How nanotechnology is breaking boundaries in luxury watches: Hermès’ incorporated a photolithography technique for its Cape Cod Crépuscule while Tag Heuer patented a carbon composite hairspring
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Ever since spring-powered clocks were developed in 15th century Europe, watchmakers have strived to advance the science behind haute horlogerie. First, the mainspring was brainstormed as a mechanism for powering a clock. This apparatus stopped the cracking and weakening of a timepiece’s movement so it could withstand numerous cycles.
![Tag Heuer creates hairsprings using silicone wafers and iron atoms. Photo: Tag Heuer](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/03/06/3cb5e840-68e3-4d7d-8e8f-612baba55ce1_7d593d23.jpg)
A lot has changed in the years since, with improved materials and methods allowing for increased miniaturisation, precision and reliability. Now, another wave of innovation is breaking over the field of watchmaking: nanotechnology, the study and manipulation of matter on a near-atomic scale to produce novel structures and materials.
For years, the academic community has been jumping up and down in excitement over how this science could be applied to numerous industries – in everything from healthcare to renewable energy.
![The Hermès Cape Cod Crépuscule with its distinctive 3D dial by designer/graphic artist Thanh Phong Lê. Photo: Hermès](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/03/06/7e5a3d41-d71c-4d4a-a0b1-ad393951e48b_669d981c.jpg)
One of Switzerland’s leading silicon experts, the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, was commissioned to complete the dial, shaped using a silicon wafer just 0.5mm thick. To reach the intensity of colour requested by the maison, a nanotechnology procedure called photolithography was used to transfer Phong Lê’s motif onto the silicon, which was then coated in yellow gold.
![The Hermès Cape Cod Crépuscule depicts a setting sun reflected in water. Photo: Hermès](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/03/06/f6858bbf-fee1-4e94-9857-98cffa635c87_b380e512.jpg)
Such nano-scale materials and structures often have excellent mechanical properties. “Imagine a dense forest where all the trees are nanotubes,” says Dupas. “We weld the nanotubes together by filling the gaps between them with amorphous carbon.” This increases the hairspring’s wear resistance and strength, while keeping it extremely light and protected from magnetism.
“The biggest challenge that affects timekeeping performance is exposure to magnetic fields,” explains Dupas. “Unlike other hairsprings, our carbon composite hairspring isn’t as sensitive, which helps us ensure that a Tag Heuer watch will be ticking as perfectly on day 500 as it was on day one.”
The Tag Heuer Institute also uses three further applications of nanotechnology – physical vapour deposition (PVD), chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition – to innovate cutting-edge colours and surface renderings, which are applied to the watchmaker’s dials. “Although different, these nanotechnologies all involve depositing individual or small groups of atoms, one after the other, on the target substrate or surface,” adds Dupas.
Sounding not unlike a Michelin-starred chef, Dupas explains that to really understand how a “nanotechnology recipe” works, it’s essential that the research and development team have a profound understanding of the ingredients with which they are working. And despite the additional time and investment it takes to use the science effectively, Dupas believes this futuristic approach to watchmaking will pay off over time.
“Nanotechnologies are similar to other manufacturing technologies like three-dimensional printing. In this way, they offer many of the same opportunities, including an increase in flexibility and creativity,” he says.
![Zenith uses PVD and CVD coating processes to develop new dial colours for watches such as the Defy Skyline 36mm. Photo: Zenith](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/03/06/518aa2d7-8043-46fa-9107-2ebdb82ffca1_d8e152cb.jpg)
![Zenith Defy 21 ultrablue timepiece. Photo: Zenith](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/03/06/b7fc5d61-42ba-4844-9e2c-5575094d967d_f775d412.jpg)
Beyond cosmetic improvements, advances in nanotechnology could also lead to the development of mechanical watches that never need to be serviced. At least, that’s what British independent watchmaker Roger W. Smith aspires to achieve with help from Manchester Metropolitan University. The institution is testing virtually frictionless nano-coatings using molybdenum disulfide, which is a silvery-black compound that could replace traditional oil-based lubricants that are used to stop mechanical watches from grinding their metal components into pieces.
![Ulysse Nardin has long been a pioneer in the use of nanotechnology in watches, such as in the Diver X Skeleton. Photo: Ulysse Nardin](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/03/06/9d312f1f-bd7e-4f82-9d99-d6fe9b48793b_6a0c6a6f.jpg)
“Our silicium technology is unaffected by magnetic fields and it is extremely long lasting,” points out Jean-Christophe Sabatier, Ulysse Nardin’s chief product officer. “Nanotechnology is one of the rare technical breakthroughs that’s redefined the very traditional world of watchmaking.”
The watchmaker has gone so far as to partner with component manufacturer Sigatec, starting in 2006, to further develop the potential of nanotechnology. Over the years, the partnership has seen them create custom-made pieces with micron-level precision and the brand has evolved from using silicium escapements, to silicium hairsprings and even balance wheels.
Small is beautiful, as they say, but it’s also supremely functional.
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- Luxury brands continue to explore the possibilities of nanotechnology in haute horlogerie, allowing updates in increased miniaturisation, precision and reliability in its designs
- Zenith’s Julien Tornare says that using this technology allows the brand to ‘think outside the box’, as it constantly updates models like the Chronomaster El Primero and its Pilot watches