The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd

Pablo Rodriguez

Jean-Jacques Born

Alban Dubach

Nicolas Francois

Cédric Nicolas

Nicolas François

Juliette Muller

Joel Porret

Sophie Napoli

Robert Pompe

Julien Dahan

Julien Huser

Joël Porret

A modular watch () including at least a middle (), a back (), a display module () having a dial, time display, a crystal and a first magnetic gear, a horological module () including a horological movement with a second magnetic gear arranged to cooperate with the magnetic gear of the display module (), and first and second bracelet strands integral with the middle () at a pair of horns (). The display module () and the horological module () are mounted one on top of the other, the display module () being mounted such that it is fixed against the middle (10), and the horological module () being mounted such that it can rotate between the back () and the display module () in order to set the time.

Modular watch

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a composite component of a timepiece or of a jewelry part, the composite component comprising a porous ceramic part and a metallic material filling the pores of said ceramic part, said method comprising the steps of: wherein said porous ceramic preform consists essentially of a material selected from the group consisting of SiN, SiOand mixtures thereof, and said metallic material is selected from the group consisting of gold, platinum, palladium metals and alloys of these metals. The invention relates also to a composite component of a timepiece or of a jewelry part comprising a porous ceramic part and a metallic material filling the pores of said ceramic part, wherein said porous ceramic part consists essentially of a material selected from the group consisting of SiN, SOand mixtures thereof, and said metallic material which is selected from the group consisting of gold, platinum, palladium metals and alloys of these metals.

Method for manufacturing a composite component of a timepiece or of a jewelry part, and composite component obtainable by such method

A method for manufacturing an austenitic stainless steel workpiece including the following successive steps: 1) providing a powder and sintering the powder to form a sintered alloy with an austenitic structure; the alloy having a nitrogen content greater than or equal to 0.1% by weight, 2) treating the sintered alloy to transform the austenitic structure into a ferritic structure or ferrite+ austenite two-phase structure on a surface layer of the alloy, 3) treating the sintered alloy to transform the ferritic or ferrite+ austenite two-phase structure obtained in step 2) into an austenitic structure and, after cooling, forming the workpiece which, on the layer subjected to the transformations in steps 2) and 3), has a density higher than that of the core of the workpiece. The present description also relates to the workpiece obtained by the method which has a very dense surface layer (&#x2265;99%).

Austenitic stainless steel workpiece

A decorative item made from a moulded material having a density of between 2 and 7 g/cm, wherein the moulded material includes by weight: 60 to 90% of a metallic or ceramic material having a density higher than or equal to 5 g/cm, 10 to 32% of a plastic material including a thermoplastic resin and a coupling agent, 0 to 8% of a reinforcement, 0 to 3% of a pigment. Also, a method of manufacturing this decorative item by injection moulding.

Decorative item made of a heavy composite material

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Neuchatel, Switzerland

Pablo Rodriguez