News 
The first round of the International Chronometry Contest is over and the 28 nominees of the 2015 edition are known. Timepieces submitted by firms that passed the first hurdle received a nominee’s certificate on 26 June this year at Le Locle Watch Museum - Château des Monts.
For their part, all young watchmakers in the running received a participant’s certificate in recognition of their efforts to present a timepiece capable of meeting the contest’s high standards.
Watches in the contest undergo four months of relentless testing and can under no circumstances be returned to the watchmaker. They are subjected three times to the chronometric certification tests specified in international standard ISO 3159. In the interim they undergo severe shock tests and exposure to magnetic fields. The figures cannot lie, and indeed cheating is out of the question, with results issued by accredited institutions and based on scientifically verified and controlled procedures. The tests are conducted in collaboration with the Contrôle officiel suisse des chronomètres (COSC), Besançon Observatory, and the Haute Ecole Arc Ingénierie (HE-Arc). It should be remembered that the contest also serves a training purpose, since it encourages both development teams within firms and young watchmakers to surpass themselves in meeting the strict requirements set out in the rules.
On the day after the deadline for applications (31 January 2015) a record number of 46 timepieces were registered. However there were fewer watch manufacturers than at the previous edition, and the sharp rise in numbers was down to enthusiasm among young watchmakers. Good news for the up-and-coming generation!
28 May 2015, 5pm: final deadline for timepieces to be submitted to Le Locle Watch Museum. In another surprise, some of the 46 registered timepieces failed to arrive! Various reasons were cited: not ready, change of company policy, or other urgent priorities.
Nevertheless, having overcome the first obstacle of registration, and the second in the form of qualifying chronometric tests carried out at the COSC in Le Locle, today 28 watches are still in the running to receive a prize. Other timepieces will go through the tests without being able to lay claim to distinction. These are models that were either not nominated or entered anonymously. In addition, a prototype watch prepared by HE-Arc and CIFOM will also undergo all the tests in order to throw light on how work is progressing.
Watch manufacturers still in this fourth edition of the International Chronometry Contest are, in alphabetical order: Chopard (Geneva), Dodane (Chatillon le Duc, France), Kerbedanz (Neuchâtel), Péquignet (Morteau, France), Les Ateliers Louis Moinet (Saint-Blaise), Sellita Watch (La Chaux-de-Fonds) and Tissot (Le Locle).
The end of testing is scheduled for 18 September at Besançon Observatory and the results will be announced during a ceremony to be held on 22 October 2015 in Le Sentier (Joux Valley).
July 16, 2015