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The Rise and Fall of Leonidas and the Beau-Site Factory

April 5, 2022 By Stephen 2 Comments

Leonidas is a familiar name to chronograph aficionados, but the history of the company is long and interesting, dating back to 1841 and connecting two great names in Swiss watchmaking, Bourquin and Jeanneret, and the company was linked to both Heuer and Berna.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beau-Site, Berna, Charles Jeanneret, Chronograph, Constant Jeanneret-Droz, Ferdinand Bourquin, Julien Bourquin, Junior, Leonidas, Saint-Imier, Stopwatch

Droz and Degoumois: Berna Watch Factory

March 21, 2022 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Berna is perhaps the greatest forgotten watch brand of Saint-Imier, and the Droz factory on Marronniers 20 is just as unknown. But it was the first large and modern factory in Saint-Imier and should be remembered along with the waterproof pocket watches and industrial control stopwatches produced there. Equally important is the involvement of industry pioneers Alcide Droz, Ernest Degoumois, and the Jeanneret family, and the later integration of Berna with Leonidas.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Alcide Droz, Berna, Charles Jeanneret, Droz & Cie, Ernest Degoumois, Ferdinand Bourquin, Leonidas, Saint-Imier, waterproof, West End

From Atelier to Factory: Usine Centrale, Saint-Imier

March 5, 2022 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Initially just a small villa, Usine Centrale would become a large and important employer in Saint-Imier, producing Moeri & Jeanneret’s revolutionary inexpensive anti-magnetic movement. It later housed electronic timing specialist Fabrique Chasseral, balance maker Romano Sieber, and produced millions of watch cases under Roger Parel and Jacques Beiner.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Albert Jeanneret, Fabrique de Balanciers Réunies, Fritz Moeri, Holy Frères, Jacques Beiner, Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret, Moeri & Jeanneret, Moeri's Factory, Moeris, Nivarox-FAR, Reinhard Straumann, Roger Parel, Romano Sieber, Saint-Imier, Usine Centrale, Usine du Parc

The Rise of Mass-Produced Watches at Les Longines, Saint-Imier

February 15, 2022 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Longines isn’t just the name of the biggest watchmaker in Saint-Imier today, it represents a factory and a critical shift in the industry to industrial-scale mass production. Ernest Francillon and Jacques David were critical to the development of the horology industry in the 19th century, abandoning the etablissage system and industrializing watchmaking, and becoming champions for the integration of manufacturing in the 20th century.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Alfred Pfister, ASUAG, Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, Fontainemelon, Fritz Galley, Jacques David, Longines, Pierre-Frédéric Ingold, Richard Watkins, Saint-Imier, Théodore Gribi

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 Evolution of Watchmaking Architecture: Rue des Roses 2 and Rue du Stand 35 in Saint-Imier

September 27, 2021 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Around 1900, a small watch factory was built at Rue des Roses 2. This little cottage with a factory wing was soon augmented by an ornate Beaux-Arts factory befitting a captain of watchmaking like Ernest Degoumois. This was then expanded for dial maker Fluckiger and both buildings were expanded or replaced in the 1950s. Then a modern office building was added in place of the original mansion on Rue du Stand, and this became home to Cartier Group in the 1980s. Thus, this single factory complex in Saint-Imier exemplifies the various architectural trends seen in 20th century watchmaking.

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Berna, Bourquin, Cartier Group, CEFF, Degoumois, Fluckiger, Leonidas, Nivarox, Reinhard Straumann, Richemont, Saint-Imier, Zeitwinkel

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

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

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The Rise and Fall of Leonidas and the Beau-Site Factory

Droz and Degoumois: Berna Watch Factory

From Atelier to Factory: Usine Centrale, Saint-Imier

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The Rise of Mass-Produced Watches at Les Longines, Saint-Imier

Auguste Fiedler, Master of Modernist Watch Advertising

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