Watch Springs Made by Electroplating (IMAGE)

Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)

Watch Springs Made by Electroplating

Caption

The balance wheel is the beating heart of every mechanical watch mechanism. The delicate springs are usually made of cast, forged Nivarox alloy. At Empa a new generation of balance springs is produced with means of electroplating. The watch springs are electroplated on a gold plated silicon wafer, coated with a light-sensitive paint.

Credit

Empa

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