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Auguste Fiedler, Master of Modernist Watch Advertising

January 27, 2022 By Stephen 1 Comment

Although modern advertising is finely crafted, it can’t compare to the impact of the classics. To my eyes, the greatest watch advertisements came off the press of Auguste Fiedler of La Chaux-de-Fonds between World Wars I and II. His poster style advertisements mixed elements of German Plakatstil and French Art Deco movements, and are just as striking today as they would have been on the avenues of the 1930s.

Filed Under: Commentary, History Tagged With: Advertising, Buren, Cortébert, Cyma, Election, Elgin, Eterna, Excelsior Park, Fiedler, General Watch, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Leonidas, Oris, Revue, Tavannes, Unitas

Excelsior Park: Usine du Parc, Saint-Imier

October 7, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Industrialization of watchmaking came to Switzerland in the late 19th century and is embodied by the huge Longines factory on the Suze river in Saint-Imier. But steam power came first, enabling the construction of factories across Europe and the United States, including Usine du Parc, home and namesake of Excelsior Park. This is the story of the rise and fall of steam power in Saint-Imier and the exceptional stopwatches made there. It is also the story of the end of steam and of the Excelsior Park factory, and the reasons for its failure.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Albert Jeanneret, Chronograph, Excelsior Park, Fritz Moeri, Gallet, Henri Jeanneret-Brehm, Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret, Moeris, Saint-Imier, Stopwatch

The Great Watchmaking Factories of Saint-Imier

August 28, 2021 By Stephen 1 Comment

This is the story of a simple postcard that compelled me along a deep and complicated path of research and discovery! Titled Les Grandes Fabriques d’Horlogerie de St Imier, the historic 1900 postcard shows “the five great watchmaking factories” of this small town. Over the past year, I’ve been learning more about these companies, in which the Jeanneret family was intimately involved, including Excelsior Park, Francillon’s Longines, Fritz Moeri’s Moeris, Droz & Cie and Ernest Degoumois’s Montres Berna, Ferdinand Bourquin’s Leonidas, and more. This is the first in a series of posts on the great factories found in these engravings!

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Albert Jeanneret, Berna, CEFF, Droz & Cie, Excelsior Park, Fluckiger, Fritz Moeri, Jacques David, Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret, Leonidas, Longines, Moeris, Nivarox, Patrick Linder, Robert Gygax, Saint-Imier, Schweingruber, Walter Mittelholzer

How the Chronograph Became the “It” Watch Complication

June 23, 2021 By Stephen 2 Comments

Chronographs are so popular that cheap fashion watches today often feature bogus subdials with non-functional hands and pushers. But once upon a time, a chronograph was a simple tool seen more as an advanced stopwatch than a true complication. What was once a utilitarian tool for soldiers became an upscale choice for doctors, then an iconoclast choice for young people, and now a sign of fine watchmaking.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Breitling, Breitling Chronomat, Chronograph, Daniel Roth, Europa Star, Excelsior Park, IWC Da Vinci, Leonidas, Martel, Nathan Weil, Patek Philippe

1950 Zenith “Scuderia Ferrari” Chronograph

May 27, 2014 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Sometimes when browsing watches one stumbles upon something that seems seriously out of place. Such was the case when I spotted a Scuderia Ferrari-branded Zenith Chronograph in the listings for tomorrow’s Chrono24/Auctionata auction: Sure, there are Ferrari-branded watches today, but this one dates to “around 1950” and has a yellow logo!

Filed Under: Grails Tagged With: 1950 Zenith Chronograph, Excelsior Park, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari

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Auguste Fiedler, Master of Modernist Watch Advertising

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