designboom visits françois quentin at dassault systèmes' fashionlab

designboom visits françois quentin at dassault systèmes’ fashionlab
image © dassault systèmes

the partnership between françois quentin and french software company dassault systèmes has led to the creation of ‘4N-MVT01‘. the watch, one of sixteen ever made, is a symbol for how quentin and his work have progressed throughout the decades. early on in his career, he was designing security systems such as swipe cards, ticket machines, and checkpoints. but with a desire to develop more complex and luxurious mechanisms, he turned to timepieces. since the switch, he has reflected this passion in the iconic louis vuitton ‘tambour collection’, and now in his latest venture called 4N.

detail of the cage
image © dassault systèmes

with a name meant to represent the four numbers on a unique display, the main goal of the watch is not to merely tell time, but instead, reveal it by relaying a rhythmic movement. this feature of having both jumping hours and minutes is rare due to the amount of energy and torque required. going into the process, quentin knew that the concept could throw off the isochronism, a term referring to the precision of the watch, and has resolved this by integrating by a kinematic set of 10 discs that have been connected to a set of wheels meshed in a fixed ring gear. at the time of the jump, the cage rotates, putting the corresponding parts in motion. this visual effect includes 514 individual components that have been crafted over the course of two months in the manufacturing facilities of luxury swiss watchmaker audemars piguet (renaud & papi).

time is indicated by 5.5mm numbers
image © dassault systèmes

making this possible were the various researchers and specialists of fashionlab, a design incubator of dassault systèmes that stands at the crossroads of contemporary fashion and the virtual world. at the company’s headquarters on the outskirts of paris, a selected group of employees are engaged in three main initiatives. the first, involving analyzing the current trends in the market before launching a brand or collection. the second, addresses the store experience to cover all the steps from the shop creation to its three-dimensional representation and implementation. lastly, is a 3D holistic design solution where they are working closely with people such as francois quentin and julien fournié to understand how the company’s tools can assist their process. as such, the lab focuses on fostering artistic inventiveness with digital modeling programs that help them fully visualize their ideas, the most prominent of which is catia. designboom was invited to their headquarters to engage with the company’s specialized digital software and create our own bespoke timepiece.

rendering of a showroom for julien fournié
photo © dassault systemes

quentin’s initial sketch of the watch
photo © dassault systemes

the catia V6 interface with a modeled version of françois’ sketch
photo © dassault systemes

15, 50, 100, 250, 1000, and 1500 frame renderings
photo © dassault systemes

4000 frames
photo © dassault systemes

by collaborating with fashionlab’s engineers in the software, powered by dell‘s intel xeon processors, the path from concept to built prototype is expedited tenfold. for this particular event, director of research thierry rouf explained to us that within the span of 24 hours, catia allowed him to model the details of a sketch that quentin had produced. from the interface, designboom was shown how any designer, artist, or architect can change colors, textures, materials, and environments by letting us imagine our own bespoke watch. once the rendering is initiated, the quality of the representation gradually increases in definition as layers upon layers are computed, bringing projects one step closer to being physically realized. these are just a few of the advancements they are making at dassault systemes, where they are consistently breaking down barriers and setting new standards for the ways that designs should be created.

lauriane favre (communication manager), françois quentin (4N), and thierry rouf (director of research, fashionlab)
photo © designboom