Laboratoire Dubois

What Laboratoire Dubois does

Laboratoire Dubois is an independent Swiss testing, analysis, and certification laboratory founded in 1977 and headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Operating as a société anonyme with approximately 35 employees, the company provides chemical analysis, materials control, reliability testing, and specialized horological testing services to clients in watchmaking, jewelry, microtechnology, leather goods, medical, and environmental sectors.

Its core technical assets center on accredited methods and proprietary IP. The laboratory holds ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation (number 0104) continuously since 1995, with the scope extended in 2014 to cover watch shock resistance testing. It owns the Chronofiable® accelerated ageing test — a recognized reference in Swiss horological quality control — integrated via the 2003 merger with Chronofiable SA. In-house developed methods extend across gold fineness verification, synthetic sweat corrosion testing, and mechanical reliability. The 2015 chemical department expansion and 2018 building extension demonstrate ongoing investment in capacity and service breadth.

The business model is B2B fee-for-service testing, monetized through accredited test reports and certification services. Customer acquisition is anchored by ISO 17025 accreditation, which functions as a vendor prerequisite for tier-1 watch brands, and reinforced by the proprietary Chronofiable® reference. Revenue derives from per-test or per-program pricing rather than subscription or platform economics, with cyclical exposure to Swiss watch export demand as the dominant demand driver.

Name

Laboratoire Dubois

Legal name

Laboratoire Dubois S.A.

Website

https://laboratoiredubois.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Laboratoire Dubois is an independent Swiss testing and analysis laboratory founded in 1977 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, providing chemical analysis, materials control, and specialized horological testing to the watchmaking, jewelry, microtechnology, medical, and environmental sectors under ISO 17025 accreditation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Materials and Reliability Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Conformity Assessment, Testing, Inspection & Certification Cooperation (BPADANAD)

Keywords

• Materials testing services
• Chemical analysis laboratory
• Watch reliability testing
• Metallurgical control services
• ISO 17025 accredited testing

Headquarters

HQ city

La Chaux-de-fonds

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. B2B Testing and Analysis Services: The company generates revenue through providing testing, analysis, and certification services to industrial clients. Services span chemical analyses, materials control, watch-related testing, and technical assistance. Mandates are executed with confidentiality in timeframes compatible with industrial requirements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Laboratoire Dubois is an independent, neutral testing, analysis, and certification center that delivers chemical analyses (spectrometry, chromatography), materials control (hardness, mechanical, corrosion, microscopy), and specialized watch-related and microtechnical controls including the proprietary Chronofiable® accelerated ageing test. It serves industrial clients across watchmaking, jewelry, leather goods, microtechnology, medical, and environmental sectors, with mandates executed confidentially on timelines compatible with industrial production.

Product overview

Laboratoire Dubois S.A. is an independent analysis, expertise, and testing center established in 1977 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of testing and analytical services organized into four main categories: Chemical analyses (including wastewater, REACH & RoHS, nickel release, gold fineness, and tribological testing); Materials control (including hardness testing, corrosion testing, SEM-EDX analysis, coating thickness, and colour measurements); Technical assistance and monitoring (including surface treatment consulting, legal/regulatory monitoring, and watchmaking development support); and Watch-related and microtechnical controls (including the proprietary Chronofiable® accelerated ageing procedure, shock testing, water resistance testing, and component characterization). The company serves multiple industrial sectors including watchmaking, jewelry, leather goods, microtechnology, medical, and environmental industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Chronofiable®: Accelerated aging cycle for watch movements developed by the Reliability Test Centre of the Swiss Watch Industry Federation, now operated by Laboratoire Dubois for determining watch reliability rates.

Products and services

• Chemical Analyses (Analyses chimiques) Chemical analysis services for industrial clients, including wastewater analyses, nickel release testing, gold coating fineness determination, organic contamination analysis via FTIR, REACH and RoHS compliance testing, tribological tests, and GC-MS thermal desorption-pyrolysis analyses.
• Materials Control (Contrôle des matériaux) Materials testing and control services including hardness testing (Vickers, micro-hardness, nanoindentation), mechanical testing, climate and corrosion tests (salt spray, sulphur agents, synthetic sweat), wear/scratch/impact resistance, coating thickness measurements, microstructure examinations, SEM-EDX analysis, ozone ageing tests, and colour measurements.
• Technical Assistance and Monitoring (Assistance technique et veille) Technical support services including materials and processes technical assistance, surface treatment consulting, legal and regulatory monitoring (REACH, RoHS), monitoring of industrial standards, and watchmaking development support, delivered via the laboratory's login portal.
• Watch-related and Microtechnical Controls (Contrôles horlogers et microtechniques) Watch-specific and microtechnical testing services including multiple indirect shock tests, accidental shock tests, electromagnetic field testing, watch-movement characterization, watch-functions ageing cycles, water resistance testing up to 1,300 m depth, wristlet and clasp tests, watch case tests, watch-dials and hands tests, and crystal/anti-reflective coating characterization.
• Chronofiable® Accelerated Ageing Test Proprietary accelerated ageing cycle for watch movements simulating six months of wear in 21 days with an acceleration factor of 8, applying 20,000 impacts between 250 and 5,500 m/s² plus temperature and humidity variations; applied to both mechanical and quartz movements to determine watch reliability rates.

