THREE-QUARTER PLATE
KEEPING GLASHÜTTE TRADITION ALIVE
BY MÜHLE-GLASHÜTTE
The three-quarter plate is a typical feature of high-quality Glashütte watches. It serves as a stable bearing for the mainspring barrel and wheel train and is so named because it covers about three quarters of the movement. As is tradition, we have equipped our three-quarter plate with the classic Glashütte stopwork and a removable escape wheel bridge.
The latter not only looks very nice – with its red bearing jewel and the two blued screws. Above all, it facilitates a revision of the watch, because the escape wheel or even the entire escapement can be removed and cleaned more easily. With the three-quarter plate, we were able to increase the longevity, serviceability and aesthetics of our chronograph movements. And because we not only install our three-quarter plate in them, but also designed the regulation, balance cock, automatic bridge and rotor for them ourselves, we proudly stamp our own caliber designations on them.
THE GLASHÜTTER STOPWORK
During winding, the barrel rotates and thus stores the winding energy for the movement. The ratchet wheel sits above the mainspring barrel and, in combination with the ratchet, prevents it from turning back and immediately losing the spring force. When the watch is wound, the ratchet rattles over the teeth of the ratchet wheel, as its pawl is pressed towards the ratchet wheel by the ratchet spring. The ratchet keeps the pressure on the ratchet wheel low and minimizes wear.
THE REMOVABLE ESCAPE WHEEL BRIDGE
A removable escape wheel bridge is a traditional feature of Glashütte movements. It is used to support the escape wheel, which is one of the most heavily stressed wheels in the movement. To facilitate its maintenance, the bridge can be removed without completely disassembling the movement.
