Chopard

Kong
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Chopard Factory Visit, Part 1

Back in last summer, July 2008 ( just before the watchmaking holidays), I was thrilled to be invited by Chopard L.U.C to visit the plants in Geneva and Fleurier. 

The plan was to visit  the Geneva plant on first day followed by Fleurier (in Val-de-Travers). The third day was left to my great host, Mr. Patrick Wehrli to plan for a surprise visit.

I will give an overview of the three-day 'working' trip and another city-tour, also by my friendly Geneva tour-guide, who else, other than Patrick   in several parts. 
After which, I would like to work on specific writeup on the departments/sections I have seen, once I managed to get more details.

Please pardon me for some poor pictures as I just upgraded to a DSLR from my loyal point & shoot three days before the trip, so yet to learn to use the DSLR well.

Now for Day 1 of the plant visit, the plant at Meyrin, Geneva.



Start of Day 1

Patrick picked me up from the nice cosy hotel which Chopard has checked me in at 8:30am.

About twenty minutes drive, we arrived at the Geneva plant's huge carpark.




Within the Geneva site, there are 2 main blocks.  Will show the second block later.

We will visit the main manufacturing facility block first.




Welcome by the majestic signage of L.- U. Chopard & Cie S.A. 

The full name is Louis-Ulysee Chopard.



Walking towards the main entrance,  I realise Chopard's address is with an auspicous '8' !

I relooked at Patrick's business card ...hmm.... the full address of this location is:

Rue de Veyrot 8
CH-1217 Meyrin 2 - Geneve.


Upon entering the main entrance, we were greeted by the smiley receptionists.

No time to lose.  First stop, Patrick escorted me to the smelting section.

Chopard has the inhouse capabilities to smelt gold and blend various alloys for several decades it has been a major players in the world of jewellery.  Though many thought Chopard is a jewellery manufacturer, in actual fact, Chopard started out as a watch-making company.



A brief history about Chopard ...

Louis-Ulysse Chopard's family involved with horology since 1730.  After which he took up watchmaking following the advice of his father and founded his company in 1860.  After which it was succeeded by his grandson, Paul-Andre Chopard.  However none of his sons were interested in taking over.  Fortunately, Paul-Andre knew Karl Scheufele and they got along well.  Karl Scheufele at that time has a company, ESZEHA, which manufactured watches and jewellery. In 1963, Karl Scheufele bought over Chopard.  Subsequently Karl Scheufele's son, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and daughter, Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele came on board.  And in 1996, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele L.U.C founded L.U.C, returning to roots, re-focusing on the core competence -  watchmaking.



On the left, is the 'ingredients' to blend various gold alloys ranging from yellow 2N, rose 4N and white gold.
The ingredients are copper, palladium and also silver.

In the middle is a smelted bar from the mold, and then flattened to the required thickness (as shown rightmost) for the fabrication of cases or buckles.


The engineer operating on the high temperature smelting machine.


Observe the various thickness of the gold alloy from the smelted out bar (topmost) to the required thickness bar for next process.
The above bar was a 2N yellow gold alloy bar and the code number was marked for traceability.



The next area visited was the stamping section.



The cases are formed by progressive stamping steps. The number of progression could range from 10 to 15 steps,
depends on the complexity of the design.

The above case, only 3 sequential was shown out of the 15.  From the left-side, the blank out case profile followed by a light step to form a rim around the crystal and then a step at both sides of the body.


The above bundle of pieces are the full progression-step for this particular case design.



The high tonnage press.


The tool was pressing down on a piece of the casing.


Another tooling was setup on another machine to blank out a part of the deployant buckle.



Some gold alloy raw materials being sized down and ready to be stamped.


Some semi-finished case, awaiting for the next step...



A technician verifying a part after adjusting the tooling before production continued.



These are some of the toolings (matched male and female die) for forming the cases and other parts like casebacks and buckles. Toolings are expensive investment to make and maintain. They are planned with the intention for mass production.

For lower production quantity, CNC machinery will be used to mill out the parts.



Raw materials are annealed through a conveyor furnace to relieve stress before forming to prevent microcrack,
weakening the structure of the part.


Another conveyor furnace.



Next we were onto the Machining Section.


CNC (Computer Numerical Control)  machinery was programmed to cut a certain part.

Cutting fluid was pumped to the cutting site to cool and lubricate the cut, and to flush away the swarf.


The cutting fluid was collected and recycled.  This is a good manufacturing practice as it is the preferred method of disposal due to the environmental concerns regarding potential contamination with cutting fluid. 



Guess which component was being cut?

A bar of raw steel raw material was fed into the CNC machine...


And voila out from the machine rather quickly... the links for the bracelet.

The component was accurately cut to size and at the same time, two holes were drilled.

The wonder of multi-axis CNC machines!


Micrometer and digital test indicators are in placed for the technicians to check components machined
at regular intervals to ensure within specifications. 


