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You are here: Home / Movements / Excelsior Park JB42

Excelsior Park JB42

Last Update: December 6, 2022

Brand:Excelsior Park
Family:
Excelsior Park JB4 Family
Height:
Jewels:17
Reserve: hours
Frequency:18,000 A/h
Winding:Hand winding
Diameter:29.40 mm (13 ligne)
  Complications:2-Button, 8-Column Chronograph, Chronograph, Column Wheel Chronograph
Hands:45 Minute Chronograph Hand at 3:00, Central 60 Second Chronograph Hand, Central Hour Hand, Central Minute Hand, Small Seconds Hand at 9:00
Distinguishing Technical Characteristics
Hand-Winding
Counter-Clockwise Balance Cock
Screwed Balance
Indexed Regulator
8-Column Chronograph
Balance at 6:00
Column Wheel at 12:00
Production: 1938 – 
1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s

Cal. 42 is an oblong 12×13 ligne chronograph movement produced by Excelsior Park for Gallet and Zenith in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a hand-winding movement with 30 or 45 minute counters at 3:00 on the dial.

This 1945 watch is signed by Excelsior Park

The shape is highly unusual and is different from other movements in Excelsior Park’s Cal. 4 family. It measures 27.10 mm at its narrowest and 29.40 mm at its widest, being “taller” in the case than it is across. This shape was achieved by reducing the width of the main plate all around (most other Cal. 4 movements measure 14 ligne or 31.60 mm diameter) but more along the sides where less components were located. The height of the movement could not be reduced to 12 ligne because of the location of the balance and wheel train. Although most watches that used this movement had traditional round cases, a fair number had oval cases to match.

All Excelsior Park Cal. JB4 family movements are instantly recognizable thanks to the distinctive U-shaped cock that supports the chronograph wheels. Nearly every other chronograph uses a Y- or wishbone shaped cock or bridge. The overall design of the movement is also “reversed” from many other chronographs, with the rabbit-shaped hammer falling on the crown side and a counter-clockwise balance cock. Although not a finely-finished movement, it is high in specification with a Breguet spiral hairspring, screwed balance, and machined springs. The chronograph minutes recorder is equipped with a “sautoir” (jumping mechanism).

One version, Cal. JB4-24h includes two novel features: A central 24 hour hand used for orienteering and a “seconds corrector”, allowing manual adjustment of the running seconds hand using a crown at 9:00.

Excelsior Park chronograph movements were used by Gallet, Zenith, and Girard-Perregaux as well as in-house by Excelsior Park and Moeris. These were roughly similar apart from their finishing and the specification of a mobile stud carrier by some brands. The “JB” stands for Jeanneret-Brehm, the name of the founder of the Excelsior Park factory.

ComplicationsNotes
Cal. JB4Chronograph minute counterBase movement
Cal. JB4-68Cal. 4 baseMovable hairspring stud
Cal. JB4-24hCal. 4 base; 45 minutes, 24 hour hand
Cal. JB40Chronograph 45 minutes, 12 hours
Cal. JB40-68Cal. 40 baseMovable hairspring stud
Cal. JB42Chronograph 45 minutesOval 12×13 ligne

Images are taken from official publications and are used here for commentary and educational purposes. Copyright is held by the original owner as noted.

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