{"id":29370,"date":"2024-02-07T23:24:44","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T22:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swiss-watch-passport.ch\/ltm-le-motoriste-a-part-grandes-ambitions-et-petits-calibres\/"},"modified":"2024-02-08T19:50:19","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T18:50:19","slug":"ltm-an-apart-manufacture-great-ambitions-and-small-calibres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swiss-watch-passport.ch\/en\/ltm-an-apart-manufacture-great-ambitions-and-small-calibres\/","title":{"rendered":"LTM, an apart Manufacture: great ambitions and… small calibres!"},"content":{"rendered":"

{Article originally featured in JSH 2022}. Only a few professionals know it as LTM, an industrial pearl from Fleuris dedicated to watch movements. Behind this initials stands Le Temps Manufactures, the most discreet movement maker on the market.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Vincent Daveau, watchmaker, journalist and historian<\/i>
\nRead it on the Swiss Watch Journal JSH\u00ae, special issue<\/a>\u00a0SSC<\/a> Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Suisse de Chronom\u00e9trie<\/i>
\nInsta SWP<\/a> | Insta JSH\u00ae<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Twitter<\/a> | Linkedin<\/a> | JSH\u00ae subscription<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Feuilles volantes sous un vent de cr\u00e9ativit\u00e9, dans le d\u00e9partement R&D de LTM.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>
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LTM masters almost all watchmaking skills<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Established in 2008, Le Temps Manufactures is housed in the former premises of Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier in the heart of the Val-de-Travers in the Swiss canton of Neuch\u00e2tel. On the podium at the International Congress of Chronometry 2022, Christophe L\u00fcthi<\/strong><\/a> relates, with detailed technical data, the latest developments in two very small mechanical calibres. In the world of motorists, this LTM line is rather unusual. It could well meet the market’s needs, and even stimulate new creative desires, particularly now that leading brands are increasingly exploring jewellery territories.<\/p>\n

By developing its Methods and Techniques department, LTM aims to develop “private label<\/em>” products in 2014. The idea is to offer movements that meet the expectations of customers and final buyers.<\/p>\n

Small, but reliable and of high quality<\/strong><\/p>\n

The focus was on producing small mechanical calibres which, although marginal in a world where watches have large diameters, are still needed to create timepieces with original shapes or time-keeping jewellery. The idea was to gain a market share in a sector where there was no real quality offering.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Dans l\u2019\u0153il de mire du CEO Christophe L\u00fcthi: la production de calibres de petites tailles, marginale dans un monde o\u00f9 les montres ont de forts diam\u00e8tres, demeure n\u00e9cessaire pour la cr\u00e9ation de garde-temps aux formes originales ou de bijoux donnant l\u2019heure<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Le calibre LTM 2000, la version manuelle et la version baptis\u00e9e LTM 2100 \u00e0 remontage automatique sont des c\u0153urs qui ont \u00e9t\u00e9 con\u00e7us sur les bases de mouvements anciens des ann\u00e9es 1990 \u00e9labor\u00e9s par la manufacture Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Piguet. Ces c\u0153urs alors consid\u00e9r\u00e9s comme les plus petits du march\u00e9 portaient les r\u00e9f\u00e9rences FP 6.10 et FP 6.15. Malgr\u00e9 leur similarit\u00e9 avec les mod\u00e8les d\u2019antan, la mise au point de ceux propos\u00e9s par LTM a demand\u00e9 3 ans de d\u00e9veloppements. Les deux font 6 3\u20444 lignes et ont un diam\u00e8tre d\u2019encageage de 15,3 mm.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

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The manual-winding version is 2.10 mm thick and has a 40-hour power reserve, while the automatic one is 3.70 mm thick with a platinum weight, or 3.90 mm thick with a tungsten weight<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>

Meeting a need<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the manufacturer, the aim was not to create a “clone” of an existing product, but to produce a small, reliable and precise movement. After extensive development work, and in order to improve both running stability and precision, the regulating organs have been upgraded to 3.5 Hertz.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Plus petits en diam\u00e8tre qu\u2019une pi\u00e8ce de 5 centimes (19,5) ou qu\u2019une pi\u00e8ce de 1 centime d\u2019euro (16,25), les calibres LTM 2000 et LTM 2100 conservent le diam\u00e8tre d\u2019encageage des anciens calibres 6.10 et 6.15 de Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Piguet, \u00e0 savoir 15.30 mm<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

All LTM 2000 components were checked and made reliable, and those that could be magnetized were replaced by others made of non-magnetic stainless steel. The entire caliber then passed a series of tests for resistance to contemporary wear and tear (shocks, wear, magnetism).<\/p>\n

After analyzing the highly satisfactory results, LTM has launched the LTM 2000 manual-winding movement on the market in the first half of 2022. Available in six hands heights and numerous finishings, it should appeal to demanding brands looking for a quality heart designed to power very small watches. Or sometimes even to larger timepieces whose calibers are relegated to a corner to make room for animations or finishes that are a little “overwhelming.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Plus de 100 collaborateurs oeuvrent \u00e0 Fleurier, dans les anciens locaux de Vaucher Manufacture<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>
LTM (official)<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
JSH\u00ae’s #18-19 pages<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
JSH\u00ae’s #20 page<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>