the atelier
Travailler Et Jouer means “Work and Play” in french. The name embodies what goes on in the atelier. Travailler - to work, to labor; represents the laborious process invested in watchmaking. From the dial to the case, our watches are hand-made, hand-finished and produced in-house. Yet for all the work we put in, enjoying the fruits of our labor drives us to work hard everyday.
THE POWDER
After priming the copper base dial, we powder it with glass powder. The quality and treatment of the powder has to be of utmost importance to prevent flaws on the dial.
Grand Feu Enamelling
KILN FIRED
After powdering, the dial is put into a kiln and fired at 700C.
The powder is heated till it melts and becomes vitreous.
When it cools after being removed, it hardens to form a solid enamel surface.
Kiln-Fired
HAND FINISHING
The dial is filed and sanded to remove any carbon residue from the firing process. Once cleaned after each round of firing, the process is repeated to layer the dial with powder and then fired.
A total of about 7 layers of repeated firing is required for each dial before the final finishing and inspection.
Hand Finishing
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Throughout this process, there is a high chance of failure from dial bending, cracking and uneven layering. Grand Feu enamelling is labor intensive and extremely time consuming, but the end product is unparalleled beauty; far superseding the Epoxy enamel or Industrial enamel methods used in watches around this price range.
5AXIS CNC
Advanced 5-axis computer numerical controlled machining systems are used for parts manufacturing.
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Unorthodox machining are used to cut the teardrop design for the strap and the apertures for the crown, and to create the complex open surfaces.
After precision machining, the parts with a difficult geometries are created either by hand or by a computer numerical controlled wirecut machine and/or an electric discharge machine. The tolerance for the parts is +/–0.005 mm, to as low as +/–0.001 mm.
Advanced Precision Manufacturing
SEMI-CON GRADE 316L STAINLESS STEEL
During manufacturing, dimensional measurements of the parts are precisely checked. All the edges are deburred and rounded off. All machining marks are removed, and the surfaces are precisely polished, or satin-finished and/or textured.
For final finishing, a series of complex inspections and testing are carried out to complete the case production process. The case parts are manufactured from 316L stainless-steel which are made from plates, specially produced using semiconductor industry standard.
Advanced Material
SELLITA SW 210-1
The time-tested Swiss movement is highly reliable and sufficiently robust for daily wear. It packs a shock protection Incabloc balance and a 44 hours power reserve.
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We regulate our movements to strict standards for that extra peace of mind and time keeping accuracy.
Swiss Mechanical Movement
