About

What this project is

Ranfft DB is an independent alternative to the original — with more calibers, more information, and more photos. It already holds thousands of calibers beyond the original, and it keeps growing and self-correcting through its community. I am not Dr Ranfft; this is a separate project built in the same spirit.

About the data

This database is the union of two private datasets I compiled over the years: one of images and one of technical data.

Technical data

• Technical service manuals.
• Service catalogues.
• Spare parts catalogues.
• Annotations made by Roland Ranfft for his website — marked as a separate section within the notes.
• Data provided by the people who use the site.

Images

• Provided by the people who use the site.
• Provided by watch manufacturers.
• From internet search engines, filtering out any page that claims copyright on the image or the site.
• Some old records may still contain images Roland made for his site; these are deleted periodically so none of them remain in use.

Who can do what

• Anyone can browse the database and suggest corrections — no account needed.
• Registered users get a personal account: save calibers to a collection and submit additions or edits directly.
• Supporters unlock everything except moderation — the image gallery, the parts catalog, donor sourcing, advanced search, and higher usage limits.
• Moderators have full access plus moderation tools to review and approve community submissions.

How you can contribute

• Suggest data without an account. Use the anonymous session to add or correct entries — the simplest way to help.
• Take a more active role. To upload larger volumes or help moderate anonymous submissions, request an invitation code to register.
• Support it financially. I keep several public projects under one Patreon; contributions help cover hosting and development.

Whether through data, moderation, or support, your involvement is what keeps this project alive.