A 1930s Salesman Sample CUT-AWAY micrometer by Pierre ROCH, Paris

[rivett608]

A 1930s Salesman Sample CUT-AWAY micrometer by Pierre ROCH, Paris. 0-25 mm. The construction of their micrometers was quite different compared to the American design which may have to do with why the feel so. smooth. Pierre ROCH started making vernier calipers about 1895 and in 1902 moved to Rollie, CH. employing 6 to 7 out of every 10 workers in the village. By 1919 they opened a 2nd factory in Bellegarde, France and added other tools such as dial indicators to their product line. In 1928 the French and Swiss divisions split into separate companies. The French division was named Etts. (Estabussements) P. ROCH, Paris. The company used a beehive logo for reasons I do not know.

ROCH Rollie started using the name in Etalon in the early 1940s with the logo of a prancing horse. The word étalon translates into “Standard of measurement” and also a “fully-grown male horse”

In modern times Brown & Sharpe, USA. started to have P. ROCH make many of their products and in 1967 bought TESA which in turn bought Etalon in 1981. In 2001 B & S Group was acquired by Hexagon AB, a Swedish multinational corporation.

I am still trying to sort out the the details of P. ROCH Rollie and P. ROCH Paris in the early years but it seems most records have been destroyed.

 

[L Vanice]

Does that trademark say, along the bottom banner, "Successors of P. Roch Rolle Switzerland?" Or is my guess at translating French abbreviations wrong?

Larry

 

[just Dave]

This seems like an unusual item to cut-away. Generally an engine or a gun it seems.

 

[M.B. Naegle]

This seems like an unusual item to cut-away. Generally an engine or a gun it seems.

Perhaps less of a thing to just be interested in seeing how it works, and more of a sales pitch. IOW, "this is why our micrometers work so much better" compared to the American imports of the time.

 

[rivett608]

Yes Larry, you are correct.

It is not so unusual of an item, M. B, Naegle has it exactly correct. I know of a cut-away mic by Moore & Wright too.

 

[L Vanice]

Cutaways are mostly used as attention getters for marketing purposes and the process can be applied to many different products. About fifty years ago, I was in charge of planning a cutaway of a heavy truck rear axle with 16" ring gear. I made the marker lines on the parts to show the shop where to cut the hardened parts with our big wet abrasive saw. The thing was chrome plated in places and painted in various colors and mounted on a rolling stand. We also polished an optional forged aluminum I-beam for a 12,000 pound front axle and cutaway the knuckles and other parts. They were displayed at various truck shows along with cutaway engines and transmissions that my company made for their trucks.

Larry

 

[John Garner]

To me, the Roch cut-away micrometer doesn't look different enough from a B&S, Starrett, Scherr-Tumico, Moore & Wright, or a number of other reputable micrometers to have an INHERENTLY smoother feel. Am I missing some important design difference if I attribute the generally-recognised operation of Roch (and a couple other makes) micrometers to better fit-and-finish?

 

[SIP6A]

The company used a beehive logo for reasons I do not know.

In French culture the bee represents hard work, diligence, industriousness and orderliness.

 

[L Vanice]

France and bee symbols are rather political, beyond the old busy as a bee folk saying. For centuries, a stylized lily flower, fleur de lis, was the symbol of the kings of France. After the revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power and wanted a fresh personal symbol that emphasized he was not just another French ruler. He chose the bee and the bee appeared all over his clothing and surroundings. After a century or so of the Republic, the bee might be seen as a longing for the good old days before 1815 when Napoleon seemed destined to rule far more of Europe than just France.

Napoleon and the Bees: How 5th Century Jewelry From the Tomb of Childeric I Became a Symbol of Empire — Heart of Hearts Jewels

During the early afternoon hours of May 27, 1653, a blind and mute mason named Adrien Quinquin was toiling away on a church reconstruction project for the city of Tournai, when his shovel struck gold. Just meters below the earth were leather bags full of gold coins. Then came a gold torc...

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Or maybe Roch just liked bee hives.

Larry

 

[John Garner]

As I mentioned in an earlier thread about P. Roch, both Masons and Mormons have used the beehive and bees to symbolize a group of individuals working together for the greater good.