SIC®-Silicon hair spring

Damasko: Pioneer of silicon technology in the watch industry

Damasko is one of the few international pioneers in silicon technology for movement parts. Over 15 years ago, Damasko was one of the first watch manufacturers to successfully implement silicon technology in its movements, particularly in balance springs and escape wheels with the innovative EPS hairspring. In the early years, this consisted of polycrystalline silicon. In 2008, Damasko set standards in Germany by introducing its own silicon hairsprings and escape wheels, which led to groundbreaking results in rate accuracy.

The use of silicon hairsprings offers numerous advantages: they are insensitive to the magnetic fields that surround us in everyday life, highly temperature-resistant and extremely shock-resistant. They are also characterized by temperature-independent, stable oscillation behavior, which significantly improves accuracy.

Today, Damasko has reached another milestone. With the granted patent for an optical measurement process, the company is once again revolutionizing silicon technology. By using monocrystalline silicon and the advanced white light interferometry measurement process, Damasko can significantly increase the precision of its silicon spirals. This innovative process captures up to one million images per second and enables specialized software to filter out irregularities and precisely determine the maximum deflection and angular deviations of adjacent turns.

Thanks to this groundbreaking measurement process, Damasko is the first manufacturer in the world to be able to further develop the precision of silicon hairspring technology and take a decisive step towards our goal of creating the most robust and accurate watches in the world.

Patented EPS® spiral

When something or someone is said to “work like movement”, what is meant is that the person or thing in question displays extreme accuracy and reliability. The objective of the DAMASKO movement is nothing less than that – regular oscillation that comes as close as possible to absolute values. Here, classic mechanical movements have two limits: natural asymmetry of the material itself that increases during the lifespan and the instantaneous influence of temperature, pressure, gravitation and magnetism. The patented EPS® spiral solves these problems at several levels. The polycrystalline silicon is non-sensitive to physical external influences. The spiral itself is highly elastic and is significantly lighter than steel spirals, for which reason there is a considerably lower centrifugal-force effect upon impacts. Traditional spirals are also fastened to the balance shaft through heat or pressure deformation, which, in turn, negatively influences the material properties. In contrast, the EPS® spiral is clipped into patented studs, whose spring-loaded design allows the subtlest of subsequent corrections of the attachment point. Thanks to this intelligent combination of form, material and workmanship, the EPS® spiral oscillates in an ideal, concentric fashion and is a visible expression of the DAMASKO innovation policy of granting the mechanical watch a maximum degree of isochronism, i.e. complete equability. Anit-magnetic according to DIN3809.

Silicon escape wheel

The escape wheel is part of the escapement in a mechanical movement. It supplies the oscillating system with energy and controls the running of the gear train. It therefore has a direct influence on the accuracy of a watch.

By using silicon as a material, the long-term accuracy of the watch is improved even further. This is due to the properties that silicon possesses.

On the one hand, it is amagnetic and those cannot be influenced by external magnetic fields; on the other hand, it is corrosion-resistant and extremely wear-resistant. At the same time, it is significantly lighter and harder than steel, and is also stable in terms of temperature and shape. These properties, compared with the high-precision manufacturing process of deep etching, make it possible to produce escape wheels with gear-optimized geometries, complex structures for multi-stage contact surfaces and more filigree contours for further weight reduction.

With the help of the additional silicon oxide coating, stability is increased even further and friction at the contact surfaces is minimized. As a result, the inhibition pallets do not rely on lubrication.

The reduced friction and weight, as well as the optimized geometries, all lead to an increase in the energy efficiency of our movements and those also extend the power reserve and long-term accuracy.