The Technical Watchmaker Show is officially back for its 3rd edition after a two-year absence.

Dedicated especially to the watchmaking and microtechnology trades, the show will be held from September 20th to 23rd, 2022 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the capital of watchmaking know-how, at the old slaughterhouse, as was the case for the last edition in 2019.

Three companies of the Acrotec Group will be present.

At booth N°B1, come discover the new technology of the lumɇn & drøp, the high-end watchmaking equipment, or the 4-point measuring device from Petitpierre.

Alongside them, you will find a high-speed camera especially dedicated to the watchmaking industry, as well as the new generation of chronometric measurement instruments developed by H2i, including the Accuracy Motion and the HMS state-of-the-art measurement module.

At booth B12, you will be able to see the beautiful oscillating weights and crafts from Horlyne.

You can sign up to the event by clicking here.

EPHJ, the world’s largest trade fair for high precision, subcontracted watchmaking and jewelry, microtechnology and medical technology, will return for a 2022 edition from June 14 to 17 at Palexpo Geneva.

Meet H2i on the Acrotec booth G-H35 and discover the latest technologies and innovations.

New for this edition! For its 20th anniversary, EPHJ has decided to organize a job dating day devoted to candidates, future graduates and future apprentices who will have the opportunity to meet company managers on Friday, June 17.

Create your badge by clicking here and meet us on booth G-H35!

H2i’s new dynamic acoustic measurement device, the Accuracy Motion was declared the winner of the EPHJ 2020 Exhibitors Grand Prix for its contribution to high-precision watchmaking.

Pushing the limits of watchmaking measurement

Thanks to dozens innovative solutions received by the EPHJ jury, the 2020 Exhibitors Grand Prix was able to go ahead despite the live Trade Show event being cancelled. The Exhibitors voted that H2i’s revolutionizing acoustic measurement instrument, the Accuracy Motion, was the most deserving of the winning prize for its contribution to high-precision watchmaking. The outstanding innovation of this instrument lies in its ability to automatically test the chronometric precision of mechanical movements in 32,400 3D watch positions. To explain the significance of the innovation, it should be mentioned that previous limit for this measurement was just 6 positions. The direct adjustment with an inertial and strain wave gearing unit brings this product closer to aerospace technologies than to the standard watchmaking industry.

H2i Accuracy Motion dynamic acoustic watch measurement device

Celebrating this well-deserved success, Jean-Charles Rousset and Emmanuel Baudet, co-directors of H2i, highlighted the importance of their achievement: “We are very happy with this recognition from our peers. We have worked tirelessly with the Acrotec Group R&D team at our shared premises in Cortaillod, Switzerland, to push the technological limits of acoustic measurement for watches. This product enables watch manufacturers to put in place test and control measurements with optimal chronometric quality for their watches.”

The other finalists of the 2020 Exhibitors EPHJ Grand Prix were Fischer Connectors SA, Norimat, Meyrat SA and Tornos SA. EPHJ is the most important professional annual show for the high-precision sector embracing jewelry, watchmaking and MedTech, and a haven for micro-technologies and latest innovations. After the announcement of the winner, H2i had the pleasure of welcoming officials from the EPHJ Show to its premises at Cortaillod in Neuchâtel, to hand over the trophy to the company’s two founding directors, in the presence of Acrotec Group CEO, François Billig.

H2i’s co-directors together with Acrotec Group’s CEO François Billig and EPHJ officials

Cortaillod (Neuchâtel), CH, April 19, 2017

Recognized for its innovative strength in the field of precision measurement for mechanical watches, H2i has become part of Petitpierre, a flagship Swiss micro-technology company with over 40 years of experience in watchmaking and high-tech mechanical engineering.

Trailblazing high-precision watchmaking measurement

This acquisition complements and strengthens the Petitpierre’s portfolio of competencies, now incorporating chronometric measurement and demagnetization. The complimentary skills of each company will strenghten the products and services that have shaped their reputations: the development and production of watchmaking tools, automation machines and high precision measurement devices for the watchmaking industry. Their common vision will be to produce technically perfect products, while offering a superior user experience. This will be accomplished by providing optimal product functionality, designs, smooth interfacing and optimization of every detail.

Watchmaker’s tool set

“By joining Petitpierre, we are addressing small gaps in our offering and increasing the commercialization of our designs”, said Emmanuel Baudet, co-founder of H2i. While developing new products, H2i puts a great focus on the design and user experience. “Even if it is a very technical laboratory machine, our instruments are well designed. The computer interface is very ergonomic and, above all, these instruments are Plug & Play”, said Jean-Charles Rousset, the other co-founder of H2i. H2i’s customers are mainly watch brands and laboratories. Next to this they also offer a line of measurement tools for watch collectors and retailers under the name ONEOF, to monitor the accuracy of watches and demagnetize them.

Watchmaking PPSA Soft Pickups

Emmanuel Baudet and Jean-Charles Rousset founded H2i (Horlogerie Innovation Instrumentation) in June 2014. They previously worked together on a number of projects involving complex and extremely avant-garde horological oscillators. Their many years of experience in the horology industry showed that accurate measurement is crucial for successful innovation in watchmaking. Together they developed several worldwide patents relating to new methods of measuring mechanical watch precision. Combining their highly complementary skill sets rapidly enabled them to establish strong partnerships with major Swiss watch brands and offer them a range of high-quality, high-performance and carefully tailored tools.

Petitpierre is a member company of Acrotec Group, one of the major centers of Swiss micromechanics. “The Acrotec group is enthusiastic about this partnership”, said Philippe Metzger, Chief Marketing Officer, commenting the acquisition.

H2i’s ONEOF has released the Accuracy Boutique Edition, the very first connected watch demagnetization tool specifically designed for in-store use and capable of simultaneously measuring and demagnetising any mechanical watch.

Magnetization is today’s watchmakers’ number one pain point

Magnetization of a watch mechanical movement has become one of the most serious problems for all watch manufactures. Strong magnetic fields are emitted by an increasing number of commonly used items, such as smartphones, speakers, vehicles and even leather goods. Magnetization can cause a significant loss of watch precision, up to several minutes per day. This problem negatively affects customer satisfaction and can eventually hurt a brand’s reputation. Statistics show that up to 35% of after-sales returns are linked to magnetized watches.

Accuracy Boutique Edition, the most efficient watch demagnetization tool

Digitalizing watchmaking precision measurement and demagnetization

ONEOF Accuracy Boutique Edition was designed in partnership with famous Swiss watch brands and delivers the most efficient solution to watch demagnetization. Mechanical watches can now be demagnetized directly in store. The Boutique Edition is extremely user-friendly: once a watch is placed on the analyzing platform, it takes
less than two minutes to check, measure, and demagnetise the device with a single touch on the app. While other demagnetizers available on the market use a variety of dedicated adapters depending on the country, Accuracy Boutique Edition requires no battery or power supply and uses the cross-platform USB standard to connect to a tablet for reading results. Both its aluminum unibody and the App can be customised with a brand’s color and logo. With its neat design and extraordinary ease of use, Accuracy Boutique Edition undoubtedly simplifies the maintenance of today’s mechanical watches and adds great value to the customer experience.

Watch demagnetization in process with Accuracy Boutique Edition