Mastering the techniques of the past and securing the innovations of the future

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Mastering the techniques of the past and securing the innovations of the future - Newsletter
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As the pairings of TAG Heuer/Cristiano Ronaldo and Hublot/ Roy Hodgson provided the football-themed celebrity watchmaking news, the Richemont Group kicked off the week with news of a huge investment in research.

At last week's press conference, Richemont’s co-CEO Richard Lepeu admitted that the group rarely communicates in its own name. But when it does the news is significant. In this case it was the announcement of a major investment in the funding of a new academic chair in multi-scale manufacturing technologies at the EPFL. Multi-scale manufacturing technologies? EPFL? Our article deciphers these terms, explains the scope of this chair and discusses its importance for the future of the watchmaking industry.

On an altogether different, more artistic, theme, David Chokron presents a mixed menagerie of animal-themed watches he encountered at Baselworld this year. Featuring creatures both real and mythical, this horological bestiary is another fine example of the levels of creativity found in the Swiss watchmaking industry.

Olivier Müller’s article on skeletonisation and openworking proved popular. He explains the difference between these two often-confused techniques with the example of Hysek, which is one of the few brands to combine both of them in the same timepiece. Olivier also visited Blancpain’s farm in Le Brassus recently, which the brand moved into 30 years ago. He recalls some of the most significant developments at the brand over this period in an article to be published this week.

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