A casing was being measured.



An alternative approach to case-making


Solid steel bar ...


Converted to cases ...




CNC machine-cutting tools carousel.



Cutting fluid (coolant) was applied as per the reasons mentoned above.



Completed milled parts were stored automatically in the magazines by the machine.



All these cases were churned out by the mulit-axis CNC machines.

These cases were for one of the Mille Miglia collection.


Though the CNC machines are extremely accurate, the cutting tools will get blunt after certain duration or
a number of cases.  Thus a 'Go or No-Go gauge' was fabricated for fast check at regular interval.




To determine the absolute dimension, a computerized Visual Measurement System is used to determine
the exact dimensions.



However fast a CNC machine could produce the cases, there are still areas which require
human intervention to manually locate and remove the burrs.




The skillful technician with the help of a magnifying glass could spot the burrs and deburr them.



At another station, witnessed the assembly of the bracelet ...



All the links were placed into a fixture and the holes were re-drilled to clear off any burrs and to bring the
diameter to the correct size.



After that each piece was polished to shine by the skillful craftmen.



The piece on the left, lustrously polished.  The piece on the right side is an unfinished piece.



The meticulously polished links were then sent to the assembler who patiently arranged the links
in order and then secured them together forming the bracelet.








Back to case-making  again ...



The assembly of the crown with a fixture.




Some finished casebacks packed in protective badgs.



That's Patrick Wehrli in suit. 

Notice that a craftsman was working under a laminar flow cabinet? 

The laminar flow cabinet ensured a dust-free environment.  Air was drawn through a HEPA filter
and blown in a very smooth, laminar flow towards the user, forming like an air curtain preventing
contamination from outside from getting in.

This was the final assembly of the casing....


He scrutinized for any imperfection on the surfaces of the case, from front to back ...


Once it was confirmed clean, the case-back was mounted and secured.




The completed pieces were placed back in the tray and sent over to the movement assembly section.



Time passed so fast ... about 11:10am, Patrick suggested early lunch to avoid the 'rush hour'.
I have requested to eat in the company canteen as I would like to see what the Chopard people eat too.



On the way to canteen, we passed by the 'in-house clinic'. 
Wow!  That's pretty thoughtful of the company.
For workers who are not feeling, they need not travel far to seek consultation.

After lunch, we proceed to the jewellery section ...

This section with two craftsmen, was very interesting.
Both of them can make mold any shapes with metals/alloys. 




See the various shape and sizes items made by some students, under training were amazing.




A plastic or metal specimen (or master pattern)  was made before the blue piece. 

It should be a CAD/CAM ( Computer Aided Drawing/ Computer Aided Manufacturing) process.

The required shape was drawn in 3D model with one of the CAD programs and then using CAM to
fabricate the first component piece in either metal or plastic.  One of the possible technologies is Stereolithography (SLA).

Stereolithography is a "Rapid Prototyping" process which produces a physical three dimensional object as per what was drawn in CAD.




With referernce to the above picture, the master pattern was used to a cast out the mold (beige halves).

The casted mold  was used to replicate more of the the blue pattern.  (Did not manage to get the materials for the mold and blue parts).

After which, the craftsman using the replicated blue-parts to fix up a 'multiple-pattern tree' (rightmost of the above picture).  A production mold will be created using this 'tree'. 
Each cycle now will produce 16 parts ( 4 pieces per column, and  4 columns).





The Cannes' Palme d'Or award with others patterns and molds.



Next, have you ever wondered how cabochon (on the crown) was made?


It started from the raw unpolished industrial piece.


The raw cabochon was bonded onto a metal stem which may be machine-turned into crown.

The stem with the cabochon was mounted into something like a drill-chuck and lapped till the color shown.


The lapped cabochons.



Next was the engraving section ...




Some of the tools of the trade ....  the microscope and the rotating-holder.


All engraving work is done under a microscope.


The work.

The piece to be engraved was held in place by the black substance - wax.

How was the wax applied?

With the Alladdin Lamp (in the blur background of the above picture with the hand-tools)





In case you did not spot it, this is the lamp.



Another fine example of a skeletonized rotor...with the Chopard logo floating!


The famous bees-caseback of the L.U.C Qualite Fleurier, each hand-engraved by the Master Engraver.

For those who has lesser bees, you may be able to request to add, however subtraction is not possible


An apprentice working under going training with the Master Engraver.





The engravers also do the setting of the diamonds for jewellery or on watches.

The rotating-holder was securing the bezel which was hold firmly by the wax.
The importance of the rotating-holder allows the engraver's hand holding the chisel to remain in
a constant position while the part turns. This allows the engraver to vary the pressure  to
achieve broader or thinner cut-strokes.


As the Master Engraver was busy, we moved on to next door....still in the Jewellery section.





Two exhibits of awards which Chopard made and sponsored.



