protection Systems (e.g. Incabloc)
Needs researchMade mechanical wristwatches dramatically more durable for daily wear, and is a standard inspection point when assessing a vintage watch's originality and condition.
Shock-protection systems suspend the balance-staff pivot jewels in a spring-loaded setting so that an impact displaces the jewel assembly briefly rather than transmitting full force to the delicate pivot, which is the most fracture-prone part of a mechanical watch.
Incabloc is the best-known trademarked system and the term is often used generically, but several competing systems (e.g. Kif, Novodiac) were developed by other Swiss suppliers around the same period; care should be taken not to treat 'Incabloc' as a synonym for all shock protection.
How to verify this yourself
Search the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) trademark and patent registers under 'Incabloc' and its manufacturer name for the specific granted patent and trademark numbers; this project has not independently verified a specific patent number and none should be assumed from marketing material.
Manufacturers known to have used it
- Most Swiss mechanical-watch manufacturers from the mid-1930s onward, across many brands, under Incabloc or a competing licensed system
Sources & references
- NAWCC Bulletin, articles on the history of shock-protection systems
- Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property register (existence of relevant trademark class noted, not directly queried here)
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.