The hairspring, along with the balance wheel, is the heart of a mechanical watch. It is a vital part of its accuracy. Nivarox Fahr holds a de facto monopoly on hairspring supply in the watch industry. What sudden changes have occurred as a result of the company's explosive announcement of supply restrictions?
Translation by Akiko Ichikawa
[First published in the November 2012 issue of Kronos Japan]
The balance spring is infinitesimal in size and mass, yet without it no mechanical watch would be possible. This tiny component, like a delicate filigree piece of gold or silver, is only 0.3 mm thick—slightly thinner than a human hair—and weighs just 2.5 mg. Yet, remove the balance spring from its pulsating microcosm and, after a brief moment, the watch falls silent. Its companion is the balance wheel. Only with the balance spring secured to it can it fulfill its mission of swinging. Similarly, the gear train would be unable to function without the sinuous spiral that pumps energy without rest. It's no wonder that in classically styled watches, the balance spring is reverently referred to as the "soul of the watch."
Over the past few decades, several ambitious watchmakers and engineers have focused their efforts on this tiny component, so much so that very little remains a secret. Today, the most common balance springs are made from the alloy "Nivarox." The term "Nivarox" comes from its properties of "unchangeable" and "unoxidizable." Developed by Reinhard Straumann (1892–1967) in 1931, this material dramatically improved watch precision. Nivarox is composed of iron, nickel, chromium, and traces of beryllium and other elements. Straumann patented the process in the 1930s, allowing for a wide range of metal ratios, leaving it up to the maker's creativity. Straumann never revealed the exact composition of the formula. Today, the recipe is known only to a few companies, including Nivarox-Fahr, a subsidiary of the Swatch Group. However, the German company Carl Haas, a former partner, apparently still has a recipe document detailing the exact amounts of each compound. And Precision Engineering, a sister company of H. Moser & Cie., has been working intensively on Straumann's legacy since 2001. Based in Neuhausen, just outside Schaffhausen, the company is working with 12 partners to develop the PE3000 material for balance springs.
Glucydur, a widely used monometallic balance wheel, is an alloy made from beryllium, copper, brass, and nickel, boasting properties that are nearly perfect. But what about the alloy of the balance spring, the lifeblood of balance wheel movement? Every watch book devotes numerous lines to the theoretical foundations of movement in small mechanical watches. It states that the balance wheel and balance spring strive to maintain as consistent an oscillation as possible in the face of external factors such as vibration, magnetic fields, air pressure, and temperature changes—in other words, isochronism. Temperature changes, among other things, have a significant impact on the effective length and elastic modulus of the balance spring. A simple copper alloy balance spring can lose as much as 10 seconds of daily accuracy if the temperature rises by just 1 degree Celsius, or if it is modified. In contrast, a Nivarox balance spring loses only about 0.5 seconds of daily accuracy per degree Celsius.
It's not a secret, but it's not easy either.
Just as the properties of the material are not kept secret, the manufacturing process for the hairspring is no secret either. At the initial manufacturing stage, Nivarox wire is about 0.5 mm in diameter. Because it is too thick to be used as a hairspring, it is passed through a hollow diamond wire drawing machine, where it is slowly stretched and drawn with a constant force. Once it is about one-tenth of its original diameter, it is passed through metal rollers and stretched to a thickness of 0.046 mm. This process requires extreme care to ensure there are no irregularities. If there is any variation in thickness of more than 1/1000 of a mm, the wire is no longer usable.
In the final process, this ultra-thin wire tape is finished to a specified width and thickness, such as 0.09mm x 0.018mm. After being cut to precisely the same length, three, four, or even five strands are attached to the central shaft of a winding machine and wound around it. To achieve the correct spiral shape, it is crucial to attach multiple wires and ensure they overlap each other as they are wound. The shape is then set in a vacuum oven, where a constant temperature is maintained, and the piece is washed before it is finished.
However, this is not the end of the process. A critical element of the balance spring is a precisely bent end curve. This curve must be precisely matched to the arm size of the balance wheel it is fitted to. This process is called grading, and if there are 20 types of balance wheels, there are often 20 types of balance springs as well. For example, a grade 5 class is a special category that is adjusted to be paired only with precisely balanced balance wheels.
The next step is the installation of another component. The inner end of the balance spring's spiral is either inserted into the collet and secured, or, as in the newer models, laser-welded. At this stage of assembly, the watch is initially adjusted to ensure reliable high quality. At this point, the accuracy is usually improved to 120 seconds per day. The final refinement is where the watchmaker's skill really shines.
The reign of the expert
The balance spring debate is still in its infancy in the watch world, but watch enthusiasts who have been following its progress with interest may find it hard to comprehend how ferociously it is progressing, and the same is true for many watch manufacturers.
Nivarox-FAR, the largest balance spring manufacturer by far, was established in 1984 when Nivarox SA, founded in 1933, merged with the Fabriques d'Assortiments Réunis group. It's said that 90 to 95 percent of Swiss watch companies today rely heavily on Nivarox-FAR, based in the western Swiss Jura region. If Nivarox-FAR's production machinery were to stop for even a few hours, the entire production of Swiss mechanical watch movements would be forced to immediately cease. In other words, Nivarox-FAR functions almost like a monopoly (for now). Using analog methods, Nivarox-FAR has developed into a manufacturer with product competitiveness comparable to ETA movements, offering significantly more reasonable prices. This manufacturer is unrivaled in Europe.
