Transparent Watch Component Coating for Textured Low-Glare Decoration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods struggle to produce external components of watches and jewelry with complex decorations due to the precision and complexity requirements, which are difficult to achieve with automated tools and may not be producible manually, especially in luxury items where arts and crafts skills are essential.
Innovation Solution
A transparent substrate with structuring on one face and metallic layers on portions of the surface, combined with anti-reflection coatings on uncovered areas, allowing for manual production of reliefs and asperities, and masking the structuring to create a textured appearance while maintaining transparency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If automated tools are used to produce decorations, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and loss of artisanal character worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate surface is segmented into two functional zones: areas with structuring (reliefs/asperities) and areas without structuring. This segmentation allows different optical effects to be achieved in different regions, enabling complex decorations to be produced through selective metal layer deposition on structured areas while keeping the overall process compatible with artisanal manufacturing methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The structuring is applied locally to specific areas of the substrate surface rather than uniformly across the entire surface. This local quality approach allows the metal layer to interact with the structuring only in designated regions, creating textured decorative effects where needed while maintaining transparency and simplicity in other areas, thus reducing overall device complexity.
2Illumination intensity
If structuring is applied to reduce specular reflection, then optical quality is improved, but manufacturing complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
A metal layer is introduced as an intermediary element between the substrate structuring and the external environment. The metal layer interacts with the structuring to produce the desired optical effect (reduced specular reflection, more diffuse appearance) while the structuring itself can be produced by simple manual methods. The metal layer mediates the optical interaction, allowing ease of manufacture to be maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal layer undergoes optical property changes when deposited on the structured surface versus the unstructured surface. On structured areas, the metal layer exhibits a textured, diffuse appearance that reduces specular reflection. This color/optical property change approach allows optical quality improvement without requiring complex structuring manufacturing processes.
3Ease of manufacture
If manual methods are used to produce structuring, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The metal layer acts as a copy or replica of the substrate structuring, transferring the relief pattern to the metal surface. This copying process preserves the essential optical effect while allowing the original structuring to be produced by simple manual methods without requiring high precision. The metal layer copy provides the necessary optical interaction even when the original structuring is imprecise.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the production of complex decorations with reduced specular reflection, providing significant freedom in design and maintaining transparency, suitable for luxury items.
Implementation Method 1
the portion(s) of the structuring not covered by the inner metallic layer being covered with an anti-reflection coating
Implementation Method 2
The aim of the structuring is to reduce the reflection of the light, in particular the specular reflection, caused by the metallic layer, in order to make said reflection more diffuse
Implementation Method 3
at least one metallic layer deposited on a portion of the structuring, so as to form a decoration
Data Source
AI summary
An external component (10) of a watch or of an item of jewellery, including a substrate (100) produced in a transparent material, said substrate (100) comprising an inner face (101) opposite an outer face (102), the external component (10) being characterised in that the inner face (101) has a structuring (103) extending over its entire surface, said external component (10) comprising 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, the portion(s) of the surface of the inner face (101) not covered by the inner metallic layer (104) being covered by an anti-reflection coating (107).