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Gio 🇨🇭

@electricwatchprototypes

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+ History of the Swiss electric and electronic watch
+ From collector for collectors
+ Educational & Non-profit

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@collection.personnelle did it again 😍!
His unmistakable way of telling the stories of real watches, watches that have actually been worn and lived with, has once again been beautifully elevated by the photography of @henryleutwyler. Sharing the same philosophy, Henry portrays the watches exactly as they are: scratches and dents included, hands left in more or less random positions, as though they had just been taken off the wrist.
When I was invited to join @collection.personnelle’s project for another volume, I didn’t hesitate for a second and the experience certainly did not disappoint. This time, I had the pleasure of joining @henryleutwyler and @ryansegedi for a very intimate photo shoot ❤️🐻🏴‍☠️. Among the many memorable moments was restoring one of the watches featured in the book, using only a handful of basic tools bought from a local DIY store just minutes before the watch was photographed 🤪.
The day ended with an amazing culinary discovery in the hinterland above Lake Geneva 😋. Once again, an unforgettable experience that ultimately contributed to an unforgettable work of art.
Congratulations, you guys did it again 👏! I’m extremely proud to have played a small part in bringing this wonderful project to life.

⚠️Unpaid Promo! The 🇫🇷 and 🇮🇹 versions are available online and in bookstores as of today. The 🇬🇧🇺🇸 version will be available later this year 🥳 by @electricwatchprototypes

⚠️ Unpaid promo, just a labor of love and passion ❤️

By popular demand, @collection.personnelle made it happen 🙏❤️
His fantastic new book, featuring magnificent photography by @henryleutwyler, is finally available for pre-order in English 🇬🇧😅

A perfect opportunity to discover the world of electric and electronic watches and plenty of reasons to reconsider any lingering prejudices you might have about them. Link in bio 👍 by @electricwatchprototypes

Immensely proud to have been part of this amazing project 🤩! Congratulations Clément, it’s a masterpiece 😍! I’ll never forget the pasta cooking with @henryleutwyler, @sondidoingthings and @misterrolex during the shooting in Zurich 😋! Such positive energy and dedication which instantaneously made collaborators becoming good friends 😘. Thanks a lot @collection.personnelle 🙏😘 for this opportunity to help promote the extremely important history and the beauty of battery driven watches made in 🇫🇷🇩🇪🇺🇸🇯🇵 and 🇨🇭over 7 decades.

Also a great thank you 🙏 to my friends @watch.and.write, @astieganwatches, @sonntagsuhr, @chronyves and Piotr (who is not on Insta) who contributed with some of their beloved and rare watches and trusted me with them without knowing the exact purpose 😅😇.

⚠️Unpaid promo: The book is available online and in selected book stores in French🇫🇷 and Italian🇮🇹. @editions.du.chene: I hope it will soon also be edited in English 🇬🇧 and in Japanese 🇯🇵🙏😅. by @electricwatchprototypes

What at first glance appears to be an ordinary Longines calibre L729.2 actually conceals a remarkable milestone in the history of Swiss quartz watchmaking 😅.
Hidden inside the black plastic tube is one of the first three tuning-fork-shaped quartz resonators ever manufactured in Switzerland. Also the CMOS IC is one of the first built in Switzerland on industrial scale with Hughes Microsystems’ license.
Three watches were built using these pioneering Swiss-made quartz resonators and CMOS IC’s. This is the sole surviving example, originally presented to André Beyner.

Starting with these three watches, the Swiss definitively introduced ‘home-made’ industrially produced and reliable CMOS IC’s and switched from bar shaped quartzes to tuning fork shaped ones aligning with the industry standard imposed by Seiko already in 1967.

ESA/ETA 940.111 / Longines, L792.2 prototype with one of the first three Statek licensed quartz resonator and one of the first Hughes Microsystems licensed CMOS IC made in Switzerland, 1976

For a full description and more pictures follow the link in bio. by @electricwatchprototypes

In 1976, this prototype would have represented the pinnacle of Swiss LCD technology. Several brands would go on to introduce their own interpretations of this development: Certina with the Chronolympic, Longines, Fortis and Rado with their respective versions. This particular piece was also discovered among the collection of prototypes belonging to André Beyner.

Ebauches SA, Swissonic 2000, Cal.: 934.611 Prototype, 1976 by @electricwatchprototypes

Ebauches SA has covered all possible digital display options, some, as the one shown here never made it to the market 😅.

Another electronic gem from the estate of André Beyner, former technical director of Ebauches SA.

Ebauches SA, Cal.: 931.572 Prototype, 1979 by @electricwatchprototypes

Seiko Daini was the first to introduce low-consumption, high-performance CMOS integrated circuits into quartz watch calibers in 1971. These early Intersil ICs proved unreliable, eventually forcing Seiko to withdraw the 36SQC model from the market. However, this experience also allowed Seiko to further develop the licenced revolutionary Intersil technology. In parallel Omega had the CEH refining the CEH-CMOS tech for their 2.4MHz development permitting to slimline caliber 1500 for the use of one battery only and integrating date and TSI. This movement is one of the earliest known transitional examples between the 1500 and 1510 calibers, featuring one of the first CEH-developed CMOS ICs.

Omega Megaquartz 2.4MH prototype, caliber 1500-1510 transitional prototype, 1971

This post is dedicated to Thomas Dick (@retromega1977), who sadly passed away three years ago. This is the occasion to remember him, his fantastic collection and his pioneering research into this topic. by @electricwatchprototypes

While most visitors gather around Louis LeRoy’s highly impressive astronomical masterpiece at the Musée du Temps in Besançon, I had the space and quiet to take a closer look at one of the earliest known prototypes of the LIP R27 electromechanical watch and thus one of the worldwide earliest battery driven wrist watches 😅.
I hope to have the opportunity to examine this remarkable piece in person one day 😬.

LIP R27 Prototype, external alimentation, 1952/3 by @electricwatchprototypes

The meanders of collaboration and ownership surrounding Swiss watch brands during the late Quartz Crisis are complex and fascinating 😅. In 1981, Piaget ‘acquired’ Lemania, which subsequently became Nouvelle Lemania. In June 1982, a Piaget-led consortium acquired Heuer, bringing the two companies under common ownership. In 1985, Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG) acquired a majority stake in Heuer from the Piaget/Nouvelle Lemania group, creating what would become TAG Heuer.
This brief period of overlapping ownership, from 1982 to 1985, produced some particularly intriguing and unusual watches. Among them are Lemania-branded quartz prototypes for Heuer and early TAG-Heuer models.

Lemania for Heuer, Heuer 2000 Prototype, ETA 955.412 prototype, 1984 by @electricwatchprototypes

Technically, it’s not a prototype, but it’s certainly a rare sight 😅. The Swatch Special model ‚Velvet Underground‘ was originally not intended to be wrapped in lace. The lace was added as a last-minute idea inspired by a photoshoot, giving this particular piece a unique and unexpected look.

Swatch ‚Velvet Underground‘ GZ999W, 1985

More on this watch and other rarities can be found in the excellent book ‚Quartz Watches‘ by @collection.personnelle 😘, featuring magnificent photography by @henryleutwyler 😘📸🐻 by @electricwatchprototypes

Power consumption and battery life were among the biggest challenges in the early development of quartz watches. Once these issues were addressed through improved batteries, high performance tuning fork shaped quartz resonators, and highly reliable, ultra low power CMOS integrated circuits, the Swiss were able to accelerate the transition from research and development to large scale production 😅

Ebauches SA, Solar Quartz Prototype No. 12, 1976 by @electricwatchprototypes