Exterior components for watches or jewelry and methods for manufacturing such exterior components

Abstract

To produce an external component of a watch, particularly of a dial, a crystal or a back crystal having complex decorations.SOLUTION: An external component (10) of a watch or jewel includes a substrate (100) made of a transparent material, the substrate (100) comprising an inner face (101) opposite an outer face (102). The inner face (101) has a structural processing part (103) extending over its entire surface. The external component (10) comprises at least one metallic layer, referred to as "inner metallic layer" (104), deposited on a portion of the surface of the inner face (101) so as to form a decoration. Portions of the surface of the inner face (101) not covered by the inner metallic layer (104) are covered by an anti-reflection coating (107).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of watchmaking or the field of gemstones, and more specifically relates to exterior components of watches or jewelry, and methods for manufacturing such exterior components.

Background Art

[0002] Particularly in the field of watchmaking, watches, especially the exterior components for the dial, generally have decorations made of thin layers deposited on the surface of a substrate.

[0003] Particularly, depending on the level of detail, these decorations can be complex to manufacture and may require a difficult level of precision to achieve by hand. Therefore, the production of decorations may require the use of automated tools, such as numerically controlled machining means, which may not be compatible with the manufacture of high-end watches characterized by the implementation of artistic and craftsmanship skills to obtain unique watches.

[0004] Furthermore, certain decorations may be technically unmanufacturable, even using automated tools, due to their complexity and the precision required for their production.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the context of this scope, the object of the present invention is to manufacture exterior components for dials, crystals or back crystals of watches, especially those with complex decorations.

[0006] More generally, the present invention addresses the same problems in the field of gemstones insofar as it aims to simplify the production of jewelry with complex decorations. [[ID=​​​​​The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks and, for this purpose, relates to an exterior component for a watch or jewelry, comprising a substrate made of a transparent material, wherein the substrate includes an inner surface opposite to an outer surface. Either the inner or outer surface has a structuring that extends over its entire surface, and the exterior component includes at least one metal layer deposited on a portion of the structuring to form a decoration, wherein the portion of the structuring not covered by the inner metal layer is covered with an anti-reflective coating.

[0008] The present invention enables the fabrication of structurally processed parts by any method adapted to generate reliefs or irregularities on an inner surface. In fact, the effect of the anti-reflective coating is to eliminate the visual appearance of structurally processed parts present on the portion of the inner surface not covered by the metal layer, which enables, for example, the manual production of structurally processed parts.

[0009] More specifically, the present invention explores masking internal structural processing areas that may be present on the surface portion not covered by the metal layer, such that only the metal layer visible through the substrate has a textured appearance. In other words, the present invention makes it possible to guarantee transparency of the entire exterior component, with the exception of the metal layer. It is understood that the present invention allows for a great degree of freedom in the fabrication of structural processing areas.

[0010] The purpose of the structural processing is to reduce specular reflection, particularly that caused by the metal layer, in order to diffuse the aforementioned reflection more effectively.

[0011] In certain embodiments, the present invention may further include one or more of the following features, which may be implemented individually or in any technically possible combination:

[0012] In certain embodiments, the inner surface includes a structurally processed portion over its entire surface and also includes a metal layer referred to as the "inner metal layer".

[0013] In certain embodiments, the outer surface of the substrate is polished.

[0014] In certain embodiments, the exterior component includes at least one metal layer, referred to as an "outer metal layer," deposited on a portion of the outer surface of the substrate, wherein the outer metal layer is covered with an anti-reflective coating covering the outer surface, or deposited on an anti-reflective coating covering the outer surface.

[0015] In certain embodiments, the inner metal layer is covered with an anti-reflective coating.

[0016] In another aspect, the present invention relates to a watch dial, crystal, or back crystal formed by the exterior components described above.

[0017] In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing exterior components of a watch or jewelry: The steps include: structural processing the entire inner surface of the substrate to create a structurally processed part; The steps include depositing at least one metal layer, called an "inner metal layer," onto a portion of the inner surface to form a decoration, The steps include depositing an anti-reflective coating on the inner surface of the substrate, at least on the portion of the inner surface of the substrate that is not covered by the inner metal layer, and This includes methods.

[0018] In a particular implementation, the method includes the step of depositing a metal layer called an “outer metal layer” on a portion of the outer surface of a substrate to form a decoration, which is performed before or after depositing an anti-reflective coating on the outer surface.

[0019] In a particular implementation, the outer surface is polished during the preliminary polishing step.

