From August 19 to 27, in Hungary, Budapest will be the scene of the World Championships in Athletics. Official sponsor of the Japanese national team, the Japanese watchmaker Seiko will also act as timekeeper for the sporting event which this year celebrates its 19th edition. The brand thus provides the event with high-resolution cameras capable of recording 60 images per second in order, for example, to measure the momentum speed of the triple jump, as well as the distance or height of each phase: the hop, stride and long jump.
In addition, Seiko unveils on this occasion a limited edition of 4,000 pieces of the Prospex Speedtimer solar chronograph fashioned in a 42 mm diameter steel case. The latter features a dial reminiscent of the surface of athletics race tracks, and incorporates four sub-counters displaying the 1/100th of a second at 2 o’clock, the 1/10th of a second at 10 o’clock, the seconds at 12 o’clock and the minutes at 6 a.m.
Over the years, silicon has become an integral part of fine watchmaking calibres, offering new development prospects with movements that are insensitive to the effects of magnetism, the number one enemy of precision. For twenty years, the French deeptech SilMach, based in Besançon, has been interested with CNRS researchers in the properties of this mineral in universes as distinct as aeronautics or watchmaking. This, through its microelectronic systems MEMS (Micro-electromechanical systems). A pioneer in micromechanics on silicon, SilMach has developed PowerMems solutions, i.e. silicon micromotors and microsystems intended to animate ultra-compact and very precise mechanisms.
The goal? Replace the movements of quartz and connected watches with a 100% French silicon motor, less energy-intensive, more compact, more powerful and totally resistant to magnetic fields. This state-of-the-art technology can now be found in the TheTimeChanger concept watch recently unveiled by SilMach. Limited to 1,088 pieces, it is the world’s first timepiece powered by a silicon heart and capable of controlling the rotation of two ultra-light hands. Cock-a-doodle Doo !
Founded in 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic, Geneva Watch Days takes the form of a multi-brand – mostly independent – watch fair that defines itself as “decentralized and self-managed” under the aegis of the city and canton of Geneva. The concept, which every year since its creation has met with certain success, is based on three pillars: a decentralization of the places where the watch collections are exhibited (large hotels, boutiques, factories and a vast tent set up on the Quai du Mont-Blanc), digitalization in parallel in order to share information with the whole world, and an opening to the public. Alongside flagships such as Bulgari, Breitling, Girard-Perregaux or Ulysse Nardin, we also note the presence of brands such as Doxa, HYT, Laurent Ferrier, Ressence or Reservoir. In total and for this 4th edition, 40 houses will exhibit from August 29 to September 2 their new products of a wide variety, in all styles and at all prices.
“Not a club, not a secret society.” These are the words that can be found on the Société de l’Horlogerie’s Instagram account. This Parisian association, with more than original and friendly activities, actually has only one goal: to bring together lovers of fine watchmaking and pétanque enthusiasts. Thus, every week, retailers, journalists, brand managers, influencers or press relations officers gather in Paris, from the very intimate Place Dauphine to the Tuileries Gardens, to shoot, point and of course talk about watches. In short, this little microcosm brings together both women and men bound by the same passion, lovers of watchmaking craftsmanship and believing in a lasting friendship.
These bowlers of a new kind have moreover very recently imagined a watchmaking object for the moment in the state of prototype and adapted to petanque. The idea, which germinated in their minds during a game, consists of a jack. The latter was made with the manufacture, unsurprisingly Swiss, Roventa-Henex. Made of boxwood, it meets precise specifications, those of the very serious International Federation of Petanque. It thus makes it possible to count the points of two teams by integrating a bidirectional bezel in graduated aluminum. A nice nod to the diving references that are often equipped with this device.
