Cortaillod (Neuchâtel), CH, April 19, 2017
Recognized for its innovative strength in the field of precision measurement for mechanical watches, H2i has become part of Petitpierre, a flagship Swiss micro-technology company with over 40 years of experience in watchmaking and high-tech mechanical engineering.
Trailblazing high-precision watchmaking measurement
This acquisition complements and strengthens the Petitpierre’s portfolio of competencies, now incorporating chronometric measurement and demagnetization. The complimentary skills of each company will strenghten the products and services that have shaped their reputations: the development and production of watchmaking tools, automation machines and high precision measurement devices for the watchmaking industry. Their common vision will be to produce technically perfect products, while offering a superior user experience. This will be accomplished by providing optimal product functionality, designs, smooth interfacing and optimization of every detail.
“By joining Petitpierre, we are addressing small gaps in our offering and increasing the commercialization of our designs”, said Emmanuel Baudet, co-founder of H2i. While developing new products, H2i puts a great focus on the design and user experience. “Even if it is a very technical laboratory machine, our instruments are well designed. The computer interface is very ergonomic and, above all, these instruments are Plug & Play”, said Jean-Charles Rousset, the other co-founder of H2i. H2i’s customers are mainly watch brands and laboratories. Next to this they also offer a line of measurement tools for watch collectors and retailers under the name ONEOF, to monitor the accuracy of watches and demagnetize them.
Emmanuel Baudet and Jean-Charles Rousset founded H2i (Horlogerie Innovation Instrumentation) in June 2014. They previously worked together on a number of projects involving complex and extremely avant-garde horological oscillators. Their many years of experience in the horology industry showed that accurate measurement is crucial for successful innovation in watchmaking. Together they developed several worldwide patents relating to new methods of measuring mechanical watch precision. Combining their highly complementary skill sets rapidly enabled them to establish strong partnerships with major Swiss watch brands and offer them a range of high-quality, high-performance and carefully tailored tools.
Petitpierre is a member company of Acrotec Group, one of the major centers of Swiss micromechanics. “The Acrotec group is enthusiastic about this partnership”, said Philippe Metzger, Chief Marketing Officer, commenting the acquisition.