Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B45/00—Time pieces of which the indicating means or cases provoke special effects, e.g. aesthetic effects
  • G04B45/0084—Pictures or inscriptions on the case or parts thereof, attaching complete pictures
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44C—PRODUCING DECORATIVE EFFECTS; MOSAICS; TARSIA WORK; PAPERHANGING
  • B44C3/00—Processes, not specifically provided for elsewhere, for producing ornamental structures
  • B44C3/04—Modelling plastic materials, e.g. clay
  • B44C3/042—Modelling plastic materials, e.g. clay producing a copy from an original structure
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44F—SPECIAL DESIGNS OR PICTURES
  • B44F1/00—Designs or pictures characterised by special or unusual light effects
  • B44F1/08—Designs or pictures characterised by special or unusual light effects characterised by colour effects
  • B44F1/14—Iridescent effects
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44F—SPECIAL DESIGNS OR PICTURES
  • B44F7/00—Designs imitating three-dimensional [3D] effects
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25D—PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PRODUCTION OF COATINGS; ELECTROFORMING; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25D1/00—Electroforming
  • C25D1/10—Moulds; Masks; Masterforms

Definitions

• watch faces can be produced by tradi­tional methods of printing and engraving onto plane surfaces. It is also known that enhancement of such a product can be obtained by the application of special coatings - for example gold - by galvanic or vacuum deposition.
• items such as a watch face can be produced by an electroforming process whereby a master model of the watch face is made - commonly in metal -, plastic copies of this master are produced by a process such as casting, and subsequent electroformed metal copies are made from the plastic intermediate.
• This electroforming process allows considerable product enhancement because relief information (for example raised numerals) can be incorporated into the master model, and are thus also copied onto the subsequent electroform.
• embossed hologram and a multiplicity of decorative diffraction foils use the presence of a micro-relief structure on a surface to create a surface enhancement which is based on optical diffraction and not on the properties of coloured inks, pigments etc.
• embossed surfaces may be further enhanced by the application of a thin metal layer (for example vacuum coated aluminium).
• Products such as the embossed hologram and diffraction foil are available in todays marketplace in the form of thin plastic foils which have been embossed using a suitably made embossing master carrying the diffractive informa­tion as a surface relief structure.
• This object is attained, according to the invention, by combining the electroforming process used to manufacture a watch face as described above, with the presence over all or part of the required surface of holographic or diffractive patterns in the form of micro relief struc­tures.
• a holographic or diffractive relief pattern is formed in a metal surface whereby this step may itself involve producing an electroformed copy of a holographic or diffractive relief pattern recorded using laser tech­nology on a photosensitive surface.
• this metal relief pattern are then in­corporated into a master model of the finally required watch face.
• this master model will also include non-holographic or non-diffractive areas and elements to provide macroscopic relief effects and surface texturing, and utilitarian features such as apertures for the date wheel and driving axles for the hands.
• holographic or diffractive elements may be incorporated into different areas of the same watch face.
• Castings in a polymer system are produced of the master model surface.
• These castings are coated with a suitable electrically conducting layer, preferentially less than 100 nm, and then in a suitable holder, are electroformed to provide replicas of the original master model surface. It is convenient and economic to use copper as the electro­forming metal.
• the electroformed watch faces are then finished by applying a further decorative layer to the replica surface, for example of gold in a thin layer of less than 100 nm and various metal finishing operations such as stamping to the final size and machining the rear suface if necessary.
• a further decorative layer for example of gold in a thin layer of less than 100 nm and various metal finishing operations such as stamping to the final size and machining the rear suface if necessary.
• the invention described here is not limited to watch faces, but includes metal surfaces where an enhancement is required.
• the technology described here provides a security feature which can protect the surface of an object into which such a surface is intimately combined, against simulation by conventional printing or engraving methods.
• the technology can be applied to costume jewelry to provide product enhancement, to medals and coin-like items where the inclusion of holographic or diffractive surface elements can provide both enhancement and proof of authenticity, and to general metal objects which can be produced using an electroforming technique and which can be enhanced by the inclusion of holographic and diffractive effects.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Electrochemistry (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Metallurgy (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Holo Graphy (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=8198399

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (11)

Citations (5)

• 1987
  • 1987-04-22 EP EP19870810255 patent/EP0287746B1/de not_active Expired
  • 1987-04-22 DE DE8787810255T patent/DE3765776D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (5)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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