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!

The Precious' Of The Pirate Wenchie

There's this one watch movement which of course is of the captivating Elgin brand and upon my research last night here's what the serial number revealed Click Here. My little precious is from 1905 =D I did a little dance and blabbered to my uninterested husband. In my hands I held a piece of equipment 103 years old and it is nearly pristine (one of the top silver gears has been replaced or scratched to heck so the etched design is gone). I will be taking pics then turning it over to be sold =( but for now it's my precious!
Which has got me thinking my treasures are and have always been antique items because of the pure artistic nature of them which lacks in this fast mass produced blandness of a world we live in. However even that can be appreciated in a way but it lacks a soul the personality an artist can give to their work. I subconsciously believe that when I create something I breathe life into it. A piece of my soul gives life to my work and I feel that with the artwork I admire I can see it's soul as well.

Another precious thing to me is my sacred coffee shop funnel mill which shall soon be over run by yuppies and hipsters =( which is good (the place shall stay)and bad (over crowding). Funnel Mill has just been voted the best coffee/tea shop in all of LA by the Los Angeles magazine =D and so this shall be revealed once that publication comes out (I know this before hand because I'm a regular) but as a symbol of gratitude they will be offering the Kopi Luwak (poop) coffee with a $20 discount of $40 a cup.

Here's a snippet of what Funnel Mill has about it and click on the image above for the full story.
"Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an area well-known for its excellent coffee. Also native to the area is a small civet-like animal called a Paradoxurus. That's the scientific name, but the locals called them Luwaks. These little mammals live in the trees and one of their favorite foods is the red, ripe coffee cherry. They eat the cherries, bean and all. While the beans are in the Luwak's stomach, they undergo chemical treatments and fermentations. The beans finish the journey through the digestive system, exit. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then medium-roasted and ground just like any other coffee."