innovation

Baselworld, Exhibitions, innovation

Taking Basel by surprise….

Posted on March 11, 2011January 17, 2017 by ATELIERS DEMONACO

11
Mar

After the launch of our Xtreme Precision Tourbillion and the in-house developed Minute Repeater, it is time to truly shock the world with our next generation of innovation in the high-end complications: A Quatième Perpetual Calendar with EZ-Adjust system.

Why innovating on this complication? If you are lucky enough to be the proud owner of a watch with a Perpetual Calendar complication, you also know that if you need to change any of the settings of your watch for whatever reason, this is a difficult and long process, and sometimes can even only be done in a watch ateliers. Would it be nice if we could simplify this high end complication to its essence, so whenever you need to change any setting, you can do this with a simple push and turn of the crown?

Our own in-house developed and patented Perpetual Calendar with EaZy adjust system – with one simple push on the crown you can change the function between time – date – day – week- month and year, and if you have found the mode you want to change, simply turn the crown and adjust. This innovation will make something very cumbersome, very manageable for even the most technically challenged – EZ! The QP-EZ will be made in a limited edition of 88 pieces, and will be made available in Titanium, 18K Rose- and White-gold, with recommended consumer prices starting as of an incredible € 26.800 for the

Titanium versions!

For high res pictures, pls see: http://ateliers-demonaco.com/press

The next innovation……

Posted on October 31, 2010January 17, 2017 by ATELIERS DEMONACO

31
Oct

About a year ago, we re-iterated our commitment to innovation, crisis or not. In Basel, we will launch the latest chapter of the Ateliers deMonaco innovation story….but for those die-hard fans and passionate supporters, we wanted to reveal a huge milestone we passed this weekend…after several proto-types, the first final movement was functioning!!! “I know it sounds funny, but it is always a very emotional moment to see something completely functional after several years of uncertainty if it will ever work…..giving birth is a painful but rewarding process” Pim Koeslag, Master Horlogier and the father of 2 young children smilingly admitted. For those of you that think you know what the next innovation is Pim has been working on for so long, please take a guess…as you came to expect from us, it is something never done before…. !!!

Monaco General

From the Master Horlogier

Posted on March 7, 2010January 17, 2017 by ATELIERS DEMONACO

07
Mar

Watchmaking anno 2010 – an art or a science?

Nowadays, a lot of innovation brought to the market are masterful pieces of engineering that do not always work as well. Double Tourbillon, triple axes…It sometimes feels that form has taken over from function. Although we do get excited by these master pieces of engineering, we can also still get very excited by a movement that actually works, and works very well and very precise. Function first! We got a lot of inspiration from Henry Royce that set out with a very similar vision when he created the foundation for the Rolls Royce brand as we know it today.

So when we are in technical meetings and people get overexcited by the solutions or new technical inventions, I often ask: “So what is the problem we are trying to solve with this new technology?”

Thus, when we were working on our Grand Tourbillon XP1, the issue at hand was clear. The TB is invented to deliver higher precision than a normal mechanical watch. However, the vertical positions have variations of amplitude and precision caused by the TB cage itself. But we felt there was an opportunity to minimize the force used for the escapement in the cage, and if we could eliminate oil or grease in the escapement with the use of modern materials, then this would be a plus as well.  We believe we have made a huge step forward in the precision of the TB movement. Key enablers for the step forward have been our Patented Perfect Balance Cage and the silicium escape wheel and lever with silicium oxide coating to avoid unnecessary power and efficiency loss. We can guarantee all our movements between 0-2 seconds/24hours, and we have already produced one that did much better!

Can we do better? The aim is to come as close to zero as possible, so we have a mechanical movement that is always accurate. Wouldn’t that be cool? We believe it is possible, and for sure it is a nice aim to pursue.   Personally, I believe our Ateliers deMonaco watches are pieces of art, that have embraced modern science to make them also functional as perfect as possible. Like the painter who studies his subjects for a long time before he can reach the highest level of perfection, our pieces feel they get better and more perfect with time as well. Let’s talk in 20 years to see how close to our dream we could come.

Pim

Login