Inventor of the Constant escapement, movement designer and Tell Watch user for more than 30 years, Nicolas Déhon joins the Sword team as Product Owner. He will now drive the Tell Watch product strategy, trainings and user support.

A name that matters in the watchmaking world

In watchmaking, Nicolas Déhon’s name is well known. He is the inventor of the Constant escapement and has designed movements throughout his career for renowned brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Girard-Perregaux and Breitling.

He has designed his mechanisms with Tell Watch for more than 30 years, natively, from the first sketch to simulation. Few users know the software as well as he does.

Today, he moves to the other side to bring his experience right to the heart of Tell Watch.

What his arrival means for users

Nicolas Déhon takes on three responsibilities:

1. Product strategy. As Product Owner, he sets the direction for the evolution of Tell Watch. His experience as a watch designer will bring Tell Watch ever closer to the real needs of designers.
2. Trainings. He delivers the Tell Watch trainings. In particular, he wants to teach how to use the software from the very start of projects, and not only for simulation.
3. User support. Users get direct access to rare expertise in movement design, from someone who knows their constraints because he has lived them.

Interview with Nicolas Déhon

At which stages of a project should Tell Watch be used?

“In the early stage of a project, during the so-called ‘divergent’ conceptual phase, Tell Watch is a CAD software that lets watch designers work in a single environment to quickly explore a multitude of mechanisms, pre-sizing them in order to compare them before keeping only the most promising one.

In the middle of a project, during the so-called ‘convergent’ construction phase, it is a CAD software that simulates mechanisms made of several dozen components, both rigid (gear, rocker, cam, etc.) and flexible (FEM spring).”

How will Tell Watch trainings evolve?

“In recent years, trainings have focused on using Tell Watch in the convergent phase, in the middle of a project. They mainly consisted of importing mechanisms designed natively in other 3D CAD software in order to simulate how they work in Tell Watch.

Having always worked natively with Tell Watch, my more than 30 years of experience allow me to consider complementary trainings, as they were given 20 years ago. The goal: to be able, once again, to work in both modes, using Tell Watch from the very start of a project and only switching to other software at the end, for the final 3D modelling and technical drawings.”

A project that left a mark on you?

“I supported a designer throughout the entire design phase of an annual calendar mechanism, with more than 20 parts embedded in a single simulation.”

The story of the Constant escapement

To discover the story of the Constant escapement, the best way is perhaps to watch this Monochrome report, which refers precisely to the divergent phase during which some sketches were extracted to illustrate patent WO9964936 (A1).

Would you like to discover Tell Watch, be trained by Nicolas Déhon or discuss your next watchmaking projects?

Request a demo

Or write to us directly: 📩 tell@sword-group.com