The Palme d'Or,  the highest prize awarded to competing films at the Cannes Film Festival.



The jewellery setting section.



Was shown these 2 pieces of diamonds...both were at least 3 carats!



A reference of the size on a hand.



Laser micro-welders for  metal joining and repair applications.

Without these 2 sets of advance welders, some complex jewellery designs could only stay on paper!


Coming to the watch assembly section ...


This section assembled and also repaired Chopard mechanical watches.






Testing my watches on a timer...




Tools used by the watchmakers.




Cyclotest Winder and Tester.




A UV Curing machine...wonder what is it for?
Wonder if UV adhesive is used or  to test colour fastness of the dials & straps?

I also asked how watches are packed after repair ... 

A nice lady showed me the steps ...


Watch wipe clean and ensure no smudges.

Then wrapped it around a thin dense styrofoam sheet.  The sheet supposedly to act as shock absorber.




The padded piece.





Then the watch was place into a thick plastic-bag.



The watch in the bag was place in the vacuum-sealing machine.




Door close, and 4 seconds ....




The watch was sealed air-tight.
Wonder how effective is this packaging?


More test machines, as I crossed the room ...


These are supposedly to be the latest generation of Water Proof testers.



Some previous version...


Another older version ....



Another older version ....




A production Timing Machine, capable of measuring 10 watches at one time.
 


This is likely to test quartz pieces.



A semi-automatic hands installer.

 

Entered into another room ... this is the L.U.C Geneva Assembly Section !

This assembly section is important for models which require the Geneva Seal, as the criteria specified
" Only mechanical watches assembled and adjusted on the territory of the Canton of Geneva – Switzerland - may be entered."





Immediately was stunned by the complete line-up of the L.U.C calibres.

Several of those calibres, I have not seen before like the ASP94 and the Prototype 96.



An engineer examining the Lunar One.
He is likely to be one of the 4 watchmakers who could assemble the Lunar One.



Calibre L.U.C 96QP Lunar One with perpetual calender. 

With less than a handful of watchmakers who can assemble the Cal L.U.C 96QP, the monthly output is about 4 to 6 pieces, provided all watchmakers none of them takes leave.



A beautifully finished four barrels Quattro bottom-plate.


Some of the finished assembled movements pending to be cased up.



The rotor for the L.U.C ChronoOne with Calibre 11CF.




The proud certificate displaying Calibre 1.96 (the first calibre) won the "Watch of the Year" in 1997.
One year after L.U.C was founded.  Indeed a marvellous achievement.





After that, Patrick walked me to another building across the road....



There seemed to be a boutique inside this building.  Every showcases was with the latest products.

We continued to another place in the same building ...



We arrived at the door, and the label printed ' Chopard Formation Horlogerie'.

What's inside?


Once we entered, we saw  a group of young people on workbenches working on some calibres.

Patrick introduced me to the HeadMaster cum watchmaker.
SHE, yes, is a lady by the name of Celine Vetsch, is the Principal of Chopard Watchmaking Training Centre.

It is a fantastic initiative which forward-thinking Chopard has started and committed to train new blood to combat the potential shortage of watchmakers in the industry.

Every year Chopard will admit at most 3 apprentices.  The duration to finish the program is 4 years.

This programme is modified to train hands-on apprentices who knows beyond theory.

The apprentices will attend 2 days per week (Monday and Tuesday)  in the Watchmaking School of Geneva (for theory) and 3 days of practical lessons in Chopard Watchmaking Training Centre ( for real industrial exposure).

As of now, since the programme started, there are 10  apprentices in the pipeline.

And Chopard planned to have 12 by 2010.



This soothing Japanese Garden scenery is a treat to the apprentices to rest their eyes once a
while.


Next we have to rush back to the main building to meet Mr. Karl-Friedich Scheufele at the museum.


Indeed it is a museum.  It has materials since the forming years of Chopard till recently.

A few pictures to


The first Happy Diamonds (the upper row, in cushion shape cases) was for MEN! 



Mille Miglia pieces starting from the year Chopard sponsored, since 1988 !



The 1999 MM edition.  Unique.



Vintage workbench.  Seemed to be as ergonomic as now


After a while, Mr Karl-Friedich Scheufele arrived and we had a 15-minute of short interesting chat as he
need to attend another meeting.  Appreciate the Chief of the company to make an effort to meet-up despite
his tight schedule.  He shared some of his future plans but will not be able to disclose till the time is ripe.
All I can say, he is a thinking man and he implements too.


It was already 5pm.  We called it a day too.  Time's just too short.

Stay tuned for Part 2...visiting the Manufacturing facility of L.U.C !


Kong

 


To Part 2(a), Visit to Chopard Fleurier  



This message has been edited by Kong on 2009-01-26 08:48:36 This message has been edited by Kong on 2009-02-06 07:59:22

Added link to Part 2(a)

This message has been edited by Kong on 2009-02-25 02:12:06

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