A watch competition in eight stages: Chronométrie 2013
This year's competing watches were officially presented at Le Locle during a mediagenic ceremony. Only a few will be victorious. These timepieces have been on the move since 30th May 2013. Here is a quick look at their eight-stage journey.
By Joel Grandjean
Editor-in-Chief
While some are putting final touches on their horological itinerary, and offering tourists a rich mixture of Epinal and Watch Valley images, the watches running in the International Chronometry Contest are already on the road. The testing rules demand it. The trips are not risk-free. Avoiding damage to the watches is crucial, except, of course, when it comes to exposing them to the testing tools. Nor should they suddenly vanish into thin air. And so, the eight stages of the journey demand good logistical surveillance to ensure effective guarding, as well as appropriate insurance service.
Stage 1
Participating watches are registered at the Musée d’Horlogerie du Locle – Château des Monts.
Stage 2
Off to Besançon, over the border. The watches arrive at the Observatoire in the capital of the Franche-Comté and subjected to their sixteen-day chronometric test. The methods employed by the institution are similar to those of the COSC – both of them comply with the international norm ISO 3159. This contributes to the contest's international quality.
Stage 3
After Besançon, the timepieces are taken to the Bureau Officiel (BO) in Bienne-Biel, one of the subsidiaries of the Contrôle Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC). This is currently the only branch to own a testing infrastructure that can perform individual tests, hence an analysis of the assembled watches. The second chronometric test lasts another 16 days, and allows for results to be compared, which, during the past two editions of the contest, has been used as validation.
Stage 4
Back to Le Locle; more precisely to the Haute Ecole Arc,where competing watches are exposed to anti-magnetism tests followed by shock tests.
Stage 5
By the end of the summer, candidate watches are returned to the BO in Bienne, where they undergo another 16-day chronometric test.It is at this point that the ranking starts to vary since the shock tests can have a significant impact on some of the watches' rates.
Stage 6
The aspiring pieces then transit to the Musée d'Horlogerie du Locle-Château des Monts while the jury work on the ranking. It is worth noting that there is no room for subjectivity here, as classification is only based on the analysis of the results obtained so far.
Stage 7
Now back in Besançon, competing watches await the final scores on 24 October 2013. Only three winners per category will be on the podium. The rest of the results will not be communicated since there is no general ranking. Thus, all other ranks remain unknown, as does the single watch whose owner chose anonymity.
Exceptionally, on account of the international scope of this competition relaunched by the Musée d’Horlogerie du Locle, the awarding ceremony will take place in Besançon, the ancient cradle of French horology.
Stage 8
Participating watches will be returned at the end of 2013 to the brands or persons who have chosen to take part in this incredible adventure, which often has a very unifying effect within the manufactures. In the meantime, the watches will once again travel to Le Locle to be exhibited to the public. Most of them will then be put up for sale with a surcharge; the rest will become collectibles.
List of 2013 competing watches.
By 30May 2013, thirty-eight timepieces had been registered at the Musée d’Horlogerie du Locle – Château des Monts. They were classified as follows: eighteen in the "Enterprise – Classic" category, seven in "Enterprise – Tourbillon"; twelve in "School – Classic"; and one as "Anonymous". One more non-categorised piece was registered by the Association du Concours International de Chronométrie - its journey and results will be revealed bit by bit as the competitionprogresses.
List of registered models on the official site
The town of Le Locle, guarantor of the contest
According to the Contest's Statute, the committee of the Musée d’Horlogerie du Locle, named by the Commune du Locle, appoints a representative for the Organising Committee of the International Chronometry Contest. It is a way of obtaining some insight and following the contest's progress in real time. It was indeed under the Musée that this event was created, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary at Château des Monts. Its institutional stability and neutrality guarantee documented and undisputable results. All the more so as Le Locle's traditional link with horology could help bring back the old Chronometry Contest with dignity. The know-how of the watch adjuster should also be put under the spotlight once more.
