In March 2008, bloghorloger.ch tracked down patent No. CH 685363, issued on 30 November 1995 and relating to the first self-winding timepiece with a facial rotor (not to be confused with the Perrelet double-rotor).
The technical study and production of an initial functional prototype were entrusted to watchmaker Jean-Claude Nicolet (winner of the first Gaïa prize in 1993, renowned for his watchmaking innovations) by Eric M. Grandjean, a well-known figure in the Swiss watchmaking industry who has since passed away.
Since the heirs of the inventor and applicant would not have extended the validity of this patent, which in any case would have fallen into the public domain after 20 years, the way was clear for the filing of a new patent. Is this a good enough reason for Frédéric Jouvenot, an excellent watchmaker and courageous entrepreneur, to claim that “40 years on (1969-2009), the automatic chronograph has been reinvented?” And to claim in glowing terms the paternity of “the first integrated chronograph in history with a complete winding system visible from the dial?”
These words refer to the ACE model and its calibre, the FH-ACE-001.
Opinion: the past is full of inventions which, even if they were to be patented, deserve a little projo and… a little humility from time to time.
