Process for manufacturing a timepiece component

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12130591-B2
Application number	US-202117221518-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 2, 2021
Priority date	Apr 6, 2020
Publication date	Oct 29, 2024
Grant date	Oct 29, 2024

Abstract

A timepiece or jewelry component comprising a substrate and at least one decoration joined to the substrate, wherein it comprises a transparent coating covering at least one part of the substrate and at least one part of the decoration, the coating changing the perceptible color of the substrate without changing the perceptible color of the at least one decoration.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A timepiece or jewelry component comprising:
a substrate having a perceptible color, wherein the substrate is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal, metal alloy, metalloid, and opaque material, wherein the substrate has a transmittance of less than 86%,
at least one decoration joined to the substrate, the at least one decoration having a perceptible color, wherein the at least one decoration is transparent, wherein the at least one decoration has a transmittance greater than or equal to 86%, and
a coating, which is a transparent coating covering at least one part of the substrate and at least one part of the decoration, wherein the coating is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal oxide, carbide, nitride, and oxynitride,
wherein the transparent coating changes the perceptible color of the substrate without changing the perceptible color of the at least one decoration.

2. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the coating changes the perceptible color of the substrate according to a color difference defined by a coefficient ΔE* greater than 1, without changing the perceptible color of the decoration according to a color difference defined by a coefficient ΔE* less than 1.

3. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the coating makes a change to the perceptible color of the substrate so that the change is perceptible to the naked eye by an observer, under illuminant D65 lighting conditions and at 30 cm distance, and wherein a change in the color of the decoration is not perceptible by an observer under illuminant D65 lighting conditions and at 30 cm distance.

4. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a three-dimensional shape, comprising a three-dimensional attachment device for the at least one decoration.

5. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the three-dimensional attachment device for the at least one decoration comprises one or more crimping claws.

6. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one decoration has a maximum surface area projected onto a plane of less than or equal to 8 cm 2 , or
wherein the at least one decoration comprises one or more gems set in relief on the substrate and each having a projected surface area less than or equal to 18 mm 2 .

7. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one decoration is a natural or synthetic gem.

8. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one decoration is constituted by one or more enamel-containing areas, each of said areas having a maximum projected surface area less than or equal to 8 cm 2 .

9. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the coating is a coating deposited by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method, or by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, or by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method, or by a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method, or by a sol-gel process, or by self-assembled monolayers (SAM).

10. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the coating has a thickness in a range of from 4 nm to 225 nm.

11. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the coating is a metal oxide.

12. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the coating is deposited uniformly and homogeneously, at constant thickness, on the at least one part of the substrate and the at least one part of the decoration, and conforms to the at least one part of the substrate and the at least one part of the decoration.

13. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one decoration is joined to the substrate by crimping or by partitioning and wherein the coating is deposited at least partially on the part of the substrate participating in the attachment of the decoration.

14. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 ,
which is an applique, a dial, a hand, a movement component, or a bezel.

15. A timepiece or jewelry piece, comprising at least one timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 .

16. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the material of the coating is a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, metal alloy oxide, and rare earth oxide.

17. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the coating has a thickness in a range of from 4 to 100 nm.

18. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the material of the substrate is selected from the group consisting of gold, gold alloy, platinum, ruthenium, ruthenium alloy, palladium, palladium alloy, nickel, nickel alloy, copper, copper alloy.

19. The timepiece or jewelry component as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the material of the substrate is a gold alloy selected from the group consisting of white gold alloy, grey gold alloy, rose gold alloy, red gold alloy, and yellow gold alloy.

20. A process for manufacturing a timepiece or jewelry component, comprising:
providing a substrate having a perceptible color, wherein the substrate is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal, metal alloy, metalloid, and opaque material, wherein the substrate has a transmittance of less than 86%;
joining at least one decoration to the substrate to form a component, the at least one decoration having a perceptible color, wherein the at least one decoration is transparent, wherein the at least one decoration has a transmittance greater than or equal to 86%; and
depositing a transparentcoating on at least one part of the substrate and on at least one part of the decoration, wherein the coating is a transparent coating made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal oxide, carbide, nitride, and oxynitride, so that the coating changes the perceptible color of the substrate without changing the perceptible color of the at least one decoration.

Assignees

• Rolex Sa

Inventors

• Boccard Cyriaque
• Bouchet Jérôme
• Di Luna Pierre

Classifications

• G04D3/0074

  for treatment of the material, e.g. surface treatment · CPC title

• A44C27/007

  Non-metallic coatings · CPC title

• G04B19/18

  Graduations on the crystal or glass, on the bezel, or on the rim · CPC title

• G04B19/042

  Construction and manufacture of the hands; arrangements for increasing reading accuracy (hands with illumination G04B19/305; specially shaped hands, e.g. figures or pictures G04B45/0061; clockwork in the hands G04B45/043; invisible drive of the hands G04B45/046) · CPC title

• G04B19/12

  Selection of materials for dials or graduations {markings} · CPC title