The Silicon Revolution

General watch information including stories of movement and brand development, service information and watch/movement evolution.
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tempusmaximus
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The Silicon Revolution

Post by tempusmaximus »

Bernie
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Re: The Silicon Revolution

Post by Berkshire »

Interesting read, IMO the development and use of smart materials and new technologies can only be but good for the future of watchmaking. :thumbup:
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Boydesian
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Re: The Silicon Revolution

Post by Boydesian »

I came to this late but found the article very interesting. I wonder if there are any soon-to-be-released watches with silicon-based movements? I would be extremely curious to see how they function in the long run.
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benbjo
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Re: The Silicon Revolution

Post by benbjo »

While not all of silicon, Frederqiue Constant's in hourse movements uses a silicon escapement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d% ... e_Constant
problem son
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Re: The Silicon Revolution

Post by problem son »

Many thanks Bernie for bringing my attention to that fascinating article on he use of silicon in watchmaking. I must confess that even though I am chemically literate, I too actually forgot that silicon is a metallic hard element and different to the silicone we hear about all the time in the media when it comes to breast implants and other such topics.

If silicon can successfully be used to replace steel in certain watch components at a technical advantage while costing not much more than steel, then it is clearly in the watch makers' interests to use it. However, I would also hope that with future developments in the use of silicon, the costs and therefore the price of using this material would come down and filter into the lower echelons, whereby we can all tale advantage of it when we buy a new watch.

I would suggest that the future of the watchmaking industry globally is almost at a crossroads, or point of hiatus, as we find the use of smart technology taking over the role of traditional watches - whether digital or analogue. At the moment, the watch industry would appear to be held aloft by two main strands. Firstly there is the luxury prestige end of the market, which seems to be still an important market sector for the industry, and secondly, loosely speaking, there is the fashion market for watches which still seems to be going strong. I say, "loosely speaking" because I would include within the fashion sphere some of the retro-designs being produced by quite respectable brands who do not make the whole (if any part) of their watches in-house yet maintain good standards of quality and design.

It will be fascinating to see how the market for watches develops over the next decade, and perhaps by then, silicon will have helped revolutionise the accuracy and durability of the wristwatch for all of us who like or need to wear a watch.