Like the Astronomical Watch No. 3, the seconds hand of the NM3 timepiece occupies the centre of the movement. Made of extremely fine flame-blued steel, this hand is over 25 mm long and extremely fragile. Each stage in its shaping requires unfailing concentration and dexterity, thus ensuring its qualities are safeguarded until it is fitted to the movement.

Creating the four hands of Naissance d'une Montre 3 – for the hours, minutes, seconds and power reserve, each with its own geometry and characteristics – is a real challenge. Almost two days' work are needed to make the hours hand alone, in a process involving no fewer than 54 separate micromechanical operations, complemented by 13 finishing operations.

STEPS:

• The hands are made of steel machined by milling. After heat treatment, they are finished by trimming, recutting the angles, smoothing, rounding off, straight graining, chamfering and polishing the rounded-off parts.
• They are then carefully cleaned before being flame-blued.
• The filaire seconds hand and the power-reserve indicator hand are carried by pipes (hollowed cylinders) in 18-carat gold, profile-turned on a lathe. These pipes enable the hands to be driven into the pivots of their respective wheels. Pipes are needed to hold in place these two hands, which must be fitted on small pivots. The hours and minutes hands, on the other hand, are pierced directly and affixed to their respective wheels without the need for attached pipes.