Landeron Swiss Movements With the "Micro5" More Environmentally and Cost-Consciously Towards the Clockwork

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In the market of movement manufacturers, dominated by a few large players, Landeron Swiss Movements in Kaiseraugst is a sought-after address among insiders when it comes to technical reliability and individual design of a caliber for a watch. It is also widely known that the whole package is affordable. Landeron has invested in the "Micro5" from the Chiron Group, a machining center perfectly suited to strengthen and further expand this image. The results after three months of practice show that they are a perfect match.

A mechanical clockwork is simply fascinating: at least 100, usually more, high-precision parts are assembled in a small space by skilled hands—and with a glance at the watch on our wrist, we always know what time it is. With a precision of 99.9 percent and better.

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Swiss Made—Established Brand and Hallmark of the Watch Industry

When one thinks of a watch, one usually thinks of Switzerland and the well-known name manufacturers—the image of proverbial Swiss precision is firmly established; in 2023, the entire Swiss watch industry brought about 17 million watches to the global market. In comparison, Apple Watches sold 37 million units in the same period, leading in quantity but not in revenue. In our increasingly digitized world, watches with mechanical movements have a special allure. This was already the case from the 1990s onwards, after the so-called "quartz crisis" of the 70s and 80s when battery-operated quartz watches flooded the market and made life difficult for traditional watch manufacturers. It's an almost uninterrupted success story to this day, employing around 60,000 people in Switzerland and generating approximately 25 billion Swiss francs (approx. 30 billion USD).

Landeron Swiss Movements

Landeron Swiss Movements is based in Kaiseraugst (Switzerland) and develops individual watch movements. The program offers manual movements, automatic movements, chronographs, and tourbillons, all Swiss made. Landeron masters the entire production process, including consulting, design, planning, conception, through to prototype manufacturing and series production. Production and tool manufacturing for Landeron are located in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Among the few pure movement manufacturers, Landeron offers a high degree of customization for reliable and affordable calibers.

"Make the Movement, not the Watch"

Part of this industry is Landeron Swiss Movements, with owner and managing director Krisztina De Paola and her husband, Sergio De Paola, who is a trained watchmaker and works as a Technical Manager. She learned porcelain painting, and everything related to design and decoration is her world and passion. In the late 90s, she came to Switzerland as a jewelry designer and was one of the few designers who could already operate computer-aided programs like 3D Studio Max—this will become important later in connection with the "Micro5."

She came to watches through her husband Sergio, whom she met in early 2000. Krisztina De Paola founded her company in 2007 with the idea of bringing self-designed products—jewelry, watches, and other luxury goods—to the market. Over time, the focus increasingly shifted to the production of watch movements. In 2015, the brand "Landeron Swiss Movements" was registered, and the De Paolas began marketing their movements under this name. "Building a complete watch is extremely complex, and that wasn't our goal," says the trained watchmaker and production specialist Sergio De Paola, who is well-connected in the industry and brings 40 years of expertise and experience. "We wanted to focus on the movement and found the perfect foundation with Landeron on which we could build: Namely, to produce reliable and affordable mechanical movements while realizing a wide variety of individual customer solutions."

Design is the Alpha and the Omega

In Kaiseraugst, located directly on the Rhine, is Landeron's headquarters with design, engineering, administration, and—new with the "Micro5" from the Chiron Group—prototype manufacturing. In La Chaux-de-Fonds are the production and tool manufacturing facilities. Throughout its history, Landeron has distinguished itself with several groundbreaking innovations. These include the rotating bezel that replaced correction buttons for setting calendar functions, or the first Swiss electric movement with a battery-operated balance wheel instead of a mainspring. For the past ten years, the De Paolas and their employees have been behind the Landeron brand and its motto of affordable and reliable movements. The product range includes four types of movements: manual movements, automatic movements, chronographs, and tourbillons, with four to five different calibers within these types. Krisztina De Paola is the contact person when it comes to determining the appropriate caliber and implementing the customer's ideas, i.e., redesigning the movement's design with form and function accordingly. "Whether our customers come from Italy or Australia, America, and Asia—they all seek the right movement for their idea of a watch. And everyone has their own ideas, which we strive to fulfill," she shares from her experience and provides examples: "Automatic movement or the most precise of all movements, the tourbillon? Blue or red jewel bearings, rectangular or round watch shape, an additional complication such as a perpetual calendar function, moon phase display—our initial consultation is extremely important for the customer to ensure the watch and movement fit perfectly together. There are many factors to consider that are crucial for the technical implementation, mass production, and finally, the cost."

Produce More Sustainably and Reach "Zero" Faster

Together with the De Paolas, Simon Heim, who has been working in sales for the Chiron Group in Switzerland since 2019, initiated the first discussions about acquiring the "Micro5". He wanted to understand exactly what Landeron intended to do with the machine specifically designed for micro machining. "What helped was the De Paolas' enthusiasm for the machine concept itself," says Simon Heim, explaining it this way: "With an energy consumption of only 0.5 kW/h and only one square meter of floor space, the 'Micro5' can rightfully be called a 'sustainable product'. That's exactly what Landeron was looking for." Sergio De Paola adds, "The existing CNC machines have too high an energy requirement for what they machine in the micro range. It was important to us to be forward-thinking and significantly reduce these costs. As everywhere in Switzerland, space is limited, so a small footprint in production is always a good argument." The main driving force behind everything was Krisztina De Paola herself. She had clearly defined her goals: To handle the entire process from hand-drawing the design, writing the CAD/CAM program, setting up and operating the machine—all in-house to quickly move from the finished design to the prototypes and, of course, to experiment with ideas and new designs. "At the moment," says Krisztina De Paola, "manual movements are very trendy, and demand for tourbillons is also rising. We have our hands full here. With the 'Micro5', I can immediately get to work and implement the basis for every prototype, the front and rear plates. We can move much faster to the number 0 of new creations, faster into series production, and our customers can get their watches to market faster." A statement that clearly satisfies Simon Heim. "I find it impressive how Krisztina De Paola has engaged with the 'Micro5' and now masters the entire process from A to Z."

Improve Something Every Day

Smartwatches and quartz watches often cannot be repaired; when they break, they must be disposed of and a new one purchased. In contrast, all parts of a watch with a mechanical movement can be repaired, making such a timepiece one of the most sustainable products ever. Well maintained and regularly serviced, it lasts a lifetime and beyond. For Krisztina and Sergio De Paola, this sustainability serves as a fitting symbol for their future plans. "We are small, maintain a responsible, open, and social personnel policy, and everyone enjoys their work—all of which makes us very flexible. And with the new manufacturing possibilities with the 'Micro5' from the Chiron Group, we have taken the right step towards producing in a more environmentally and cost-conscious manner, allowing us to keep the individual variety of our program affordable."

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