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What Does “Montbrillant” Mean to Breitling?

May 5, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

What exactly does “Montbrillant” mean? Although the word has been associated with Breitling for over a century, the answer might surprise you! Montbrillant is not a person or even a place, really. It’s an idea, and represents brilliant marketing a century in the making!

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Breitling, Couleru-Meuri, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Léon Breitling, Octo, Saint-Imier

The Forgotten History of Jaquet-Droz, Switzerland’s Shared Watch Brand

April 22, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

The name “Jaquet Droz” has had many different meanings since the birth of Pierre Jaquet-Droz 300 years ago. For two decades after its formation in 1961, the Coopérative de Fabricants Suisses d’Horlogerie and SAH were leading producers of Swiss watches, commanding a double-digit share of exports and revenue. Was this a success or a failure? And why does the modern haute horology company consistently skip any mention of this history?

Filed Under: History, The Watch Files Tagged With: Bienne, Breguet, Ebauches SA, etablisseur, Investcorp, Jaquet-Droz, Neuchâtel, Pierre Jaquet-Droz, SAH, Swatch Group, Swissonic

What Is the True History of A. Lange & Söhne?

March 23, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

On October 24, 1994, Walter Lange introduced the first watches to bear the A. Lange & Söhne name in nearly 50 years. Once the top name in complicated pocket watches, the famous Glashütte watch brand was destroyed by allied bombs on the last day of the war in Europe and disappeared behind the iron curtain. Now, with the help of Günter Blümlein and IWC, A. Lange & Söhne has returned to its place at the height of the watch market. But there is also a dark past that has not been widely told.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: A. Lange & Söhne, Germany, Glashütte, GUB, Günter Blümlein, IWC, LMH, Richemont, Walter Lange, World War II

Blancpain, F. Piguet, Biver, and the Path Forward

March 16, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Blancpain is billed as “the world’s oldest watchmaker”, but the history of the company is far more complex. Founded before 1735 in Villeret, the modern Blancpain traces its heritage to 1981, when Jean-Claude Biver purchased the name to be a mechanical rebuke of quartz watches. Blancpain and movement specialist Frédéric Piguet would be acquired by what is now the Swatch Group in 1992, with Biver leading the renaissance of mechanical watchmaking.

Filed Under: History, The Watch Files Tagged With: Blancpain, Edmond Capt, Europa Star, Frédéric Piguet, Harwood, Jean-Claude Biver, Le Brassus, Lemania, Moeris, Nicolas Hayek, Omega, Rayville, SMH, SSIH, Swatch Group, Villeret

The Fall and Rise of Zenith, 1969-1988

March 3, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Zenith was “the first manufacture”, one of the greatest watch companies in Switzerland, and the economic force behind Le Locle. Then it was purchased by an American electronics company and ordered to destroy its mechanical watchmaking assets. This is the story of the mighty Zenith, brought low, and returning thanks to a machine tools baron, a humble watchmaker, and two other famous brands.

Filed Under: History, The Watch Files Tagged With: Charles Vermot, Chronomatic, Dixi, Ebel, El Primero, Georges Favre-Jacot, H. Moser & Cie., Le Locle, LVMH, Martel, Movado, Paul Buhré, Paul Castella, quartz, Rolex, Rolex Daytona, Tissot, Zenith, Zenith Defy, Zenith El Primero

The Thin Watch War | The Watch Files: January 12, 1979

February 23, 2021 By Stephen 4 Comments

On January 12, 1979, the Swiss watch industry announced the thinnest watch ever made: The Delirium, developed by Ebauches SA for Concord, Eterna, IWC, and Longines, measured just 1.98 mm thick. It wasn’t a big seller, but was a PR exercise to show the world that the Swiss were innovating like the Japanese. And the novel design paved the way for another announcement four years later, the Swatch.

Filed Under: History, The Watch Files Tagged With: André Beyner, Anthony Kable, Anton Bally, ASUAG, Citizen, Citizen Exceed Gold, Concord, Delirium, Ebauches SA, Elmar Mock, Ernst Thomke, Eterna, Europa Star, Gerry Grinberg, Jean Lassale, Longines, New York Times, Paul Renggli, Renata, Seiko, Tiffany

The Day Gérald Genta Challenged the Watch Industry | The Watch Files: November 7, 1984

February 20, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

On November 7, 1984, Gérald Genta finally went too far. His audacious new watch collection was a scandal at the prestigious Montres et Bijoux and he was forced to remove it from the fair. But history shows that Genta was right again, and his designs laid the foundation of today’s luxury watch industry.

Filed Under: History, The Watch Files Tagged With: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Europa Star, Gerald Genta, IWC Ingenieur, Mickey Mouse, Montres et Bijoux, Patek Philippe Nautilus, Podcast, The Watch Files

Inventing the Solar-Powered Watch: Patek Philippe, Synchronar, and Uranus

December 20, 2020 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Photovoltaic cells were invented in the 1940s, and Patek Philippe produced a novel clock that used them. Once integrated circuit technology improved enough to build a quartz watch, American inventor Roger Riehl created the first solar-powered watch. His Synchronar paved the way for the solar digital watches that brought the technology to the masses in the 1970s. Then there was Uranus, with their wild calculator watch!

Filed Under: History Tagged With: digital, LED, Patek Philippe, solar watch, Synchronar, Uranus

Hebdomas: The True Story of the 8-Day Pocket Watch

November 29, 2020 By Stephen 9 Comments

Spend some time looking at old watches and you’re bound to stumble across an unusual watch with an off-center dial, fancy exposed balance, and 8-day power reserve. The dial will likely say “Hebdomas” and “8 Jours” and not much more. Is this some exotic high-end watch or a mass-market pretender? That’s the story I’m telling today!

Filed Under: History Tagged With: 8-day, Aerowatch, Arthur Graizely, Baladin, Bienne, Hebdomas, Kolber, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Otto Schild, Schild & Co, Vincent Calabrese, Xantia

What Was the World’s First Quartz Watch?

August 2, 2020 By Stephen 2 Comments

On Christmas Day, 1969, the Seiko Astron was launched; this was world’s first quartz wristwatch. Or at least that’s how the story goes. But the truth is much, much more complicated, as I have been researching and writing about for months. Only a few examples of that Cal. 35 SQ Astron were produced, and it was so expensive that not many were ever actually sold. And a raft of other watches (the CEH Beta 1, Longines Ultra-Quartz, various Beta 21 models, and even the Bulova Accuquartz) could make a credible claim. So what was the first?

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Armin Frei, Beta 1, Beta 21, Bulova, Bulova Accuquartz, CEH, Longines, Longines Ultra-Quartz, Rolex, Seiko, Seiko Astron

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