Ateliers deMonaco is a new entrant in the field of high end watch making.This independent luxury watch company had its debut at "Top-Marques-Watches 2009", the premium luxury watch fair of Monaco.
One of the most rewarding things in life is to create. Yet even more aspiring is to create something that has longevity beyond our own life - a legacy.ATELIERS DEMONACO is an independent luxury watch manufacture for an exclusive consumer group to convey a contemporary and stylish statement of time. Together with a Geneva based watch manufacturer, ATELIERS DEMONACO has co-developed proprietary innovations for some of the most exclusive mechanical movements. And with a hybrid design between classic watchmaking and the 21 century lifestyle, the aim is to create the world’s most desirable time pieces.The foundation of dMc is anchored in the Principauté de Monaco and the surrounding Cote d’Azur, a region known for its inspiration, innovation and imagination. Painters like Picasso, Matisse and Seurat all had some of their most productive and influential periods here. Monaco’s Oceanographic institute has inspired many in the field of environmental research and education, notably when led by the infamous Jacques Cousteau. In short, the leadership of Monaco has throughout the ages been at the forefront of social, cultural and economic innovation. As an independent creator of contemporary fine time pieces, ATELIERS DEMONACO innovates by challenging existing conventions to make them better, ensuring that what they develop has a lasting impact, thus creating its legacy.
ATELIERS DEMONACO believes that an exciting new era in watch history is about to happen the establishment of a new international standard in haute horlogerie that has its provenance in the present instead of a heritage out of the past. It maximally exploits the possibilities of today's technology in combination with the art of fine watch making. This nouvelle haute horlogerie movement wants to mobilise and unite a new generation of movers & shakers who appreciate indulging in contemporary luxury as part of their life.
Mission & Belief
Ateliers deMonaco is an authentic independent Monegasque watch company dedicated to establish a nouvelle international standard in haute horlogerie while creating the world’s most desirable timepieces. In the development and operating mode ATELIERS DEMONACO acknowledges and appreciates the inter dependency with all its stakeholders. ATELIERS DEMONACO is built on Monaco’s contemporary culture, beauty, imagination and inspired by its diverse population.
“I love working in a project where innovation, quality and passion are the guiding stars for the end-result, no compromises allowed. This focus is liberating and we believe it shows in our final propositions -Says Peter, executive in Haute Horlogerie and co-founder dMc.
INSPIRATION:
People:The list of people that used the stimulation of the Monaco region to achieve extraordinary results is impressive. For instance, painters like Matisse and Picasso, writers like Chekhov or Cocteau, philosophers like Nietzsche or Architects like Le Corbusier. Importantly, the royal family of Monaco have influenced the view of the world when the reigning prince married a Hollywood actress when that wasn’t chic or accepted, emancipating the upper class with the rest of society. And it seems not to have stopped or lost its attraction over the past years, judging by the list of people that are setting up their permanent residence in the region.
Creativity:There are not a lot of places in the world that have such an impressive proven creativity track record. Some of the world’s most famous painters have given birth to influential pieces of art. For instance La Dance from Matisse that is now hanging in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the ceramics and statues of Picasso out of his Vallauris period are present in the most famous museums around the world, and the founder of the Pointillist movement Georges Seurat painted his “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” in the region, now hanging in the Metropolitan museum of Art in New York.
Scenery:The inspiration and excitement comes in part from the seamless opposites within the scenery: despite the intrinsic boringness of the year around constant climate, social life is at a constant peak; the steep rock formation on which Monaco is built contrasts with the horizontal flow of the Mediterranean sea. But also other aspects beyond the scenery embody that dualism. For example, despite having one of the oldest histories in Europe, it has become synonym to new money and glamour. And despite the commitment to sustainability with its oceanic foundation, they organize one of the world's most famous and exuberant Formula 1 car racing events. In short, the imagination and innovation of Monaco lies on the one hand in its people and their legacy in art, literature, science and importantly technology. On the other hand the embedded duality of Monaco has kept it contemporary for many decades, an admirable achievement.
“For a brand to have longevity, it should evoke emotions, trigger imagination and have a distinctive yet relevant point of view. That’s why we believe our brand should live in the here and now and be committed to create a legacy for the future guided by our mission, passion and belief.”
Robert, Initiator and co-founder dMc
Invention & design:
Imagination is the beginning of creation. It’s the ability to envision ideas, especially of things never seen or experienced before. It’s why some excel in art or literature, while others can build structures that include a vision beyond a practical solution. This is always the exciting starting point in the development of a new time piece.ATELIERS DEMONACO sketches-out what the new experience should look and feel like, and then look for the best solutions that exist, make them better where possible, or invent it when it does not exist. Often, this results in new patent applications and or design registrations.That’s why ATELIERS DEMONACO is a part of a select group of highly professional watchmakers mastering the unique art of in-house high-end watch manufacturing.
Inventions:
ATELIERS DEMONACO has developed, patented and manufacture their own exclusive Grand Tourbillon XP1 movement, a unique hybrid between the craftsmanship of the past combined with the precision and technology of today, delivering one of the most accurate Tourbillon movements in the world. The Xtreme Precision (XP) technology allows the 28800 beats an hour to be translated into pure accuracy based on 3 different yet supporting innovations.
