Jean Lassale
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Watchmaking |
| Founded | October 8, 1976 in Geneva, Switzerland |
| Founder | Jean Bouchet-Lassale |
| Defunct | April 10, 2006 |
| Fate | Bankrupt, acquired by Seiko |
| Headquarters | Geneva , Switzerland |
Key people | Jean Bouchet-Lassale (founder), Hagiwara Yasunori (final CEO) |
| Products | Mechanical watch movements, watches |
| Parent | Seiko (after 1979) |
Jean Lassale was a Swiss horology firm established in 1976 by Jean Bouchet-Lassale, renowned for creating the Calibre 1200, which holds the distinction of being the slimmest mechanical watch movement at just 1.2 mm thick. During the 1970s, expert watchmaker Pierre Mathys engineered this groundbreaking caliber by integrating ball bearing technology, a concept inspired by Robert Annen, removing conventional bridges and pivots to achieve an exceptional level of thinness.
Company history
Founded on October 8, 1976, Bouchet-Lassale SA rapidly earned acclaim, securing several notable awards between 1976 and 1977 at international invention exhibitions held in Geneva, Brussels, and New York.
Between 1978 and 1979, Bouchet-Lassale collaborated with Omega through Lemania-Lugrin SA—both entities within the SSIH Group—to manufacture calibers 1200 and 2000. Omega obtained a non-exclusive license permitting production and distribution of these movements. Nevertheless, production ceased in September 1979 due to financial challenges. By December of that year, while Omega was contemplating acquiring the Jean Lassale brand, Seiko ultimately completed the purchase. Concurrently, Claude Burkhalter acquired the technical documentation and patents, establishing Nouvelle Lemania SA in 1982 to advance the development of successors to calibers 1200 and 2000: specifically calibers 1210 and 2010.
Nouvelle Lemania initially sold these calibers exclusively to Piaget SA until Cartier acquired Piaget; following this acquisition, exclusivity was lifted, enabling sales to other high-end watchmakers such as Vacheron Constantin. At Vacheron Constantin, the Caliber 1200 was rebranded as caliber 1160, with its automatic counterpart designated as caliber 1170.
Bouchet-Lassale secured patents related to horological innovations, including a sealing system designed for ultra-thin waterproof cases (UK Patent GB 2 087 603 A) and a clasp mechanism for watch bracelets (Swiss patent CH651729).
After declaring bankruptcy in June 2003, Jean Lassale SA was officially removed from the Swiss Chamber of Commerce on April 10, 2006. The final chief executive officer of the company was Hagiwara Yasunori.
The Calibre 1200
Unveiled at the Foire Internationale de l’Horlogerie in Basel during April 1976, the Calibre 1200 and its automatic variant, Calibre 2000, featured a mechanical hand-wound movement measuring 20.4 mm in diameter and an astonishingly thin profile of just 1.2 mm (the automatic version measures 2.08 mm thick). This movement incorporates fourteen ball bearings with diameters of 0.20 mm housed within a platine only 1.2 mm thick. Operating at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour (Alt/H), it delivers a power reserve lasting approximately 35 hours and contains eleven jewels. Manufacturing took place from 1976 to 1979 at Bouchet-Lassale SA’s facility located at 30, rue des Voisins in Geneva, with gold cases produced by the Geneva-based « Ateliers réunis ».
The patent for this watch movement was initially filed in Switzerland on February 18, 1976, followed by filings in the United States on January 2, 1979 (US4132061A), as well as submissions in France, Japan, Italy, and Great Britain. The patent abstract describes:
An ultra-thin manually or automatically wound watch movement wherein at least one wheel is supported in an overhung position utilizing a single-race miniaturized ball bearing.
Robert Annen and the ball bearing
Robert Annen was a Swiss engineer credited with approximately 75 patents spanning horology, aeronautics, and other disciplines. Some of these patents were registered in his own name, while others were attributed to companies such as "ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES," "LOUIS MULLER ET CIE S A FABRIQUE," and "PARECHOC SA [CH]; ROCHAT FRERES S A." Notably, he submitted 17 patent applications on behalf of "ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES" (Miniature Ball Bearing).
Significant patents include:
- BALL OR ROLLER BEARING (LOUIS MULLER ET CIE), dated 30/06/1936
- ANNULAR BALL BEARING (LOUIS MULLER ET CIE), dated 31/12/1935
- BALL BEARING (LOUIS MULLER ET CIE), dated 04/06/1935
- AIRCRAFT PILOTAGE CONTROL DEVICE (under his own name), dated 16/11/1943
- Gyroscope indicateur du nord géographique (under his own name), dated 30/06/1968
- METHOD OF DRILLING HARD MATERIALS (PARECHOC SA; ROCHAT FRERES SA), dated 03/06/1969
- Palier à roulement (ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES), dated 30/06/1956
- Oil-sealed shaft bearing (ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES), dated 07/09/1954
- Sealing device for antifriction bearings (ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES), dated 15/08/1956
- Ball bearing for winding rockers in self-winding watch and clock movements (ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES), dated 17/08/1954
- Device for pivotally mounting the winding weight of a self-winding mechanism in timepieces (ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES), dated 25/05/1954
- Ball bearing (ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES), dated 09/11/1943
- Ball bearing for rotor shafts (ROULEMENTS A BILLES MINIATURES), dated 07/03/1939