[0020] In certain embodiments, during the step of depositing the anti-reflection coating, the inner metal layer is covered by the anti-reflection coating.

[0021] In certain embodiments, the structuring step is performed by laser machining or by mechanical machining.

[0022] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] [Figure 1] A perspective view of an outer component of a timepiece according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] A cross-sectional view schematically showing the outer component described in FIG. 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] A cross-sectional view schematically showing the outer component of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] A cross-sectional view schematically showing the outer component of FIG. 1 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] The present invention relates to an outer component 10 of a timepiece or jewelry as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 in an embodiment.

[0025] The outer component 10 includes a substrate 100 made of a transparent material such as sapphire or glass. The substrate 100 is transparent in the sense that it allows light having a wavelength at least within the visible spectrum to pass through. The substrate 100 has an inner surface 101 opposite to the outer surface 102.

[0026] In a preferred application of the present invention, the exterior component 10 forms the dial, crystal, or back crystal of a watch. In this case, the inner surface 101 is intended to be positioned facing the watch movement, and the outer surface 102 is intended to be positioned facing the watch crystal.

[0027] Advantageously, the inner surface 101 or the outer surface 102 has a structurally processed portion 103 over its entire surface.

[0028] Preferably, as schematically shown in Figures 2 to 4 in the embodiment, the inner surface 101 has a structurally processed section 103. The structurally processed section 103 can be manufactured by a qualified worker by hand, for example by engraving, guilloché (engine-turning), or by any material removal work that creates relief or irregularities on the surface of the inner surface 101 by machining, chemical processing, laser processing, etc. Consequently, the structurally processed section 103 can be created by engraving, machine turning, satin finishing, etc., of the inner surface 101.

[0029] The structural processing section 103 of the inner surface 101 extends across its entire surface to simplify the structural processing work.

[0030] Furthermore, in order to improve the transparency of the substrate 100, the outer surface 102 may preferably be polished over its entire surface.

[0031] The exterior component 10 comprises at least one metal layer deposited on at least a portion of the surface of the interior 101 to form a decoration. This application describes embodiments in which the exterior component includes a decoration formed by a single metal layer on the surface of the interior 101. Of course, in other embodiments of the invention not described, multiple metal layers may be superimposed or placed side by side on the surface of the interior 101.

[0032] More specifically, the metal layer is deposited to embody the graphic representation that forms the decoration. The metal layer can be made from any metallic material, any metallic alloy, or any metallic oxide.

[0033] For example, the metal layer may be made of chromium oxide or chromium, palladium, gold, silver, etc.

[0034] In the embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 3, the outer surface 102 also has at least one metal layer forming a decoration on a portion of its surface. This application describes embodiments in which the exterior component includes a decoration formed by a single metal layer on the surface of the outer surface 102. Of course, in other embodiments of the invention not described, multiple metal layers may be superimposed or placed side by side on the surface of the outer surface 102.

[0035] In the remainder of this text, the metal layer deposited on the inner surface 101 of the substrate 100 will be referred to as the "inner metal layer 104," and the metal layer deposited on the outer surface 102 of the substrate 100 will be referred to as the "outer metal layer 105."

[0036] An example of a decoration formed by the inner metal layer 104 and the outer metal layer 105 is shown in a perspective view in Figure 1.

[0037] Furthermore, the portions of the inner surface 101 and outer surface 102 of the substrate 100 that are not covered by the inner metal layer 104 and the outer metal layer 105, respectively, are referred to in this specification as the "free region 106".

[0038] Advantageously, all or part of the inner metal layer 104 is visible to the user, as is the structural processing 103 on the inner surface 101 on the portion of the surface covered by the inner metal layer 104. Thus, thanks to the structural processing 103, the inner metal layer 104 has a textured visual appearance (not shown in Figure 1 for clarity of the figure) due to the relief or irregularities of the structural processing 103.

[0039] By depositing these inner metal layer 104 and outer metal layer 105 onto the inner surface 101 and outer surface 102 of the substrate 100, respectively, luxurious decoration can be easily created. More specifically, this feature allows for the addition of a depth effect between the two metal layers, and thus the addition of a depth effect to the decoration, the depth effect being proportional to the thickness of the substrate, insofar as this distance separates the two, the inner metal layer 104 and the outer metal layer 105, from each other.

[0040] As schematically shown in the cross-sectional views of Figures 2 to 4, the exterior component 10 includes an anti-reflective coating 107 that covers the entire free region 106 of the inner surface 101. Preferably, as shown in the embodiments of Figures 2 to 4, the anti-reflective coating also extends over the entire outer surface 102. In particular, the outer metal layer 105 is deposited on the anti-reflective coating 107, as shown in Figure 2, or covered by the anti-reflective coating 107, as shown in Figure 3.