Quantifiable outcome

• Chronofiable® test simulates 6 months of real wearing in 21 days with an acceleration factor of 8 and 20,000 impacts
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FHS - Fédération horlogèrecoreOthersThe Swiss Watch Industry Federation is a key industry body. Laboratoire Dubois is listed as a partner on the FHS website, indicating active participation in the Swiss watchmaking industry's standards and advocacy ecosystem.
• ASRH - Association suisse de recherche horlogèrecoreOthersThe Swiss Watch Research Association focuses on research in horology. Association with ASRH positions Laboratoire Dubois within the Swiss watchmaking research community.
• SSC - Société suisse de chronométriecoreOthersThe Swiss Chronometry Society is dedicated to the science of time measurement. The laboratory's association with SSC reflects its expertise in watch movement testing and chronometric analysis.
• SST - Société suisse de traitements de surfaceminorOthersThe Swiss Surface Treatment Society focuses on electroplating and surface treatment technologies, relevant to the laboratory's materials testing and surface analysis services.
• ASTT - Association suisse de traitements thermiquesminorOthersThe Swiss Heat Treatment Association covers thermal treatment processes, relevant to the laboratory's heat treatment and materials characterization capabilities.
• Association des laboratoires suisses / Swiss Testing LabscoreOthersThe Swiss Testing Laboratories Association brings together independent testing laboratories in Switzerland. Membership situates Laboratoire Dubois within the broader Swiss testing ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• TÜV Rheinland Group: German-headquartered global TIC organization offering testing and certification for consumer goods and industrial products. Comparable on the conformity assessment and product testing side, particularly for luxury and wearable categories, with a far larger international footprint.
• Eurofins Scientific: International laboratory services group with strong analytical chemistry and materials testing capabilities across consumer and industrial products. Comparable to Laboratoire Dubois for chemical, REACH/RoHS and materials testing work, with similar B2B service model but at significantly larger scale.
• Bureau Veritas: Global TIC major offering product testing, materials characterization and consumer goods conformity services. Comparable as a competitor that increasingly addresses luxury goods, jewelry and consumer-product regulatory testing from a multinational platform.
• SGS SA: World-leading Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) group headquartered in Geneva. Comparable to Laboratoire Dubois as a Swiss-rooted TIC services provider with deep watchmaking and luxury goods coverage, but operating globally across virtually all industrial verticals.
• TÜV SÜD: Global TIC provider offering testing and certification for consumer products, electronics and wearables. Comparable to Laboratoire Dubois as an accredited independent testing partner serving branded goods, although at much broader category and geographic scope.
• UL LLC (Underwriters Laboratories): Global safety science organization offering testing, inspection and certification for consumer products including wearables and jewelry-adjacent categories. Comparable to Laboratoire Dubois as an accredited independent standards-based testing provider for branded goods manufacturers.
• Intertek Group plc: Global TIC group providing quality assurance, testing and certification across consumer products including jewelry and watches. Comparable to Laboratoire Dubois on the materials testing and regulatory compliance side, although at much broader geographic and category scale.

Direct peers

• Element Materials Technology: Global testing partner specializing in materials testing, failure analysis and product qualification for industrial clients. Comparable to Laboratoire Dubois on materials control, hardness and mechanical testing, surface analysis (SEM-EDX), and corrosion testing, with deeper industrial reach.
• Centhor SA: Swiss horological testing laboratory based in Neuchâtel offering independent reliability, water-resistance and timing tests for the watch industry. Directly comparable to Laboratoire Dubois as a domestic neutral testing specialist serving Swiss watch brands with similar homologation and reliability testing services.

Regional players

• EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology): Swiss federal research institute performing advanced materials testing, failure analysis and corrosion studies across industrial sectors. Comparable as a Switzerland-based materials testing authority serving luxury and microtechnology clients, although it operates as a public research lab rather than a commercial B2B service.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/keystoneinstitute

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Laboratoire Dubois