Neuchâtel, April 5th 2011

PRESS RELEASE

Research rises to meet the challenges of the watchmaking industry
Developing new high‐tech materials and conducting research in cutting edge micro‐ and nano‐technologies for the flourishing watchmaking industry: this is the goal of the new Patek PhilippeChair. Created in collaboration with EPFL, the Chair will be associated with the Institute ofMicroengineering (IMT) and based in Neuchâtel.
One of Switzerland’s leading watchmaking societies is joining forces with one of the principal
academic and educational institutions in the country. Patek Philippe and EPFL (Ecole PolytechniqueFédérale de Lausanne) are announcing today the creation of a new chair, the Patek Philippe Chair,
dedicated to the application of new micro‐ and nanotechnologies to watchmaking.
Patek Philippe’s contribution will be to fund the position of a professor and his or her research team,and EPFL will essentially provide infrastructure. The new Chair will be part of the Neuchâtel‐based
Institute of Microengineering (IMT). This entity, which has been part of EPFL since 2009, is growing
rapidly and is becoming a center of excellence, thanks to the creation of several new research teamsand a network that brings together all the major players in the Swiss microengineering industry.
Neuchâtel is an advantageous location, since the Jura region is the historical seat of many
watchmaking and high‐tech companies. This Chair will build a bridge between the private sector andacademic research.
“This agreement is in line with the strong growth that the watchmaking industry is currently
experiencing, and for which new technologies and materials have become essential,” emphasizes
Nico de Rooij, IMT Director and Vice President of CSEM SA. The horologic industry provided morethan 50,000 jobs and some 16 billion Swiss francs in exports in 2010.

Many avenues to explore
To maintain this position and its competitiveness, the industry must continually innovate. “There ismuch progress to be made, particularly in increasing the energy efficiency of the movements in order
to be able to make ever smaller mechanisms and components, and in increasing reliability and thepower reserve,” explains Jean‐Pierre Musy, technical director at Patek Philippe.
The research touches on all production phases: from manufacturing processes to escapement
mechanisms to components such as the train and the balance‐spring that must be made more
efficient, uniform, robust and easy to assemble. A particularly important area of exploration will bedeveloping new high‐tech materials, in the continuing quest for properties that will reduce friction,
add to esthetics, and improve wear resistance – much like single‐crystal silicon, which has
revolutionized the industry over the past several years thanks to its elastic properties which havepermitted the creation of carefully crafted geometries that allow improved watch movements.
The person nominated to this Chair will thus have as his or her objective to investigate a number ofresearch avenues, to assemble a team and to train researchers and scientists to become experts inthe field so that they can continue to improve and promote these innovations.
Contacts:
EPFL:‐Jérôme Grosse, tel. +41 79 434 73 26, jerome.grosse@epfl.ch‐Nico de Rooij, tel. + 41 32 720 53 03, nico.derooij@epfl.ch
Patek Philippe:‐Jasmina Steele, International Communication & Public Relations Director, tel. +41 22 884 20 20,
jasmina.steele@patek.com