14 DAY TRIAL // 3D printing technology has proven time and again that it can significantly enrich the design options available to all products it is used for. Makers of wrist watches have finally begun to see for themselves if this was really true.
A French company called Atelier Le Brézéguet, or ALB for short, has begun to create 3D printed wrist watches. Or at least wrist watches with 3D printed faces.
Founded by watch designer and developer Simon Pierre Delord as well as Vincent Candelle Tuheille (who also designs and assembles them), the company has released some images of their latest works.
They are calling them the ALB 000 “Balade au Brézéguet” and ALB 100 “Secondes d’Eclipse” watches.
3D printing supplier Sculpteo was asked to help with the 3D design and printing processes. The core idea is that each customer can order the preferred or a, well, custom piece.
This saves a lot of money that would have otherwise been wasted on mass manufacturing multiple watches at once, watches that may never have seen acquisitions.
You might think that such concerns should not be too high. After all, watches are found a dime a dozen at every other corner shop and market stall.
However, ALB does not deal in just any random watches. It makes precise, accurate timepieces, with development lasting for several months for each watch.
First the watch is sketched on paper, and then the 3D model is made, which can take a while, especially if you need to take scans of certain shapes or objects and combine them in a CAD program later. Once the prototype is ready, a Sculpteo 3D printer creates the top and bottom rings.
Only then does the watch assembly begin. And once that is over with, ALB proceeds to test for quality, making adjustments when needed, and then taking the timepiece through a full inspection under a magnifying glass. Finally, the watch is tested against water (it is supposed to withstand being submerged a few meters).
Each ALB 000 “Balade au Brézéguet” and ALB 100 “Secondes d’Eclipse” watch costs €1,500 / $1500 - $2,013. Clearly, this is not a case where 3D printing is used as a means to bring down the price.
Instead, it enhances the aesthetic value and broadens the variety of these high-end, always expensive mechanical contraptions, so that prospective customers may more easily find something to suit their needs and fashion tastes. Essential, considering that these watches are supposed to last a lifetime and even become heirlooms you pass on toy your descendants.
