The first and most important watches of this kind were the Lip R 27 and the Elgin 722 and 725.
One piece of iron is attached to the balance wheel. When the balance wheel turns, a
contact is closed exactly at the moment the iron on the balance starts to move towards the
coil (stator), which is fixed on the full plate. As soon as the circuit is closed this way, the
electrical current starts to pass the coil. The coil becomes an electromagnet and attracts the
small piece of iron on the balance during the contact time. Thus, at the end of every
oscillation, a forward impulse is given to the balance wheel, while the balance spring
creates an impulse backwards, resulting in a forward and backward motion of the balance
wheel.
However, when the contact opens, the fast changing reversed current causes an induction
spark, which affects the contacts and diminishes their lifetime. If a diode is used, this
reversed current is conducted through another closed circuit to earth. This way less harm is
done to the contacts.
The following watches of this type were:
| 1 | Lip-electric R 27. |
| 2 | Elgin-electric 722 and 725. |
| 3 | Landeron L4750 and L 4751. |
| 4 | Lip-electric R 148 and R 184. |
| 5 | Lip-electric R 50. |