Pierre Gygax | Pioneer of the Silicon Escapement in Ulysse Nardin "Freak"

Patrik Hoffmann sits down with industry pioneer, Pierre Gygax, to discuss the progression and achievements of Pierre's career.
Pierre led the team at Omega that was behind the creation of the MegaQuartz. Later, Pierre joined Ulysse Nardin to help pioneer the use of Silicon in escapements influencing the creation in 2001 of the UN Freak. This also influenced the use of Silicon by other brands for various parts of movements.
Years later, we still see the use of the silicon in escapements in the UN Freak X released at SIHH 2019, and the most recent UN Freak neXt released earlier this year. Check out the full video to learn about how Pierre's vision came to fruition and how he influenced the future of watchmaking!
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[@stationplaza4631]

Thank you for posting this video about this fascinating topic. Silicon components are a truly revolutionary idea, for mechanical movements that strive for greater accuracy and endurance, that can also be produced cost effectively.

[@the1916company]

Not a problem at all! Glad we could post something of interest to you!
Thanks for watching!
- WatchBox Team

[@digggert]

Very nice interview! The pivot-free compliant mechanism designs from Ulysse Nardin are amazing. Same goes for Guy Sémons team and the new zenith oscillator.

[@the1916company]

Thanks for watching! The UN designs and the Zenith oscillator are very interesting indeed!
- WatchBox Team

[@bubbab7792]

Thanx for improving the audio. 👍 A nice interview with such an influential watchmaker. Good content guys. 👍

[@the1916company]

No problem Bubba, thanks for keeping an ear out for us! 👂
- WatchBox Team

[@traceyforster7501]

Hard to hear, the swiss and hong Kong videos always have bad sound

[@thegorn]

There's plenty of silicon. "silicon is a naturally occurring chemical element, whereas silicone is a synthetic substance. Silicon is the 14th element on the periodic table. It's a metalloid, meaning it has properties of both metals and nonmetals, and is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust, after oxygen.". We may have to dig into the crust if we exhaust surface silicon.