Eta Sa Manufacture Horlogere Suisse

Swatch Ltd.

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd

Omega Sa

Ivan Villar

Laurent Kaelin

Thierry Conus

Julien Christan

Xavier Tinguely

Christophe Cattin

Alphonse Arellano

Giuseppe Cappadona

Antonio Fazio

Gaël Feusier

Jean-Luc Helfer

Marco Verardo

Raphael Balmer

Jean-Bernard Peters

Emmanuel Graf

Andres Cabezas Jurin

Marc Lippuner

Sacha Vorpe

Baptist Wyssbrod

Marco Bettelini

Andrés Cabezas Jurin

Laurent Klinger

Raphaël Balmer

Yves Girardin

Anne Philipps

Antonio Merino

Julien Moulin

Raphael Loeffel

Christian Rüfenacht

Florent Strahm

Gilles Rey-Mermet

Fabrice Delevaux

Raphaël Loeffel

Yvan Girardin

A timepiece display mechanism includes at least one display having a shaft, and having at least one plate and/or a bridge carrying at least one guide device for carrying and guiding this shaft around an axis, including, on a first side of said axis, a support surface comprising a V-shape or a pad, symmetrical with respect to a bisector plane passing through the axis, to centre the axis of the shaft on this bisector plane, and on a second opposite side, at least one holding element substantially diametrically opposite the support surface, all the holding elements exerting on this shaft a resultant elastic return force directed towards the axis, and preventing any radial exit of this shaft out of the guide bearing which is a platform with two parallel faces.

Timepiece display mechanism

A watch including a dial including a fixed portion superimposed on a portion movable in rotation including a surface on which are arranged areas with visual appearances different from each other, the fixed portion including at least one through opening emerging on at least one of the areas, the movable portion being kinematically connected to a control member so as to be rotated by actuating the control member and being configured so that when it is rotated, the areas of different visual appearance appear successively through the opening.

Watch comprising a dial including a fixed portion and a movable portion

An escapement mechanism of a timepiece, including: a first escapement wheel, a second escapement wheel called an impulse pinion and a drive pinion; the impulse pinion, the drive pinion and the first escapement wheel being mounted on the same axis; an intermediate wheel meshing with the drive pinion; a balance plate carrying a plate peg and a direct impulse pallet stone arranged to cooperate with the first escapement wheel; pallets including a pallet entry cooperating with the plate peg, an impulse pallet stone arranged to cooperate with the impulse pinion, and first and second support pallet stones arranged to cooperate with the first escapement wheel. The first escapement wheel, the drive pinion and the impulse pinion are mounted in this order.

Escapement mechanism of a timepiece

A braking device (), separate and remote from its guide members, having resilient strips () borne by a braking mobile component () trapped between a structure () and a bolt () and movable perpendicularly to the axis of a horological mobile component arbor (), on which the strips bear, and either all of the bearing forces on the arbor () of the strips () are exerted within a single angular sector having a centre angle (a) of less than 180&#xb0;, or, opposite a first straight or convex strip () tangentially braking this arbor (), a second strip () allows for relative mobility between the braking mobile component () and this arbor () in a direction of mobility (DM), the latter being: either parallel to the first resilient strip (), or wavy and deformable perpendicularly to the direction of mobility (DM).

Mechanical braking device for a horological mobile component

A self-winding mechanical horological movement including a pivotally oscillating weight, wherein the oscillating weight is provided with a decorative disc mounted on the oscillating weight and pivotally driven by the weight. The disc is fastened to a support that includes a stem inserted into a hole provided in the rotational shaft of the weight. The stem and the hole include non-circular section cylindrical portions corresponding with one another, so that the support and the disc are pivotally driven by the shaft. The disc forms a decoration that covers the entire surface of the movement, without requiring technical complexities. The disc can be free to undergo an axial movement in relation to the weight, so that the disc may be removed from the weight when the horological movement is dismantled from a watch case.

Self-winding watch

A shock absorbing device including a spring ring able to adopt a mounting position and an attachment position respectively with respect to the support of the shock absorbing device. This spring ring includes, on the external periphery thereof, tabs which engage with a peripheral shoulder of the support of the shock absorbing device provided with recesses which outnumber the tabs. In the attachment position, only some of the tabs are disposed under the peripheral shoulder of the support, the remaining tabs, including locking tabs, respectively housed in locking recesses, of the support. In the attachment position, at least one locking tab housed in a locking recess is surrounded by tabs positioned under the peripheral shoulder.

