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At Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier (VMF), a watch movement moves from customer requirements and technical studies through industrialization, prototype assembly and testing before production is planned. Its account of manufacturing combines repeatable industrial methods with skilled finishing, but it does not publish one universal machining sequence for every part or calibre. The examples below show how the process works and how treatments differ by component.
What Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier makes
VMF develops, produces and markets high-end mechanical movements and additional mechanisms for watchmaking customers. It works on customized projects and production in small, medium and large series, according to its company profile. That makes its manufacturing process more than a matter of cutting parts: it includes defining a mechanism with a customer, checking technical feasibility, preparing production, and finishing components to suit the intended movement.
VMF says it was founded in 2003 and has more than 200 employees; its profile does not provide a dated headcount series. It also places its work in a region with watchmaking history associated with David-Jean-Jacques-Henri Vaucher dating to 1730. That historical reference is not the founding date of the present company.
How a movement goes from proposal to production
1. Define the movement or module
VMF’s Open R&D group works with customers to define a movement or module. Its technical office develops complications, special mechanisms and new movements, then conducts feasibility and technical studies based on early proposals. A project may involve adapting an existing calibre or developing a more extensive bespoke mechanism. VMF says design, component, module or calibre exclusivity can form part of a customer partnership.
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2. Turn the design into a production method
The Production Engineering Office links the technical office with production. VMF describes this team as industrializing movements, designing production tools and working on productivity and equipment, including collaborative robots and what the company calls “4.0 machines.” The purpose is to make a technical design workable as a repeatable production process, rather than treating design and manufacture as separate concerns.
3. Assemble and test prototypes
Prototype watchmakers assemble movements, while the watchmaking laboratory develops test protocols, conducts operational testing and analyses results. VMF says prototypes undergo tests under Swiss watch-industry standards and that additional specific tests can be offered. Production follows validation, with the new calibre’s specifications to be maintained.
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In a separate description of its development practice, VMF lists evaluations of precision, power reserve, automatic-winding efficiency, strength and endurance. It also describes testing prototypes with magnetic fields, shocks, shaking and heat, and measuring wear, friction and lubrication stability. Those are examples of its stated testing work, not proof that every listed test is applied identically to every movement. VMF says developing a new movement project can take between two and six years, depending on complexity; that is the manufacturer’s range, not a universal industry timetable.
4. Organize production for consistency
VMF presents production as a combination of industrial methods and artisanal work: industrial methods support reliability, while skilled finishing serves haute horlogerie standards. The company says it reviews workflows, embeds quality and methods roles in workshops, and uses lean manufacturing. It reports that reorganizing into an autonomous production unit reduced component flow paths and saved time, but does not give a numerical saving.
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How different watch parts are finished
Finishing is component-specific. VMF’s examples illustrate selected operations, not a mandatory decoration list for every movement. Customer requirements and movement configurations affect which treatments are used.
| Component | VMF’s described treatment | What it does in the process |
|---|---|---|
| Levers and springs (“aciers” in the company’s terminology) | Cut, then finished by hand or with small machine tools; surfaces made matte and edges polished. | Shapes and finishes these small components, including their visible surfaces and edges. |
| Plates | Circular graining. A robot positions components under a graining head while a specialist oversees the operation. | Applies a patterned surface finish to plates that may retain machining traces. |
| Bridges | Chamfered with a piercer before Côtes de Genève is applied; bridge heels receive colimaçonnage, or “snailing.” | Combines edge work and decorative surface treatments. |
| Geartrain discs | Circular graining and gilding. | Creates a visual contrast with highly polished pivots. |
These examples come from VMF’s description of high-end movements and finishes. The company’s phrase for its broader approach is: “Industrial to increase and maintain the reliability of our movements, and yet still artisanal to ensure our Haute Horlogerie finishes.”
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What the available descriptions do—and do not—establish
VMF’s published pages explain development stages, production philosophy and selected finishing operations. They do not provide a complete factory tour, a machine-by-machine inventory, a precise sourcing map for every component, or current output, production yields or defect rates. The company’s account is useful for understanding its stated methods, but it should not be read as a universal recipe for every calibre.
VMF is also part of a wider watchmaking network. Parmigiani Fleurier’s manufacture overview describes VMF as producing manual and automatic mechanical movements and additional modules, while distinguishing the related work of atokalpa on geartrain and oscillator components. This describes separate roles in the network; it does not establish that every part in every VMF calibre comes from one named supplier.
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