Luxury watchmakers are innovating to defy traditional approaches

Over at LVMH, there was cause for celebration as Zenith unveiled on September 14 what it called “the world’s most accurate mechanical watch”, thanks to a new type of oscillator.

The humble oscillator, which has remained largely unchanged since it was first created by Christiaan Huygens in 1675, has undergone a major engineering overhaul. Gone are the 30 or so odd pieces that make up an oscillator. Now, it has been reimagined as a monolithic whole made of monocrystalline silicon, with parts thinner than a human hair. The oscillator itself is barely 0.5mm thick and is shock resistant up to 5,000G.

It beats at a frequency of 15 Hertz, but despite its high frequency, it is exceptionally accurate with a mean daily rate price to within 0.3 seconds. The accuracy is retained beyond 24 hours, at a continued rate for 95 per cent of its 60-hour power reserve.

The hi-tech material it is made of means it is insensitive to temperature gradients, gravity and magnetic fields, leading to greater precision.

One of the biggest benefits from using a monolithic model is that there is no friction to worry about, as it isn’t rubbing against any other parts. And no friction means there is no need for oil or regular servicing, greatly enhancing the efficiency and reliability of the oscillator – and the watch as a whole.

The credit for the oscillator goes to Guy Sémon, CEO of the research and development institute of the LVMH Watch Division, who approached Biver with the idea of creating a totally new approach to timekeeping in late 2013. With Biver on board, the project was named “X Time” and kept as a secret project between the two of them before opening it up to a select few.

The secret behind the oscillator, Biver says, is the compliant mathematics.

“[If other brands want to copy] they must have the formula. The problem is, it’s not the shape that makes [the oscillator] work – it’s the 220 pages of mathematical formulas,” Biver says.