THE HIPP CHRONOSCOPE

5. THE YEARS 1889-1908: PEYER AND FAVARGER
On February 15, 1889, Matthäus Hipp entrusted two engineers, Peyer and Favarger, with the
management of the Hipp Works. The state of his health was not the best and Hipp and his
wife moved to Zürich a few days later. On May 3, 1893, Hipp died at the age of 80.
The instruments and apparatus of the following period were signed “Peyer, Favarger & Cie,
Successeurs de Hipp, Neuchâtel, Suisse, [serial number].”
Peyer and Favarger continued the fabrication of the Hipp chronoscope. A detailed description
of the chronoscope is published in Albert Favarger’s book, Die Electricität und ihre
Verwerthung zur Zeitmessung [60].
In addition to the standard type, two new models were offered.
Figure 18: Chronoscope, “model 256” and “257”, as shown in the trade catalogue
of Peyer, Favarger & Cie 1902 [131]
“Model 256” was the same as the earlier “model 88” produced by Hipp. A novelty was
“model 257.” The movement was fixed on a wooden board and the running time was six
minutes. A heavy weight drove the movement. This instrument was able to measure
milliseconds. A characteristic feature was the position of the square shaft below the dial for
the winding key.
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