It's time to get on time, we're switching to winter time this weekend, on the night of Saturday October 26 to Sunday October 27. The question comes up every year: Are we moving the needles forward or back? There, we move them back to gain an hour of sleep. A question that Dominique Charlet has heard a lot in his career. He has been a watchmaker all his life, today he is retired but remains the watchmaker of a historic site: the Gros Horloge of Rouen. Dominique Charlet took France Bleu Normandie behind the scenes of the monument.
For almost 15 years, the Gros Horloge has been converted into a museum and allows a few visitors to slip through the narrow spiral staircase. Visitors can see the reverse side of the famous dials of “rue du Gros” as the Rouennais call it and enjoy the view.
Sarah Saltiel-Ragot
An automated time change today
This weekend, Dominique Charlet is resting. The building's watchmaker has nothing to do with it; the Big Clock system is now fully automated and will switch to winter time on its own. The mechanism is therefore no longer activated, a frustrating but normal reality for the guardian of the premises: “It’s frustrating but it’s inevitable, as soon as we find a technique that improves the result and simplifies the operation, we apply it.”
Sarah Saltiel-Ragot
Sarah Saltiel-Ragot
The watchmaker is not completely idle, however. For their heritage value, the old mechanisms have been preserved in working order. Dominique Charlet's role is therefore to maintain them, to replace a part in the event of a problem. As a result, if we wanted to get the wheels moving again, it would be possible. A pride for the craftsman: “One of the very last 14th century mechanisms for striking the quarter hours has been preserved here in good condition.”
Sarah Saltiel-Ragot
The bells at the top of the belfry will therefore be on time this weekend.
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