Transformational shift?

[BacoNoir]

Have you all seen this? I don’t know how I missed it.

There’s a potential transformational shift in watchmaking upon us that could be similar to the quartz movement. Replacing 30 components with a single part made from silicon that deforms to create the motion and vibrates at a frequency of 108,000 vph! This replaces the hairspring, balance wheel, regulation assembly, and pallets with a silicon wafer 20 microns thick - shocking.



If this gets adopted industry wide, it will IMHO kill the soul of the mechanical watch as we know it.

Do you see this as the wave of the future or just something cool for bragging rights?

http://quillandpad.com/2018/01/06/zenit ... tchmaking/

[dnslater]

I don’t know..... it is still an Automatic Watch, one with more accuracy and less maintenance than a traditional Auto... and a super high beat. I am skeptical that this iron etching technology can be scaled to be affordable, but maybe.

[dnslater]

I don’t know..... it is still an Automatic Watch, one with more accuracy and less maintenance than a traditional Auto... and a super high beat. I am skeptical that this iron etching technology can be scaled to be affordable, but maybe.

[hoppyjr]

My guess is the technology is much too expensive to make a dent in the mechanical watch industry. This will be seen in very high end stuff and for a premium, like a tourbillon.

[KLR_Redux]

Neat in any case.

[fastward]

Interesting. Not sure if it will kill the industry, but agree with the views on production costs.

This does not seem to be a part that can be easily created at a high level for a low price.

[tattoo chef]

I don’t believe watches have a “soul. I get that traditional mechanical movements, especially high end are carefully assembled and tuned by craftsman.
But I have to say, the fact they are spending time and money to develop and evolve a mechanical movement is pretty damn cool.


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[dnslater]

Interesting. Not sure if it will kill the industry, but agree with the views on production costs.

This does not seem to be a part that can be easily created at a high level for a low price.

My first thought, then I think of the tech in a printed circuit board in a $15 toy.

[BacoNoir]

Interesting. Not sure if it will kill the industry, but agree with the views on production costs.

This does not seem to be a part that can be easily created at a high level for a low price.

My first thought, then I think of the tech in a printed circuit board in a $15 toy.

My thought exactly. While the cost f entry is prohibitive now, probably a very different story in 7-10 years.

[CoachH]

I think less than that, probably 3- 5 years. Could definitely be game changing.

[BacoNoir]

This video is a great explanation of how it works and has changed my perspective on this advancement. I now see it as a new design in mechanical movements and the video host has a similar perspective that this could be a transformational shift in watchmaking and become common place in the next 10 years.

https://youtu.be/D3s0y1mEe4A

[matt.wu]

Thanks for drawing our attention here. I never paid attention to the original announcement, mainly because I think Zenith is really bad at marketing, so I've been trained to simply ignore. I think the introduction and focus on the Aeronith case at the same time also detracted from the focus on the movement.

I'll be keeping a close eye on developments here, but it seems really promising.

[Morethan1]

Here's another one showing the dev team.

https://youtu.be/xWh0p9Irznw

[Axelay2003]

This looks very promising. Thanks for sharing.

[jeckyll]

This video is a great explanation of how it works and has changed my perspective on this advancement. I now see it as a new design in mechanical movements and the video host has a similar perspective that this could be a transformational shift in watchmaking and become common place in the next 10 years.

https://youtu.be/D3s0y1mEe4A

Very interesting, thanks for the video.

[BacoNoir]

Here's another one showing the dev team.

https://youtu.be/xWh0p9Irznw

Great video - shows the function of the new part much better.

[jeckyll]

It's crazy to see the oscillation...

[Morethan1]

It's crazy to see the oscillation...

It gave me a bit of anxiety to see it moving that fast...I'd rather it be in the back. Maybe that's just me.

[gamecock111]

Probably a good candidate for the next Mkii ready to wear project


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[dnslater]

Probably a good candidate for the next Mkii ready to wear project


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Perfect. By the time the MKII hands get through QC this movement will be mass production ready.

[Morethan1]

Probably a good candidate for the next Mkii ready to wear project


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Perfect. By the time the MKII hands get through QC this movement will be mass production ready.

Hahahahahahha

[Heuerville]

Interesting stuff. I wonder is this type of evolution will be used in very high end watches, or become a common tech.

I'm an old school kinda guy, probably like most of you.. however, it's always surprised me how uninventive the mechanical watch industry has been.
If you think about it, not great deal has changed (movement wise) in the last 20+ years. I know part of that is tradition, and the old 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

On the other hand, it's kinda nice that things haven't changed that much - in a world where everything gets outdated after 12 months, you can buy a watch that will last a lifetime, and you can pass onto your kids.

[BacoNoir]

Interesting stuff. I wonder is this type of evolution will be used in very high end watches, or become a common tech.

I'm an old school kinda guy, probably like most of you.. however, it's always surprised me how uninventive the mechanical watch industry has been.
If you think about it, not great deal has changed (movement wise) in the last 20+ years. I know part of that is tradition, and the old 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

On the other hand, it's kinda nice that things haven't changed that much - in a world where everything gets outdated after 12 months, you can buy a watch that will last a lifetime, and you can pass onto your kids.

Yeah, in my lifetime the changes have been incremental and small, yet this is a step change - first I’ve seen and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. Part of my love of watches is the rather simple mechanical nature that hasn’t changed significantly since the late 1800’s / early 1900’s.

[ChuckW]

Think of the change in technology of cars over the years and with the advent of electric and self driving cars, the possibilities are staggering. And yet, the attraction to the old school classics persists.

[Morethan1]

As an engineer, I see this is as the natural evolution of things.

I believe the goal here is to be more accurate while reducing cost. We saw this with quartz and spring drive.

If they can figure out how to eliminate more parts, they will.