Raptor, the glass-free and unbreakable display case
The watch sits proudly on its stand, free to dazzle at full brilliance with no fear of wandering hands. Because the moment an invisible boundary is crossed — zip, clack — the precious timepiece vanishes into its base and locks itself inside a steel vault.
"A display case without glass is a bit like squaring the circle," explains Xavier Dietlin of Dietlin Artisans Métalliers. This display-case maker specialising in watchmaking admits to having explored every possible angle: "We imagined the most far-fetched solutions — protection by an electric current, an ultra-thin viewing window — but in every case, the main challenge was to guarantee a perfect view of the product without compromising its security."
Mission impossible
Commissioned by Dietlin and financially supported by the canton of Vaud's economic development office, it took 18 months for two Ecublens Science Park start-ups — FiveCo and BlueBotics — to crack this seemingly unsolvable equation.
The result is a display stand measuring 40 centimetres wide by 120 centimetres tall. Around twenty infrared sensors are concealed beneath the upper surface, detecting movement within a precisely defined — and adjustable — zone around the displayed object.
Once that invisible boundary is breached, the support retracts in one tenth of a second into a steel cylinder. To avoid damaging the mechanisms of the watches on display, BlueBotics engineers designed a deceleration system to soften the retraction.
"Despite the technology involved, we managed to keep the unit price at around ten thousand francs — roughly 30% more than a top-of-the-range traditional display case," Xavier Dietlin notes.
"It's a revolution!"
"This new way of displaying products is going to revolutionise the world of luxury and watchmaking!" enthuses Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of Hublot, who appears even more excited than the inventors themselves. The watchmaker has signed an exclusivity agreement with Dietlin for the next two years. Hublot will use the specialist BaselWorld trade fair next week to unveil its high-tech display stand.
"For me, security is not the primary concern," Jean-Claude Biver continues. "This concept is brilliant because it removes a barrier between the viewer and the object they are contemplating. And that opens up fantastic opportunities for showcasing our products."
