A balance spring intended to equip a balance of a horological movement, wherein the balance spring is made of an alloy consisting of Nb, Ti, H and possible traces of other elements selected from O, C, Fe, N, Ni, Si, Cu and Al, with the following weight percentages: a Ti content comprised between 1 and 80 wt %, a H content comprised between 0.17 and 2 wt %, a total content of all other elements of less than or equal to 0.3 wt %, the remainder to 100 wt % consisting of Nb. A manufacturing method for the balance spring is also disclosed and includes a step of thermochemically treating a blank made of a Nb and Ti alloy in an atmosphere including hydrogen so as to enrich the Nb and Ti alloy with hydrogen in interstitial form.

Disclosed is a method including the following steps: a) providing a substrate including a first silicon layer, a second silicon layer and an intermediate silicon oxide layer therebetween; b) etching the first silicon layer in order to form the timepiece components therein; c) releasing from the substrate a wafer formed by at least all or part of the etched, first silicon layer and including the timepiece components; d) thermally oxidizing and then deoxidizing the timepiece components; e) forming by thermal oxidation or deposition a silicon oxide layer on the timepiece components; f) detaching the timepiece components from the wafer.

The method for manufacturing timepiece hairsprings according to the invention comprises the following successive steps: a) forming hairsprings in a wafer, b) forming a thermal compensation layer on the hairsprings, c) identifying the hairsprings having a stiffness within a predetermined range, d) optionally, detaching from the wafer the hairsprings identified in step c), e) modifying the other hairsprings so that the stiffness of at least some of them is within the predetermined range, f) detaching from the wafer these other hairsprings and, if they have not been detached in step d), the hairsprings identified in step c). This method makes it possible to reduce manufacturing dispersions between the hairsprings.

Disclosed is a method including: a) obtaining a substrate extending in a predetermined plane with a first layer parallel to the plane; b) forming a through-hole in the first layer; c) depositing a second layer on the first, the second layer filling the a through-hole to form a bridge of material; d) etching a hairspring in an etching layer made up of the second layer or the substrate, the one of the second layer and the substrate in which the a hairspring is not etched constituting a support, the bridge of material connecting the hairspring to the support perpendicular to the predetermined plane; e) removing the first layer, the hairspring remaining attached to the support by the bridge of material; f) subjecting the hairspring to a thermal treatment; and g) detaching the hairspring from the support.

A component intended to be in friction contact with another component, the component being coated with an electrically conductive layer in one piece, at least partially covering every surface of the component, the friction occurring on at least one of these surfaces, called the functional surface, the functional surface being surrounded by a plurality of side surfaces, the component having on its functional surface a texture formed of a succession of troughs coated with the electrically conductive layer, the troughs each extending between two side surfaces such that the electrically conductive layer remains in one piece over the component despite the wear caused by friction on the functional surface. The invention also relates to the method for manufacturing the component by the DRIE (deep reactive ion etching) process, wherein surface defects on the sides machined by the DRIE process are used to form the troughs.

A method for manufacturing a balance spring intended to equip a balance of a horological movement, including a step of producing a blank made of a NbZr alloy including between 10 and 30 wt % Zr, a step of annealing and cooling the blank, at least one step of deforming the annealed blank in order to form a wire, wherein, before the deformation step, a step of depositing, on the blank, a layer of a ductile material chosen from copper, nickel, cupronickel, cupro-manganese, gold, silver, nickel-phosphorus NiP and nickel-boron NiB, in order to facilitate the wire shaping operation, the thickness of the ductile material layer deposited being chosen such that the ratio of the area of ductile material to the area of the alloy for a given wire cross-section is less than 1, preferably less than 0.5, and more preferably lies in the range 0.01 to 0.4.

A method for manufacturing a balance spring intended to equip a balance of a horological movement, including a step of producing a blank made of a niobium and hafnium alloy including between 5 and 60 wt %, preferably between 5 and 30 wt %, and more preferably between 8 and 12 wt % hafnium, a step of annealing and cooling the blank, at least one step of deforming the annealed blank in order to form a wire. The method includes, before the deformation step, a step of depositing, on the blank, a layer of a ductile material chosen from the group consisting of copper, nickel, cupronickel, cupro-manganese, gold, silver, nickel-phosphorus NiP and nickel-boron NiB, in order to facilitate the wire shaping operation. A balance spring can be produced by the manufacturing method.

A spiral timepiece spring with a two-phase structure, made of a niobium and titanium alloy, and method for manufacturing this spring, including producing a binary alloy containing niobium and titanium, with niobium: the remainder to 100%; titanium between 45.0% and 48.0% by mass of the total, traces of components among O, H, C, Fe, Ta, N, Ni, Si, Cu, Al, of between 0 and 1600 ppm by mass of the total individually, and less than 0.3% by mass combined; applying deformations alternated with heat treatments until a two-phase microstructure is obtained including a solid solution of niobium with -phase titanium and a solid solution of niobium with -phase titanium, the -phase titanium content being greater than 10% by volume, with an elastic limit higher than 1000 MPa, and a modulus of elasticity higher than 60 GPa and less than 80 GPa; wire drawing to obtain wire able to be calendered; calendering or winding.

A metastable titanium alloy is provided, which includes, by weight percent, between 24 and 45% niobium, between 0 and 20% zirconium, between 0 and 10% tantalum and/or between 0 and 1.5% silicon and/or less than 2% oxygen, said alloy having a crystallographic structure containing: a mix of austenitic phase and alpha phase; and a presence of omega phase precipitates the volume fraction of which is less than 10%. Also provided is a timepiece spring made from such an alloy and a method for producing such a spring.

There is provided a hairspring including a main body portion that extends around a central axis along an Archimedes curve; an outer end curve portion that extends along a circumferential direction around the central axis on an outer side in a radial direction from the main body portion; and a reformed portion including a first bent portion that connects the main body portion and the outer end curve portion to each other and is bent outward in the radial direction from a tangent line of the Archimedes curve in a first connection portion with the main body portion, and a second bent portion bent inward in the radial direction from the outer end curve portion in a second connection portion with the outer end curve portion, and in which at least one is curved of the first bent portion and the second bent portion.