{"id":13203,"date":"2026-04-21T10:39:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/2026\/04\/21\/silver-solution-spraying-from-watchmaking-to-defence\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T07:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T07:47:14","slug":"silver-solution-spraying-from-watchmaking-to-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/2026\/04\/21\/silver-solution-spraying-from-watchmaking-to-defence\/","title":{"rendered":"Silver solution spraying\u00a0\u2013 from watchmaking to defence"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Silver solution spraying\u00a0\u2013 from watchmaking to defence<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Altair Metalizz creates watchmaking components using additive manufacturing as well as spray solutions for finishing. These solutions are also used for electromagnetic shielding of composite covers for the defence industry.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Established in 1998, Altair Consulting was a pioneer in additive manufacturing. This meant it could offer watchmakers and jewellers innovative technology for design and tooling, helping them to bring new collections into production. Now headed by \u00c9meric Lignier, the company has expanded its areas of expertise, thanks in particular to a partnership with Metalizz in 2018 and the subsequent acquisition of its brand and patents in 2024. These include three flagship products: Uscleaner, an ultrasound surface cleaning and decontamination solution, and two spraying processes for aesthetic purposes but also used for electromagnetic shielding (EMC) with a silver-based solution. Altair Consulting is responsible for sales and related services, while Eidos Coating, led by Metalizz\u2019s founder Philippe Sapet, handles R&D on a partnership basis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0We thought the technology developed by Metalizz would be ideal for adding aesthetic finishes to watchmaking projects,\u00a0\u00bb explains Lignier.<\/em>\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0We\u2019re increasingly focusing on electronics and medical technology. EMC shielding and biocompatible coatings can protect robots and other products used in operating theatres. We\u2019ve moved from a purely aesthetic line of business to a functional and technical one.\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u00ab\u00a0Essentially what we\u2019re creating is a Faraday cage\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One field of application for electronics is defence. Altair Metalizz\u2019s customers include an optronics company that manufactures control and camera boards for drones and helicopters, which need to be protected from external elements. The application of different layers to injection-moulded or printed plastic parts reduces interference from outside. \u00ab\u00a0Essentially what we\u2019re creating is a Faraday cage,\u00a0\u00bb says Lignier. \u00ab\u00a0The first layer is pure silver and the second is an organic varnish with metal components, which is sprayed onto a cover made using additive manufacturing. This is lighter than aluminium and may involve complex shapes.\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Altair Metalizz started working with defence and aerospace manufacturers four years ago, a move facilitated by the decade that Lignier spent working as an engineer in these sectors. The testing phase is fairly lengthy as this represents a big technological shift for some major clients. \u00ab\u00a0We don\u2019t do a lot of publicity; we prefer to take things slowly to make sure we don\u2019t skip any steps in the validation process, which requires a lot of testing,\u00a0\u00bb says Lignier.\u00a0<\/em>\u00ab\u00a0We want to be quietly confident by the time the solution is rolled out.\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0The validation process takes between six and 18 months, and involves mechanical and electrical parameters including resistance to temperature, tearing and harsh environments.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Altair Metalizz\u2019s small size makes it highly responsive, providing manufacturers with flexibility and agility. On the commercial front, it offers various packages, from full implementation to selling the entire solution, including consulting, installation, training and after-sales service.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Patrice Desmedt<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Altair\u00a0: Booth Q67<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Silver solution spraying\u00a0\u2013 from watchmaking to defence Altair Metalizz creates watchmaking components using additive manufacturing as well as spray solutions for finishing. These solutions are also used for electromagnetic shielding of composite covers for the defence industry. Established in 1998, Altair Consulting was a pioneer in additive manufacturing. This meant it could offer watchmakers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":13581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"edition":[],"class_list":["post-13203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13204,"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13203\/revisions\/13204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13203"},{"taxonomy":"edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ephj.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/edition?post=13203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}