Chopard

PuristS On Tour (P.O.T) 2009 : Day 1(Morning) to Chopard Fleurier

 

The 2009 PuristS On Tour (P.O.T) to Chopard Manufacture began on 11 October to 13 October 2009.

All of us arrived on the 11 October and a welcome dinner was organised by Chopard.



Mr Patrick Wehrli, our host was with us for the dinner.




Day 1 of 2,  12 October 2009 - Visit to Chopard Fleurier


For Don's report of Day 1, please click here.

A view from my room facing Lac Leman at 7:30am. Cooling and refreshing!


After our breakfast, at about 8:30am  we set off for our Day ONE visit to Chopard Manufacture in Fleurier.

The virtual friends were still busy catching up at the round-table in the coach ...



Some pictures on the way to Fleurier ...










Greeted by a beautiful along the way ...





The road-signs ...less than 10 minutes away...


Entering Fleurier ...


9:49 am .... Chopard Manufacture on sight!


We arrived after one hour and twenty minutes!

It was quite cold, with the wind blowing .... quickly entered the building ...


Hey! It's Ms Ann Walther, our co-host for Chopard Manufacture-Fleurier and she is also the Curator of the LUCEUM.
I'm equally glad to meet her again after last year 'pilgrimage'. 
(To view my last visit, please click here. )



Everyone of us was given an entry-pass ...


The Chopard Manufacture is certified ISO 9001:2000.



Extracted from the website of ISO (International Organization for Standardization):

ISO 9001:2000 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization

1. needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements, and
2. aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable regulatory requirements.



Appreciating some art pieces at the lobby ....











After that, a short refreshment before the tour commenced ...



A 'high calibre' tray ...

After ten minutes we gathered again at the ground floor ...



Mr Patrick Wehrli explaining about the L.U.C Qualite Fleurier watch, a piece which is manufactured in this manufacture
and pass through many stringent tests of the Fleurier Quality Foundation (FQF).


Entering the machine shop which produce all the metal components ...










Several high-tech multi-axis Mill Turn machine centre with extremely high precision. 
These machines typically reside in  the precision, aerospace and watch industries.











Having a look of some of the components produced by the machines ....
 

The Bridges ...

This is for the L.U.C 1.98 Quattro.

Showed about is the top side.  Bridges were engraved, holes were drilled and chamfered and milled out. 

The exterior holes are for alignment purpose, for the reverse side, shown in the next pic.


The reverse side, with the brass material milled out ...


After that, the external perimeter was removed ....



And cut into its respective parts .... 2 bridges and the balance cock.





The remain after the rotors were cut out ....

The rotor of the Pro One...a very hard and dense material - tungsten.






Some components for the various models of L.U.C Tourbillons ....

Aluminium Tourbillon cage ....













Parts/components are checked with visual measuring machine which could capture the many of the key dimensions and
at the same time, could inspect the cosmetic appearance and quality of cut of the parts under high-magnification.








For some precise holes, gauges with incremental of 0.001mm (1 micron) !


Why was Mr Patrick Wehrli pulling his hair?! 

He was explaining there are some precise cavities which cut using a fine wire thinner than the human hair.
Well he measured his was about 2 mils or 50 microns



A view of the fine wire on the wire-cut machine.


A batch of bridge-assembly ready to be be milled.



Heading upstair ...


The Decorating Department ...


Dropped by the Perlage/Stippling station ....

The stippling-rod is resurfaced using an oil-stone so that the patterns are consistent.


Then proceed to work onto plates and bridges.




A previously shown video of the perlage / stippling process

Mr Patrick Wehrli also highlighted, L.U.C movements are decorated at areas which are not visible. He was using
the L.U.C tie (with the bee-hive logo) as an illustration, even the underneath layer was decorated


Some examples of plates decorated on both sides and also the 'Before & After' .....

Mainplate - Before decorated

Mainplate - After perlage

The reverse  undecorated side.

After stippling ...

What's next capturing everyone's attention?


It's the bridges' bi-colour engraving ...

As the bridges are already decorated, perlage and anglage , and also gold-plated, care must be taken to
preserve the cosmetic of both surfaces.

The question is how to hold the bridges for machine engraving?

L.U.C uses an innovative approach of freezing the parts to hold them while the machine engraves the alphabets on.

The above picture showed 3 bridges were frozen in a matter of 10 seconds.

After engraving, using a softer prespex rod to remove the top layer of ice to check engraved quality.

To remove, the bridges, the temperature on the fixture was raised melting the ice.

To achieve the bi-colour effect, a layer of protective varnish is coated over the letterings before going through the next
nickel and rhodium platings.

The protective varnish is applied by syringes and also ...

fine brushes ...

An example of a bridge without the protective varnish...

Letterings coated with the protective varnish (black).

After all platings, the part will look as shown below.  Bi-Colour, gold engraved texts with a white rhodium base....

Next is the burnishing ...

The tools

A side by side comparison....unfinished piece (on the left) and the fully finished on the right.

Next to the Assembly Division ...

Put on a dust-coat before entering ...

Calibrating a movement for COSC test.

A workdesk with the tools and timing machines.

Patrick explaining the assembly processes ...

Fitting in the jewels ...

Working on sapphire bridge...



After the assembly, we visited the Plating Facility ....

The pieces to be plated are placed on the hooks of the fixture ...

Samples of  platings ...

After the plating, all parts will be thoroughly washed through the industrial cleaner ...

The first model of the L.U.C Qualite Fleurier at the lobby of the Chopard Manufacture ...

Now we have the FIRST PIECE of the L.U.C Qualite Fleurier!

The "Prototype No. 01" is worn by Mr Maurizio Ciurleo, the Administrative Director of Chopard Manufacture.

A group shot before breaking for lunch  ....




For the three-part afternoon session for Day 1, please the following links :

(Afternoon Part 1 of 3) to Fondation Qualité Fleurier (FQF)

(Afternoon Part 2 of 3) to L.U.CEUM

(Afternoon Part 3 of 3) Some Watches


Dinner at Mr Karl-Friedrich Scheufele's Residence



For Day 2 Visit to Chopard Geneva, please click here.



This message has been edited by Kong on 2009-12-27 21:21:43 This message has been edited by Kong on 2010-05-07 03:12:53 This message has been edited by Kong on 2010-05-07 03:49:30

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