Oil-free watches are a reality, but how good are they?

It has been described as the Holy Grail of traditional watchmaking: a watch that runs without a drop of lubricant. For as long as clocks and watches have been made, oils have been essential to lubricate, protect and keep their intricate mechanisms moving.

Yet oils change with temperature and use - or lack of use - and, more importantly, degrade over time, affecting the precision and reliability of the watch.

In the 1970s, watchmakers experimented by using plastic parts in some oil-free movements; but the plastic wore quickly and the watches did not stand the test of time.

Now, the advent of silicon and nanotechnologies may give watchmakers the breakthrough that they have been searching for.

"These new technologies offer possibilities which seemed unthinkable a few years ago," said Rolf Schnyder, president of Ulysse Nardin. "These are giant steps for the industry."

Ulysse Nardin, along with Jaeger-LeCoultre, has been one of the leaders in researching and developing the new materials.

"Different brands like Ulysse Nardin, Breguet and Patek Philippe have taken different approaches in their search for a movement that will work forever," said Carson Chan, managing director and watch specialist at Bonhams, Hong Kong.

In 2001, Ulysse Nardin first announced a major breakthrough with the Freak. A revolutionary design, the Freak featured two escapement wheels which were etched from silicon instead of the usual steel, and needed no lubrication. So far the company has sold 650 of the original model and has launched several additional versions, the most recent being the Blue Phantom.

"The escapement in silicon has proven to be very reliable," Schnyder said. Since 2006 the company has offered the technology to other watchmakers through Sigatec, a joint venture with Mimotec, a Swiss microcomponents maker.

Ulysse Nardin has also experimented with polycrystalline diamond and has patents pending for a balance wheel, hairspring and escapement made in cultured diamond.

"This material is excellent in terms of being very light and antimagnetic," Schnyder said. "It has good impact resistance and friction properties and runs without lubrication. However, it is frightfully expensive to produce."

Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced the use of lubricant-free ceramic ball bearings in 2002 in its automatic winding mechanisms. Last year, it unveiled its Master Compressor Extreme LAB, which has an entire movement that works without lubrication.

In addition to silicon for the escapement wheel, Jaeger-LeCoultre has experimented with new materials, including carbonitride Easium - used in nuclear engineering - to replace the traditional jewels; a synthetic crystalline black diamond in place of the traditional ruby pallet stones; graphite powder in place of barrel grease; carbon fiber; and platinum iridium.

One example of the Extreme LAB has been made. In severe testing it has continued to operate successfully at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, or minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. "This is a breakthrough, as previously no watch could withstand below 20 degrees Celsius as the oil would freeze," said Xavier Dufoix, managing director of Jaeger-LeCoultre Southeast Asia.

Dufoix said the company planned to produce 20 Extreme LAB watches in the next five years, each retailing at around €190,000, or $300,000. The first is due to be delivered at the end of this year. The limited edition reflects the amount of time and effort taken to manufacture the components with new materials, rather than the cost of the project.

"JLC believes that this technology will set new standards for the entire watchmaking industry in the coming years," Dufoix said, "as this in itself represents a big step forward in the revolution in the standards of watchmaking. But it will take necessary time for the watchmakers and manufacturers to become well-versed in and master this technique."

Most brands have no plans to go completely oil-free, though some have started to incorporate a few oil-free components in their watches. Patek Philippe in 2005 introduced a new Caliber with a high-tech silicon escape wheel for its self-winding Annual Calendar wristwatches, and Audemars Piguet's Cabinet No. 5 model, unveiled in 2006, has a new escapement design that avoids the need to lubricate the pallet stones.

"It is unlikely that all wheels of a Patek Philippe movement will be made of silicon," said a company spokeswoman. "The use of silicon will remain limited to those components in which the specific material's advantages such as low mass, high hardness, antimagnetic behavior, oil-free operation, corrosion resistance, etc., are of crucial importance.

"Any new innovations must bring a real measured benefit of improving the reliability and precision of the movement."

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