Watch Writing: Incabloc, Shockresistant

The biggest problem with the first pocket watches and early (1930-40's) wristwatches was the fact that bumping them into something or hard knocks could damage the balance assembly. One could say these timepieces were not resistant to shock. This was an area for much development during the late 1930's and through the early 1950's. Most watches produced after the 1950's came with some sort of shock absorption: The most famous was (and still is) called Incabloc.

Another lesser-known shock-absorption system is the KIF system (used by Rolex amongst others), Parashock (Pierce), or the Diashock system by Seiko. The incabloc system can be seen close-up here: Incabloc on YouTube

Incabloc systems can be found inside watches: We will now focus on the outside. Below are two photos of Indus watches from the 1970's. The first has "Shockresistant" on the dial, the other one has "Incabloc" written on the dial.

Reputable manufacturers could not write anything on the watch or the dial that was not correct. If there is not an incabloc absorption setting in the movement, the company could not print it on the dial. The first watch has a generic Swiss movement with a generic shock absorption system for its balance. The second watch (with alarm feature) was bought from the A.Shield factory: They used the incabloc system as standard in their movements. Various engravings can be found on case backs or dials that indicate there is some type of shock protection inside: "Antishock," "Antichoc," "Shockproof," and "Shock-Protected" are common indications of balance protection.

Watch manufactures—as a rule of thumb—indicate their latest improvements on the dial (Omega does this now with their co-axial escape) until the next great innovation is ready. The word "Incabloc" became a sign of extra quality until the end of the 1970's. It is only seldom found on dials any more because the system has become ubiquitous. This also goes for mid- and low-end brands. Large, well-known brands display technical features mostly to advertise their own innovations, but these displays last only for a short period. Less is more. A buyer knows he is buying quality, so extra writing does not need to be on the dial. If you find anything other than "Incabloc" on the dial of a 1950's-1970's watch, you almost certainly are looking at a low-grade watch.