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Over 200 years ago, French King Louis XVI asked the illustrious watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet to make him a perfect watch. Breguet responded with the now famous quote, “Give me the perfect oil and I will give you the perfect watch!” What Breguet was referencing was the imperfect nature of lubrication in mechanical watches. Over time, oils degrade and a watch needs to be serviced to prevent damage from parts continuously rubbing against one another. But what if we could do away with the idea of lubricating watches at all? What if instead of lubrication, we could apply a thin coating to parts that reduces friction to an almost negligible amount? That is exactly what Dr. Roger W. Smith OBE and a team of scientists from Manchester Metropolitan University are now doing.
The announcement was made earlier today, April 4, 2019, at a panel hosted by the UK Department for International Trade as part of their “Designing Our Future” exhibition in New York City. The research is being led by Dr. Samuel Rowley-Neale and Dr. Michael Down, research associates at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Manchester Metropolitan University. Rowley-Neale and Down are working with Smith to develop virtually frictionless nano-coatings using molybdenum disulfide, which is deposited onto parts using a magnetron sputtering process. This coating could replace the use of traditional oil-based lubricants in mechanical watches. The goal is to develop a mechanical watch that would never need to be serviced, as long as it is not damaged by an external event such as a drop.
Smith explained, “The potential is quite staggering and it’s actually about lubrication rather than mechanics. Once you’ve optimised the mechanics of a watch, you still have to address the deterioration of lubricant oils. It’s a centuries old barrier to progress. Even as far back as the 18th century the great watchmaker Breguet recognised this fundamental problem. With the advances in efficiency and reduced energy in my latest single wheel co-axial escapement, we’re pushing the mechanical boundaries of current watch performance and service intervals beyond industry standards. However, by rendering the mechanical watch components virtually frictionless, we could be talking about creating a timepiece that can be genuinely passed from generation to generation safe in the knowledge it does not require maintenance.”
(L to R): Sophie Bushwick, technology editor at Scientific American, Roger Smith, Dr. Michael Down and Dr. Samuel Rowley-Neale, research associates at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University.
Rowley-Neale said, “The main points of failure within a watch’s micro-mechanical mechanism are components such as pivots that use oil-based liquid lubricant to lower the amount of friction. This in turn increases the efficiency of the timepiece and so, in many ways, designing a watch mechanism can be considered a fight against friction. Over time a liquid lubricant’s viscosity will deteriorate, it will dry out and eventually even crumble away leaving surface deposits. The mechanism will therefore lose time and even seize up, which is why owners currently need to have their watches serviced at regular intervals. What we’re proposing is the use of advanced 2D nano-materials to create a dry lubricated surface that will remove the need for a watch to be serviced.”
The only other instance of using molybdenum disulfide as a dry lubrication solution in watchmaking that we’re aware of, was by Jaeger-LeCoultre, who experimented with the material in the mid-2000s in the Extreme Lab watch – the company doesn’t appear to have pursued the technology. The magnetron sputtering deposition process allows for extremely precise control of the molybdenum disulfide layer’s thickness and other physical characteristics, making it suitable even for parts where extremely high precision is essential, including escapement components.
It is remarkable that a watchmaker so famous for their traditional techniques is adopting such a modern technology. But at the same time, it is a logical progression. Throughout history, British watchmakers have strived to advance the art and science of horology with major inventions. (Consider the marine chronometer, lever and co-axial escapements just to name a few.) Something tells me that Breguet, Harrison, Mudge, and Daniels would be happy with this development.
For more information, visit the Roger W. Smith website.
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