[0041] It should be noted that the anti-reflective coating can be deposited only on selected surfaces, such as on the free areas 106 of the inner surface 101 and the outer surface 102, or one of them.

[0042] As shown in Figure 4, the outer surface 102 may not include the anti-reflective coating 107 and / or the metal layer. In other words, the outer surface may include the anti-reflective coating 107 but not the metal layer, or it may include the metal layer but not the anti-reflective coating 107, or it may not include the metal layer or the anti-reflective coating 107.

[0043] The anti-reflective coating 107 may be of the same type as those used for watch crystals, which are well known to those skilled in the art.

[0044] Advantageously, the anti-reflective coating 107 has the effect of eliminating the visual appearance of the structurally processed portion 103 that exists on the free region 106 of the inner surface 101 of the substrate 100. In other words, when the anti-reflective coating 107 is deposited on the structurally processed portion 103 as shown in Figure 2, it produces an optical effect by making the structurally processed portion 103 invisible to the naked eye, and consequently making the substrate 100 uniformly transparent in the free region 106, as if the inner surface 101 were polished in that location.

[0045] The exterior component 10 described above is manufactured using the following steps: The steps include structurally processing the entire surface of the inner surface 101 of the substrate 100 to generate the structurally processed portion 103, A step of depositing at least one inner metal layer 104 on a portion of the inner surface 101 to form a decoration, and in one embodiment of the present invention, a step of depositing another metal layer by depositing an outer metal layer 105 on a portion of the outer surface 102 of the substrate 100, The process involves at least depositing an anti-reflective coating 107 on the free region 106 of the inner surface 101, that is, on the portion of the inner surface 101 not covered by the metal layer. This can be done by carrying out the following. Preferably, the anti-reflective coating layer 107 is also deposited on the inner metal layer 104.

[0046] Advantageously, in one embodiment of the present invention, the anti-reflective coating 107 may be deposited on the entire surface of the outer surface 102, as shown in Figure 2, and then an optional outer metal layer 105 may be deposited on the anti-reflective coating 107 of the outer surface 102, or, as shown in Figure 3, on the outer metal layer 105 and also on the free region 106 of the outer surface 102.

[0047] The inner metal layer 104 and the possible outer metal layer 105 are preferably deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD).

[0048] The anti-reflective coating 107 is preferably deposited by a plasma-enhanced physical vapor deposition method.

[0049] It should be noted that, in the embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 3, the time series of the deposition of the inner metal layer 104 and the outer metal layer 105 is not important, similar to the time series of the deposition of the anti-reflective coatings 107 on each other.

[0050] Advantageously, the outer surface 102 is polished during a preliminary polishing step, which is performed before or immediately after the structural machining step.

[0051] More generally, it should be noted that the examples and embodiments discussed above are described as non-limiting examples, and as a result, other modifications are possible.

[0052] In particular, it should be noted that in other embodiments of the present invention, all arrangements relating to the inner surface 101, the inner metal layer 104, and the structural processing portion 103 described above can be applied in a similar manner to the outer surface 102, the outer metal layer 105, and any possible structural processing portions of the outer surface 102. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0053] 10 Exterior Components 100 circuit boards 101 Inner self 102 Exterior 103 Structural processing department 104 Inner metal layer 105 Outer metal layer 106 Free area 107 Anti-reflective coating

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an exterior component (10) of a watch or jewelry, The process involves structurally processing the entire surface of the inner surface (101) of a substrate (100) made of a transparent material in order to generate a structurally processed portion (103), The steps include depositing at least one inner metal layer (104) on a portion of the surface of the inner surface (101) to form a decoration, The steps include depositing an anti-reflective coating (107) on the inner surface (101) of the substrate (100), at least on the portion of the inner surface (101) of the substrate (100) that is not covered by the inner metal layer (104), and Includes, The aforementioned structural processing step is carried out by laser processing or by machining. Manufacturing method.

2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, comprising the step of depositing an outer metal layer (105) on a portion of the outer surface (102) of the substrate (100) to form a decoration, the step of being performed before or after depositing an anti-reflective coating (107) on the outer surface (102).

3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface (102) of the substrate (100) is polished during the preliminary polishing step.

4. The manufacturing method according to claim 2, wherein during the step of depositing the anti-reflective coating (107), the inner metal layer (104) is covered with the anti-reflective coating (107).

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