Shock absorbing device with angular locking

A shock-absorber device for a wheel arbor of a micromechanical device includes a support which includes a turning-arbor delimited by a rim defining a housing into which a pivot module is inserted. The pivot module includes a setting having a central orifice into which is inserted a bored stone. An endstone is placed on top of the bored stone. The shock-absorber device also includes a spring ring arranged between the support and the pivot module. The shock-absorber device is equipped with a bayonet system for mounting the spring ring. The bayonet system includes a peripheral shoulder under which is formed a circular groove which defines a holding area. The spring ring is equipped on an outer periphery with at least one catch. At least one first notch which leads to the circular groove is provided in the peripheral shoulder.

Angular locking shockproof system

A timepiece mechanism includes a structure in which at least one arbor of a wheel set is pivoted about an axis of rotation and a braking device for the mechanical braking at constant torque of this arbor. The braking device includes a braking component which is removable with respect to the structure and includes, for attachment thereof to the structure, a solid felloe, which carries a plurality of resilient elements, regularly distributed around a common axis about which these resilient elements each have a contact area. The contact areas together defining an opening, arranged to engage, in a press fit with elastic gripping, with the arbor, to make the common axis coincide with the axis of rotation of the arbor, and to apply to the arbor a substantially constant tangential braking force.

Mechanical braking device for timepiece wheel set

The mechanical timepiece movement with power reserve indication includes a barrel system with a winding output connected to a chassis wheel of a differential gear, and with an unwinding output connected to a crown of the differential gear. The differential gear is connected to a power reserve indicator to display the power reserve. The timepiece movement includes at least one locking member disposed on the crown and at least one locking element disposed on the chassis wheel during the rotation of the crown relative to the chassis wheel. The locking member is intended to come into contact with the locking element when the power reserve is at zero, in order to stop the timepiece movement.

Mechanical timepiece movement with power reserve detection

A mechanical timepiece movement in the form of a modular unit. The movement includes at least one modular unit for performing a particular timepiece function, which is irremovably pre-adjusted by irremovably securing adjustment and/or assembling components included in the functional module after the particular horological function has been adjusted and function checked on the test bench. The pre-adjusted functional module is irremovably secured to a plate included in the movement or included in another pre-adjusted functional module of the movement, or irremovably secured to another pre-adjusted functional module included in the movement.

Modular timepiece movement with functional modules

The present invention concerns an assembly for holding or supporting a timepiece balance spring, comprising a balance spring stud and a balance cock on which is fixed a balance spring stud-holder, wherein said stud-holder comprises a holding means provided with a housing for housing the balance spring stud therein and a gripping means, at least said gripping means being movable with respect to the holding means in order to lock the balance spring stud inside its housing.

Balance spring stud-holder with secure assembly

The present invention concerns an assembly for holding or supporting a timepiece balance spring including a balance spring stud and a stud-holder, wherein said stud-holder includes:

Balance spring stud-holder

A shock absorber device for an arbour of a timepiece element including a support including a base cup surmounted by a peripheral rim delimited, opposite the cup, by an upper surface and including an outer wall, the cup and the rim defining together a recess. The device further includes at least one pivot module extending along an axis, the at least one pivot module being arranged in the recess and configured to cooperate with the arbour and a cap formed by a hollow part fixed to the support on the peripheral rim, the cap including an inner wall on which at least one groove is arranged so that an elastic mechanism can be placed therein.

Shockproof system with secure mounting

A shock-absorber bearing for a staff of a moving part of a timepiece, the bearing including a support including a housing configured to receive a pivot module configured to cooperate with the staff, and an elastic mechanism configured to exert at least one axial force on the pivot module to retain the module in its housing.

Non-dismantlable shock-proof system for timepiece

A method of improving pivoting of a wheel set for a scientific instrument, including an arbor pivoting or oscillating about an axis, in which: static balancing of the wheel set is performed to bring the center of gravity onto the axis; a desired value is determined for resulting unbalance moment of the wheel set about the axis, corresponding to a predetermined divergence between a first principal longitudinal axis of inertia of the wheel set, and the axis; at a predetermined speed about the axis, the resulting unbalance moment is measured with regard to the axis; and an adjustment of the resulting unbalance moment is made within a given determined tolerance with regard to the desired value, and performed by machining both sides of a median plane including the two secondary axes of inertia of the wheel set.

Growing community of inventors

Bienne, Switzerland

Ivan Villar