Component
Keyless (stem) winding
Also known as: Crown winding · Remontoir (watch) · Kronenaufzug
How it works
Turning the crown drives the winding pinion and, through crown and ratchet wheels, winds the mainspring. Pulling the crown slides the clutch (sliding pinion) across to engage the motion work for hand-setting.
Why it was invented
It removed the separate key — easily lost and a route for dust into the movement.
- Invented
- 1820s–1840s
- Credited to
- Thomas Prest (1820 patent); Louis Audemars; Jean-Adrien Philippe (1845 patent)
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology
History and development
Thomas Prest of John Roger Arnold's firm patented a keyless winding work in 1820, and Louis Audemars made keyless watches in the late 1830s. Jean-Adrien Philippe's 1845 patent for crown winding and hand setting, taken up by Patek Philippe, became the basis of the modern system. Keyless winding was general in Swiss watches by the 1870s and in American watches soon after.
Related mechanisms
In the catalogue
All 114 records →
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch by Chronomètre Corgémont Watch, 1800–1899
National Museum of Decorative Arts
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Dortmund, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_5S5INJD5EEZ7WTHX3TS7YWR3F7QC6P2Q)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Dortmund, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_77O74MVBAFYXO5NC6Z2YGZ7WLL5SPZO6)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, France, 1800–1899
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Germany, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_AHR2WWRUSXWB7JLUU5F27MD6R2QWTNL5)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Germany, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_ANB57TW7X4AETN5YEIBPQZOCPZJNYTUG)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Germany, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_IMHEDCKJGACGO3F3DYT5PDA77S2OIJGY)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Germany, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_JSY5375J3KW4V3XW6BNN6ZXAZIC6QROL)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Germany, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_KVL6R5LBGWNRKPW2IA3DJXMPO7C6Y7PC)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Germany, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_OX6Y3ED72B75OYGLQ5IIBFYTN2WQL74O)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Germany, 1800–1899 (Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum item_QGN2QFMRUX6EFKLR3HI7IALZSP2MUAR5)
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Pocket Watches · 1800–1899
Pocket watch, Mansfeld, 1800–1899
Montanhistorisches Dokumentationszentrum
Records are linked when the holding institution's description names this mechanism; check each source record for confirmation.