of the clock varies as the remontoire spring runs down, this variation will be repeated again and again, each time the remontoire goes through its cycle, so it will have no effect on the long term rate of the clock. History The gravity remontoire was invented by Swiss clockmaker Jost Burgi around 1595. Usually the "Kalenderuhr" (three month running, springdriven, calendar-desk-clock) Burgi is considered the oldest surviving clock with a remontoire, even if it does not provide power to the escapement during the few seconds of the daily cycle where the remontoire weight gets wound up by the spring. Today remontoire mechanisms are all designed to deliver power to the escapement during the remontoire reset cycle. The spring remontoire was invented by English clockmaker John Harrison during development of his H2 marine chronometer in 1739. Harrison's working drawing of the device is preserved in the Library of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London, England. Many French and Swiss pocketwatches after 1860 were stamped on the back with the word Remontoire. This merely meant that they didn't have to be wound with a key (i.e. they were wound by the then-novel winding crown inside the pendant). Etymologically the term is correct, the mainspring is "rewound" by some other force than a key, but these watches usually do not contain a remontoire as the word is used today. Types Remontoires are distinguished by their power source: A gravity remontoire is one that uses a weight for power. It is used in precision pendulum clocks. A spring remontoire uses a spring. It is the only type which can be used in watches, since the force of a weight would be disturbed by motions of the wearer's wrist An electric remontoire can be either a gravity or spring type. In it, the weight or spring is rewound electrically, with a motor or solenoid. It is used in clocks with traditional mechanical movements which are run on electricity. They can also be classified by where in the wheel train the remontoire is located: An escapement remontoire applies its force directly to the escape wheel of the escapement. Spring remontoires were usually of this type. A train remontoire applies its force to one of the wheels upstream from the escapement, usually to the wheel that drives the escape wheel. Electric remontoires in automobile clocks Before the common use of electronic clocks in automobiles, automobile clocks