Reliably fresh thinking
We’ve been developing innovative watch technologies, materials, and manufacturing processes since 1984. And there is plenty more to come.
Today, we don't buy a watch just so we know the time. Instead, we expect our watches, be they mechanical or connected, to provide much more - from helping you to live a healthier lifestyle to the thrill of owning a unique timepiece. Many of the technical developments that underpin this revolution in watchmaking were invented, designed, and implemented by CSEM.
Half a century ago, quartz crystal resonators transformed what is possible in timepiece design. Today it is silicon micro-components that are driving a new generation of high-performance mechanical watches and starting a new chapter in the Swiss watchmaking industry’s prestigious history.
We are right at the heart of this evolution – our expertise in handling silicon allows us to develop cutting-edge components that are enabling new watch architectures that are more resilient and accurate than traditional designs. They are helping to consign established challenges – such as the loss of precision through exposure to magnetic fields, temperature extremes or shocks – to the history books. We are also developing new materials and surface modifications to unlock new aesthetic opportunities while reducing wear and enhancing timepiece reliability.
But we are not stopping there.
We are also at the forefront of the latest innovations in smartwatch development.
Our industry-leading research in microelectronics, microsystems, and systems are giving watchmakers an exciting new set of building blocks. Together we are making it easier for designers to integrate low-power, wireless, embedded, and wearable sensing systems into new watch designs.
Looking ahead, our energy-harvesting solutions such as flexible, thin-film PV, will help to power new levels of watch performance. In a futuristic view, our miniature atomic clock may even be brought to the wrist.
CSEM has experience working with the watchmaking industry and is a world-leading expert in oscillator systems. That’s where you go when you’re seeking technologies that break the mold.
Autonomy via solar energy and independence via a Swiss digital platform were the guiding principles for our new watch, and CSEM—with its decades of experience accelerating innovation and industrialization in photovoltaics and low-power systems—proved an ideal multidisciplinary partner for this exciting project.
The new Bluetooth chip we have developed with our long-standing partner CSEM has exceptional features specially designed for small connected objects and above all, of course, watches.
This was a great collaboration with CSEM, enabling us to commercialize a product that some agencies are recommending is adopted as a standard measuring technique.
For several years, Patek Philippe and CSEM have been collaborating on the development of micromechanical parts for watch mechanisms. CSEM is an important driving force for innovation within our company.
Thanks to the support of CSEM, we succeeded in optimizing the coupling of two independent oscillators. A milestone in the history of watchmaking.
12 June 2025
CSEM is part of the EU-funded GENESIS project to drive sustainable innovation in semiconductor manufacturing with advanced sensing, green materials, and PFAS-free processes.
13 December 2022
CSEM has partnered with Gübelin’s Gem Lab in Lucerne, CH, to finalize work on a high-performance AI authentication solution.
23 November 2022
Students from the Lausanne University of Art and Design (ECAL) have teamed up with CSEM’s engineers to create an avant-garde iridescent jewelry collection.