1. Perfect Balance Cage
This unique technology allows the watchmaker to balance the weight of the Tourbillon cage by manually adding or removing small metal weights at the opposite sides of the escapement. This is to bring the gravity point of all 80 components to the centre of the cage to achieve the perfect balance.
2. Silicium Escapement and Lever
This is a material normally used in aerospace, micro processors and semi-conductor industry for its unique properties: low weight, extreme hardness and high corrosion resistance. The combination of making both escapement wheel and lever from silicium, results in significantly improved energy efficiency. The extreme hardness (almost twice as hard as steel) results in low friction and thus no need for lubrication. And lastly as the material is not magnetic, there is no interference that could cause irregularities in the precision.
3. Deep Reactive Ion Etching
This super precision manufacturing methodology is able to make each component as a singular component. In comparison, the traditional method uses steel and ruby parts that require continuous fine-tuning of the machines due to wear and tear. As a consequence, the DRIE process has significantly improved manufacturing accuracy: up to 10 times more accurate then conventional machining methods.
4.Case & Rotor
The case is built up by 33 individual components that are assembled by hand after the quality is of all the pieces is validated. Only this way the manufacturer could give different top quality finishing like finely brushes surfaces contrasted with hand polished edges, while safeguarding water resistance up to 3 ATM. The rotor can be seen through or at the back of the watch. Importantly, the company is excited and proud that the very difficult task of the minuscule hand engraving of their 18 karat rotor is done by one of the best out of the industry. He has decorated it front and back with the ATELIERS DEMONACO shield and a hand guilloche finishing, making it a true piece of art. The attention for detail is so important , that ATELIERS DEMONACO accepts that this extensive process of moulding, fabricating, finishing and engraving can easily take up several weeks.
Quality & manufacturing:
The manufacturing and assembly is a critical part in the creation of a high end timepiece like dMc. Partnered with a Geneva based manufacture ATELIERS DEMONACO ensures to build on the wealth of knowledge that already exists. Besides this partnership,the company's own watch-makers are educated at the top schools around Europe and have extensive work experience at well established watch brands. It is this unique proprietary hybrid of using the latest technology, time-honoured craftsmanship and the dedication to quality and precision that makes dMc timepieces proudly wear the brand name ATELIERS DEMONACO.
“We have always dreamt about making a mechanical watch movement that is the most precise in the world and will keep generations of scientists busy to figure out how we did it.”-Says Pim, Master Horloger and co-founder dMc
MATERIALS:
Gold:A noble & precious metal that is resistant to corrosion and oxidation, unlike most base metals. It is a highly sought-after precious metal which has been used as money and in jewelry since the beginning of recorded history. Gold is dense, soft and shiny and in a pure form it has a bright yellow color. To make Gold harder, an alloy is made. Depending on the materials used for the alloy, the color of gold can change to White gold (with palladium & nickel) or to Rose gold (copper & silver). Heated to over 1200 degrees Celsius, the unique alloy created for ATELIERS DEMONACO gives every individually molded case its unique and distinct color and strength.
Platinum:The most precious and rare among the metals, 30 times rarer than gold. For instance, to get just one pure ounce of platinum it is necessary to mine about 8 tons of raw ore! It provides supreme wear- and tarnish-resistance as it is more stable and denser than gold, making it well suited for making fine jewelry. In the 18th century, platinum's rarity made King Louis XV of France declare it the only metal fit for a king. Importantly, Platinum is non allergenic, thus a person with really sensitive skin to metals will be able to wear accessories produced from platinum.
Titanium:A light, strong, lustrous, corrosion resistant metal with a grayish color. The most useful properties of the metal are firstly its corrosion resistance and secondly it has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal. It is as strong as some steels, but 45% lighter. Titanium metal is used in aerospace, military, jewelry and automotive applications among others, particularly when weight reduction is critical while maintaining high strength and rigidity. The metal is generally too expensive to make it marketable to the general consumer market, other than high end products.
Sapphire, Rubies & Diamonds:For thousands of years, rubies and diamonds have been considered one of the most valuable gemstones on Earth. They both have the core qualities a precious stone should have:magnificent colour, excellent hardness and outstanding brilliance. As a consequence, the finer qualities of these stones are still considered extremely rare gemstones. An important quality next to its natural beauty is its hardness, and thus resistance against wear and tear. For dMc watches, all parts exposed to wear and tear,including the moving parts, are made of these minerals to safeguard longevity.
Onyx:Beautiful deep black gemstones with a fine texture used in fine jewellery. Some onyx also displays white bands or ribbons against a black background. Onyx was very popular with the ancient Greeks and Romans. The name comes from the Greek word 'onyx', which means nail or claw. The story is that one day the frisky Cupid cut the divine fingernails of Venus with an arrowhead while she was sleeping. He left the clippings scattered on the sand and the fates turned them into stone so that no part of the heavenly body would ever perish.
Official website:www.ateliers-demonaco.com
Product Updates:
deMonaco Carrée d'Or Grand Tourbillon XP (2009)
deMonaco Ronde d'Or Grand Tourbillon XP (2009)
