WatchTech

DonCorson
[AHCI]
3358

• Show profile
• Show other posts

WatchTech Field Trip #2 - A Visit to Chronode in Le Locle

WatchTech Field Trip #2 - A Visit to Chronode in Le Locle
Don Corson

Chronode is one of todays top independent watch design and watch making houses.  Based in Le Locle, Chronode is the labor of love of Mr. Jean-François Mojon who founded the company in 1995.  In the mean time Chronode has become an unavoidable name, designing and making watches for many big names like Harry Winston or MB&F and also for start-ups like Cyrus.



With the advent of the PuristPro WatchTech forum came the possibility for Chronode to branch out again.  Mr. Mojon and his team will be authoring for us a series of articles describing and explaining the working of many of the mechanisms of our watches and also some of the new mechanisms that they have invented for specific brands.

I am very much looking forward to learning not only the “how it works” but also “why it is like that” in the design of mechanisms and complications from people who are actively designing and producing new movement designs.



This little visit is to get to know Chronode better and learn about their capabilities.  Mr. Jean-François Mojon is himself an engineer in micro-technology and his company is a typical engineering company.  Chronode centralises the knowledge, the engineering and watchmaking competence, and produces documentation for suppliers to make the parts.  Small series and first series production are done in-house to be able to “get the bugs out”.  Larger quantity assembly of simple movements is then subcontracted, but the big complications are all completed in-house.  Chronode can supply its customers just the design with documentation so that the customer can produce themselves, through parts kits, complete movements, up to complete watches. 


The guiding thread in their work is the project, starting with a customer’s idea, or even simply the cry of a customer “give me something new and never seen before”.  Four project managers keep the relations between the customers, engineers and suppliers on the up and up.



The project manager’s principal tool, the telephone.



Moving on to the mechanical design department; here we find the stable knowledge base of the company which also forms a substantial portion of the employees.







In contrast to most (if not all) the other companies I have seen the design engineers are responsible to produce not only the 3D construction, but also the 2D production drawings as well as the assembly drawings to show the watchmakers how the parts are be assembled.  In most companies the production oriented work is done by draftsmen and not the engineers.

Once the production drawings are ready the logistic department takes over and draws on the long list of known suppliers to have the parts made.
When the parts arrive receiving does a thorough entry control, here, for example, on hands…







here on bands.



After getting the OK from receiving the parts get locked away into stock.



For each watch made a kit of parts is made.  For some customers this is the final delivery.



Moving on we see the prototype watchmakers shop.  These are the most skilled watchmakers who mount the very first units and do any debugging that might be necessary.  Their reports then go back to engineering if it is necessary to change anything to make a producible and reliable product.
As we can see it seems that working here is lots of fun…



if one is working  (do you recognise this guy?).



The bench tops seem too clean; they are working on “stuff” that will be introduced at Basel next spring.  A try to get a closer look is rewarded with this .



Close to the prototype shop are a couple of lathes and small machines to do any necessary touch-up and also this test bench.  This is for testing buttons, winding, etc.  A little programmable play ground to test the reliability of new mechanisms.



In another room the watchmakers are assembling the complicated movements that are not given out of house.  This includes the zero-series of movements that have been OKed by the prototypists.



Here we see the kits of parts for a new movement.







Service of produced watches is of course also a staple.
Here some parts are being cleaned for a watch that is back for its first service.



These watches produced for HYT are going through their final tests before delivery.



For this customer Chronode produces the complete watch.  This particular watch is one of the working prototypes that was shown at the last Basel Fair and that has been used for testing since then.


As we arrive at a finished watch we have seen the complete panoply of services supplied by Chronode to its customers.  Of course we have seen little that is recognisable, but that is the place of a supplier, they do the work, but put themselves in the shade and keep quiet.  They let the brands make the noise and wind up the advertising campaigns.   That their work is still seen and rewarded is proven by the Best Watchmaker Prize at the 2010 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève given to Jean-François Mojon and his team at Chronode.

With this look behind the scenes at Chronode I am looking forward to some very interesting articles from Mr. Mojon and his team and thank them for their work which has added so much of interest to the horological world in the last years. 


This message has been edited by DonCorson on 2012-11-03 14:57:29