Incidentally, the minimum trading unit for the complete set of components that make up a regulating escapement (hairspring, balance wheel, anchor, and escape wheel) is 1000 sets, with each set costing 12 Swiss francs, or about 10 euros. However, the price is ultimately determined by the quality of the item. A two-piece set (Execution Chronomètre) of a balance wheel and hairspring for a chronometer-grade movement mounted on the major chronograph movement ETA7750 is priced at nearly twice the price of a standard two-piece set (Execution Normalisé).
Nivarox Fur's ability to manufacture and offer products at low prices is in part due to its longstanding tradition. This is based on a tremendous amount of experience and extensive knowledge of the base material, Nivarox. Another major factor is its exceptionally advanced mass-production know-how. This is also due to the fact that the company has actively introduced a range of manufacturing machinery, which appears to have been fully amortized. The company is not large enough to survive on manual labor or small-scale production.
In mid-2011, the Swiss watch industry received a shocking notice: the Swiss Fair Trade Office (WEKO, equivalent to Japan's Fair Trade Commission) had ordered an audit of the Swatch Group. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the bulk delivery of mechanical movement components violated the Cartel Act (Federal Act on Cartels and Other Restraints of Competition). Specifically, the Swatch Group was selling the aforementioned regulator and escapement components as a complete set, rather than selling them separately. It was clear that WEKO and Nivarox-Fah had different positions, and the resulting battle had a devastating impact on the Swiss watch industry. The Swatch Group faced a major controversy in 2002 over its subsidiary ETA's decision to change its ébauche supply methods, but this latest one is even bigger.
Difficult problems arise even at the stage of purchasing pre-processed materials
Complicating the chain of events surrounding mass hairspring production is the bloated nature of the organization. The root of the problem can be seen in the material itself: Nivarox, whose ingredients are not publicly disclosed. Those in close contact with hairsprings who are careless about tolerances can overcome the difficult melting and molding process during production, only to encounter crucial adjustment and durability issues later. While Vacuumschmerz, a metalworking company founded in Hanau, central Germany, has its own methodology, adherence to it varies widely. Vacuumschmerz has been familiar with the complexities of Nivarox production for several generations. This makes its rapid growth unfortunate. Vacuumschmerz is planning to auction off the basic recipe for its Nivarox, which it had previously shared with its clients. If this goes into effect, suppliers will no longer be able to simply order Nivarox alloy products; they will have to specify the exact ratios. Even more problematic is that the materials used in the alloy must be ordered in half-ton increments. This will produce approximately 350 kg of Nivarox wire, which will easily cost 500,000 euros. This is enough to make approximately 280 million balance springs. Given the current annual production volume of mechanical movements in Switzerland, this amount alone would last for 40 years. It's clear that, at least for now, small and medium-sized manufacturers that don't mass-produce will find themselves in a tough spot.
Nivarox from Germany
Carl Haas, another German company, is in a favorable position due to their previous cooperative relationship during the development of the Nivarox material, and has been able to reap the benefits of Vacuum Schmelz's business. Since its founding, Carl Haas has possessed melting technology using its own unique materials, and has a reputation for the high quality of its products. Given this, Vacuum Schmelz is naturally unable to immediately implement the aforementioned plan for receiving orders for Nivarox.
Hannes Steim, the young managing director of Carl Haas, said, "For now, we still have 80 kg of high-quality Nivarox wire of first and second grades in stock in our warehouse. We can produce 800,000 balance springs per kilogram of wire, and our customers can choose from five grades to suit their needs."
Carl Haas, a long-established company based in the Black Forest in southwestern Germany, now owns Junghans, and is a leading manufacturer of springs at the heart of German industry. But mass-producing hairsprings using the Nivarox-Far method is still a pipe dream. "But," Steim emphasizes, "our hairspring production is growing exponentially."
In fact, Carl Haas has been known as a pioneer in Nivarox production since the 1930s and was once a major manufacturer of balance springs. However, about 40 years after its founding, the quartz revolution occurred, bringing an end to mechanical watch production, even in Germany's Black Forest, a major watchmaking region. The company then changed direction and began focusing on the production of reset springs, particularly those used in automobile tachometers. As a result, the basic skills it had developed in balance spring manufacturing came in handy.
However, this is only within Germany. The company also has a factory in Portugal, which serves as a base for the complete production of watch parts. In 2009, balance spring production resumed at its Schramberg, Germany, headquarters, supplying customers in Germany and Switzerland. The company's current annual production capacity is approximately 30 balance springs. The collets and balance wheels are sourced from other manufacturers and laser-welded for final production. Chronometer-quality balance springs with Breguet end curves are also available, as well as the popular blued finish, which is not standard for Nivarox.
However, even if the manufacturing machinery is in place, there are only a few skilled technicians who can operate it. Carl Haas recently hired three former balance spring specialists, aged between 70 and 74, and now has three employees working for the company. Despite the challenges facing the industry, Steim is not afraid of the future. He has plans to set up a major German balance spring business in the Jura region of southwestern Switzerland, and has partners in Switzerland. "Made in Germany won't cut it just yet. Even for us, most customers prefer Swiss-made products," he says.
Steim's outlook appears to be based on objective analysis.
