ATO - Léon Hatot, the forgotten genius of Art Deco horology.

From the electric pendulum to the illuminated globe: the overlooked genius of Art Deco horology

The ATO factory in Besançon, founded by Léon Hatot in 1920.

I. From Besançon to Paris

Léon Hatot was born in 1883 in Châtillon-sur-Seine. He learned his trade at the watchmaking school in Besançon, where in 1905 he opened a small workshop specialising in watch case engraving. He also attended the École des Beaux-Arts, which explains the deeply artistic dimension of his entire body of work. In 1911, he acquired the Bredillard firm in Paris, a maker of artistic clocks and watches. He supplied movements to Van Cleef, Boucheron and Mauboussin — one of the very few to combine fine watchmaking and jewellery under one roof.

II. Electricity as revolution

After the First World War, Hatot turned his gaze firmly towards the future. In 1920, he founded a dedicated R&D division for battery-powered clocks and watches. In 1923, he collaborated with engineer Marius Lavet to develop the ATO principle: a fixed solenoid and a permanent magnet integrated into the pendulum. The patent was filed on 26 September 1923. Commercial success was immediate and unprecedented.

III. ATO & Lalique

Hatot supplied his movements to René Lalique, who designed and produced glass cases for the ATO clocks. These pieces — combining precision mechanics with fine glasswork — are now among the most sought-after Art Deco objects at international auction houses. Cases were produced in marble, chrome-plated metal, precious wood and Lalique glass. Hatot established himself as the undisputed master of Art Deco clockmaking.

Léon HATOT (1883–1953) — Skeleton dial clock signed "ATO", bevelled glass, chrome-plated metal case, stepped Bakelite base. Applied bezel with chrome Arabic numerals. Inscribed "Made in France". Electric movement. Art Deco period. H. 21.5 cm — Diam. 19 cm - source : Farran auction house

IV. The ATO-Radiola: time synchronised from the Eiffel Tower

The research was spectacularly rewarded by the invention of the "ATO-Radiola" clock, which received time-correcting signals by radio waves. First described in May 1928, the correction was applied over 250 kilometres via a signal transmitted from the Eiffel Tower or by Radio Paris during concert broadcasts. This principle is the direct ancestor of modern radio-controlled clocks — Junghans adopted it for their DCF77 system in 1980. Hatot had been right, more than half a century ahead of his time.

V. The movement as sole decoration

At the Colonial Exhibition in Paris in 1931, Hatot presented compact electric clocks in which he dispensed entirely with ornate cases, making the movement itself the central visual element. This opened the door to a whole new aesthetic movement — the oscillating pendulum became the spectacle. A revolution whose influence can still be felt in contemporary design.

VI. The Maplux ATO Globe

Among the most striking expressions of Hatot's genius, the Maplux ATO globe occupies a singular place. Horology, cartography and industrial design merge into a single object — simultaneously an instrument for measuring time, a geographical tool and an interior sculpture.

The concept is of remarkable elegance: a glass terrestrial globe, covered with printed paper and lit from within by a bulb, set in rotation by a synchronous ATO motor. One need only read the position of the meridian to know the time anywhere in the world — instantly, without conversion, without calculation.

The globe was manufactured by J. Forest, 17–19 rue de Buci, Paris. The chromed and bronzed stepped base reflects the care given to presentation characteristic of ATO productions of this period. This piece is the perfect embodiment of Hatot's philosophy: an object must be beautiful, useful and astonishing. The Maplux ATO globe achieves all three simultaneously.

Maplux ATO from circa 1935

→ Available at The Arrow of Time: https://www.thearrowoftime.fr/product-page/maplux-ato-from-1930s

VII. The "Rolls": the watch wound by ball bearings

In 1929, Hatot created the "Rolls" self-winding watch, wound by the movement of the wrist via ball bearings running along two tracks. Blancpain signed an exclusive agreement on 30 September 1930. All watches produced under licence bear the inscription "Licence Hatot" or "ATO." One of the most original solutions in the history of automatic watches.

le guide des montres: Rolls wristwatch (Hatot Patent). Dim. 17 x 37 mm.

VIII. An artist honoured by the Republic

Hatot was awarded the Grand Prix for sculpture at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1925, alongside Ruhlmann, Lalique, Brandt and Chareau. France awarded him the Légion d'Honneur.

IX. 5,000 recovered drawings

The entire stock of watches and jewellery, kept in a bank vault throughout the war, was auctioned by Christie's in Geneva on 1 May 1989. Nearly 5,000 colour drawings, an inestimate testament to Hatot's contribution to Art Deco, are today in the possession of the Swatch Group.

X. Why ATO objects deserve your attention

ATO pieces combine the execution standards of a house that supplied the greatest Parisian jewellers, a pivotal moment in design history, and prices that remain accessible relative to their historical significance. A window still open for the perspicacious collector.

Léon Hatot died on 11 September 1953, aged 70. He left behind patents that changed the industry, and objects that have not aged a day.

The Arrow of Time — Vintage Watches www.thearrowoftime.fr