Rubies and Watch Parts - When a Ruby is not a Ruby

Sometimes my self enlightening musings need to be posted here to dispel the unintentional deceit we have been privy to. This one in particular was due to lack of the technology back in the day when rubies were discovered. Rubies are nothing more then sapphires as they are both are corundum which is basically aluminum ions and oxygen, impurities there of create color. For example, what makes the ruby different has to do with minuscule amounts of chromium, in fact, only 1% of the aluminum is replaced with chromium making that highly sought after red color.

So what does this have to do with watch parts?
In 1704 the first union of watch movements and rubies came into conception with the advancements wrought by Peter Debaufre, Jacob Debaufre, and Nicolas Facio. The rubies (sapphires) are essentially the watch movement's bearings, and are present on the pallet, the piece which creates that time honored clicking noise against the escape wheel, these are referred to as jewels. When you see a watch that states "17 jewels" it essentially means the "bearings" are usually rubies (sapphires), but can also be garnets or in rare cases diamonds. These however are industrial grade and have very little value. Also around 1900 manufactured or synthetic rubies became the staple "jewel" present in watches. This was due to the efficiency of the process created by Auguste Victor Louis Verneuil, which affectionately called the Verneuil process and also referred to as flame fusion. Actually synthetic rubies (sapphires) were made even before Verneuil rained on the someone's scientific advancement parade, as they were the first on the market in the mid 1800's. Rubies (sapphires) are historically significant as they are actually the first gem stone to be synthetic or man made.
Who knew that rubies (sapphires) were so special!

So Sleepy -_- zzZzZzZZZzZzZzz

I have succeeded at not getting done what I had wanted to get done today. What has been done is taking my car to the shop and it's going to be a shiny new radiator for Jeepness. Yes I named my Jeep Wrangler her full name is Jeepness of Fury =D and I figure cars are like large mechanical pets, you feed them, clean them and take them to the Mechanic Doctor when they are sick. Which means Jeepness is having surgery omg my poor car!
Now enough of my insane banter from being very sleepy, I tend to research my items pretty heavily and fill my brain with useless knowledge which I shall from this day forward share with those who may so happen to stumble upon this blogamigigger.

I recently wrote of acquiring my grubby little paws on a fabulous lot of watch parts with are cases, bands, movements, watch makers vials, amazing tins, and other fun things. So most of the intact movements I will be selling and I like to know what I selling so I've been doing research on the brands and the history of wrist watches in general which I found out women were the first to wear wrist watches or wristlets as they were referred to at the time, where as the watches were decorative pieces more like bracelets and even as I've found brooches with the watch set upside down so the lady could peer down and not have to fondle with her bosom trying to peer at the time. The reason behind why women lay claim to wearing the first wrist watch has been said to be because of the women's rights movements and women moving towards being in the work place. This essentially began in 1848 when the first official Women's Rights Convention convened and push ahead in the 1920s with the 19th Amendment allowing women to vote.
Men later too on the trend starting with the first world war. Here's what a site on the history of the Gruen Watch Co has to say about it,"Most men saw wristwatches as being extremely effeminate and continued to carry pocket watches. Things began to change after the military on both sides used wristwatches during the First World War. When huddled in a muddy trench or flying an airplane, a wristwatch proved to be much more practical and convenient than a pocket watch, and was easier to protect from damage. This helped to remove the wristwatch's feminine stigma, making them acceptable for men to wear in civilian life. However, most manufacturers, including Gruen, were careful to call them "strap watches" since "wristwatch" still sounded effeminate to male customers."
Those are the interesting tid bits I found out today and I look forward to getting the movements up on my Sacred Supplies shop tonight.
Here's a list that I worked up of the brands to expect:
Bering Watch co
Benrus Watch co inc
Beverly
Bulovia Watch Co
Englin USA
Etna Watch co
Glycine watch co
Gruen Watch co
Harman Watch Co
Helbros Watch Co
Klasons Watch Co
Liban Watch Co
Libela Watch Co
Louis Watch co inc
Mildus watch co
Rensie Watch co
Royce watch co
Winton Watch Co