Jaeger-LeCoultre

Dje
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A secret but looked after work at Jaeger-LeCoultre : the works of galvanoplasty.

 

Galvanoplasty may not make you think at first sight of a craft necessary for a hand coveted watch production.

 

The Jaeger-LeCoultre galvanoplasty works

 

You may not even know, or know precisely what galvanoplasty is!

 

Here is the man who knows : Mr Thierry Mesnier, head of galvanoplasty at MJLC

Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of those few manufactures that have verticalized the production of luxury mechanical watches to an extent that is hard to beat, among other strengths.

A typical piece from one of our favorite brands

While swimming in the Lac de Joux last summer I wondered if verticalization was serious to the extent that I should beware the local crocodiles! 

One of the largest pieces treated in this service, from the Atmos

We can smile a little but that’s one of the very few aspects that are not carried on by JLC itself.

Another piece from the Atmos, but a smaller one, we’ll see it again later

Regarding galvanoplasty, JLC makes it on its own. This is not so well known as the galvanoplasty works are not the most visited facility of the Manufacture. The work done there uses chemicals and electrical power, not the perfect combination for children group visits!

Very different pieces are awaiting treatment

So what is galvanoplasty? Basically this is the process of coating a piece with a thin layer of metal by electrochemical means. Electrolysis is used to cover a surface which conducts electricity with a metallic layer.

All is done in a liquid environment

This thin layer can be protective and/or decorative. Nickel coating is aimed at protecting against corrosion, while gold plating in horology is mainly decorative (what is obviously not the objective for gold plating electronical components for instance).

Pieces are rinsed between each phase of treatment

Rinsing and cleaning for the best result

The word galvanoplasty comes from the name of the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani. His discoveries took a great place in the development of the use of electricity. While we Frenchies eat frog legs, this physician used them to convey electricity at a time when France was busy at cutting royal heads. From these discoveries Volta invented the first battery. I’m not saying that Galvani invented the quartz watch, but without him…..someone else would have had to do it. Still the history of galvanoplasty begun millenaries before the creation of this name.

Some work is manually operated

Half of the installation is automatized

Here is the piece that we saw earlier, now finished

Raw pieces are put in several baths of different liquids, with different levels of electrical power, depending on what has to be done.

Some pieces of a very much looked after watch, the Amvox2

The brake calliper ?

Schematically here is what would be the process for a main plate: first the brass piece is engraved, then it is nickel coated in the galvanoplasty works, then gold plated. The next step consists in varnishing the piece before applying Geneva stripes (the varnish gives the colour of the text). The application of Geneva stripes removes the varnish excepted in the engraving (it also removes nickel and gold plating excepted in the engraving). The piece is finally nickel then rodhium plated. As you may imagine the varnish doesn’t receive plating as it does not convey electricity. Obvioulsy there is not a single process and it all depends on the final result expected.

The manually operated installation

The automatic installation

Galvanoplasty is a very precise craft at Jaeger-LeCoultre. Everything is controlled. Some pieces are randomly examined.

Controlling

Lots of work around

Thickness is electronically verified

Do we really need so much precision? Yes…….

Let me say that some pieces wearing other brand names are also finished in this facility.

I hope to be able to share with you some other secret work at JLC sometime soon.

All this may help you love even more your little watch hopefully.

Dje

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