News Award ceremony in Besançon
The Museum of Time in Besançon was the setting on 24 October this year for the awards ceremony of the International Chronometry Contest. Les Ateliers Louis Leroy (Tourbillon category), Tissot (Classic) and Mathieu Douik of the Cifom (Schools) were the winners of this third edition.
For information, thirty-eight timepieces, submitted by seventeen firms and three schools of watchmaking on 30 May this year, were subjected to three series of particularly rigorous tests (details in Revue 14/2013). To have a chance of qualifying, the watches had to pass each stage.
In the Classic category, twenty timepieces were in contention. Twelve of these passed all three tests. The winners were Tissot, occupying first and second places (878 and 850 points out of 1,000) and Louis Moinet (728 points).
In the Schools category, whereas none of the entries overcame all obstacles at the previous contest, two of the twelve managed to complete the course this year. They were Mathieu Douik (571 points) and Maxime Bettinelli (501), of the Cifom Technical College in Le Locle.
Lastly, in the Tourbillon category, seven participants tried their luck but only one passed the tests, namely Les Ateliers Louis Leroy, which won the award with 794 points.
The winning timepieces of this third contest will be on show until 31 December at the Watch Museum of Le Locle - Château des Monts.
For the future, the organisers of the International Chronometry Contest are looking at introducing two new classifications, namely extra-flat watches and chronographs. In addition, they are considering disclosing only the names of those passing the first series of measurements, carried out at Besançon Observatory. Since the event is held every two years, the next registration deadline will not be until 31 January 2015. At the award ceremony, Claude-Henri Chabloz handed the presidency of the competition to Philippe Fischer, EPFL engineer and director of the Foundation for Micro-engineering Research.
Detailed information concerning rules, participants and results can be obtained on the website www.concourschronometrie.org.
Tissot two-times winner
In 2011, Tissot won the first International Timing Contest in the Classic category. This year, the brand defended its position as an expert in horology by taking first and second places in the competition.
The T-Complication watch was this year’s winner. It embodies the brand’s values of innovation and tradition. Second place went to a timepiece from the same collection.
It is customary for the brand to take part in timing contests. Indeed as far back as 1885, Tissot was awarded first prize for its pocket chronometer movement. These contests have allowed the firm to raise the bar and push itself to the limit in terms of the quality of its products, and also to pit its strength against competitors.
November 14, 2013
