J. Chevalier * Jaeger-LeCoultre * Jean Marcel * Juvenia * Lacher & Co. * Lathem Time * Locman Group * Longines * Martin Braun * MIDO * Movado * OMEGA * Oris * Panerai * Patek * Rado * Riggs & Brother * RODANIA * Roger Dubuis

J. Chevalier is a name with a significant meaning for watch lovers today. The company started out in 1979 and its name has stood for classic, elegant, high quality watches since that time. As early as 1742 the Geneva watchmaker, Joseph Chevalier, was dedicated to the high craft of manufacturing watches. For us the history of the Geneva watchmaking craft, with all its talent and creativity, is an incentive to combine tradition with our modern lifestyle.

Keeping up with continually changing demands, Michael Harer - the owners of J. Chevalier watches since 1997 combine traditional design with technological progress. The watch production is based on the traditional sign of distinction "Swiss Made: an internationally recognized guarantee of high quality. All watches are assembled and given their quality control checks at the assembly plant in Switzerland.

Special care and attention - quite simply a love for detail - is given to the style and the precious metals used in the watch mechanism. High-grade steel is now increasingly used as a basic material, as is scratchproof, highly durable sapphire glass and 10 micron plating. In line with contemporary fashions but above all to emphasize the uniqueness of the works, almost all models are fitted with glass back, giving watch lovers a first hand opportunity to view the technology applied. There is of course the added benefit of being able to show their full advantage the detailed and carefully decorated works, which have been assembled with care by hand. The high precision mechanism, the symbolic strength and special attraction and beauty of each watch emphasize in turn the individuality of the wearer. It is this attention to detail that makes J. Chevalier stand out from the rest.

Today, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is one of the most famous watches ever produced, but were you aware that the company got its start producing ebauches (watch movements) for other companies? A little known fact about Jaeger-LeCoultre is that in addition to producing movements for its own watches, the company has also produced movements for famous watch houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, and IWC. As a matter of fact, in the early part of the 20th Century, Jaeger-LeCoultre even supplied ebauches to the great firm of Patek Philippe. Then as now, Jaeger-LeCoultre was considered one of the finest watchmakers in Switzerland.

The year was 1833 when thirty-year-old Antoine LeCoultre, son of Vallee de Joux watchmaker Jacques LeCoultre, opened a small factory in the town of Le Sentier. Amazingly enough, the current Jaeger-LeCoultre factory is only a few feet away from the site of the original factory. In any event, LeCoultre soon proved himself to be a gifted watchmaker, but an even more brilliant inventor. In 1844, LeCoultre revolutionized the watch industry with the invention of the million meters, an instrument with which measurements of up to one thousandths of a millimeter could be made accurately. As a result, precisely finished components could be manufactured, resulting in greatly improved accuracy in timekeeping. Likewise, the metric system became the universal measuring standard in watchmaking, while other systems were rendered obsolete.

LeCoultre's motto -- "we must base our experience on science" - was particularly true when it came to manufacturing precision movements and tools. The artistry came later at the hands of a master watchmaker, who assembled, decorated and regulated the movements. In short order, LeCoultre became the leading supplier of movements, parts and tools to the watchmaking industry in Switzerland.

LeCoultre movements were so highly regarded, in fact, that until 1910, the company provided Patek Philippe with most of its raw movements. It was only in later years that Patek Philippe built its own movements from scratch. In the meantime, other companies had come to rely exclusively on LeCoultre's products, from which they would create finished watches. LeCoultre's success was so great that between 1900 and 1919, 40,000 raw movements were produced. Movements sold for between 100 and 400 francs each, not an inconsiderable sum of money back then.

In 1925, the grandson of the firm's founder, David LeCoultre, merged his company with that of Edmond Jaeger, the exclusive supplier of watch movements to Cartier. This is when the modern company known as Jaeger-LeCoultre first came into existence. Incredibly enough, up to this point, Jaeger-LeCoultre had not sold any watches under its own name. The merger, however, prompted further technical innovations, not the least of which was a case made from stainless steel, as well as the creation of the smallest mechanical movement in the world, which weighed less than one gram.

The year 1931 saw the introduction of the Reverso, a wristwatch that could be turned 180 degrees within the case, thereby protecting the crystal and dial. It was a fantastic creation and one that was enthusiastically received by the public. Unfortunately, the worldwide economic crisis and World War II conspired to prevent the Reverso from achieving its full potential. Changing fashions coupled with the advent of waterproof watches might have forever doomed the watch to obscurity, had it not been for an Italian dealer who visited the factory in the 1960's and noticed a number of unused Reverso cases sitting in a watchmakers' drawer. The Italian dealer bought the cases and fitted them with movements. The finished watches were an instant sell-out and the rest is history. Today, the Reverso is by far Jaeger-LeCoultre's most popular model.

Another interesting story concerns David LeCoultre's bid for Patek Philippe. In 1932, Patek Philippe was in major financial straits and looking for a white knight. LeCoultre, whose company manufactured movements for Patek, wanted to acquire a majority interest. He came close to finalizing a deal, but the Stern brothers, whose company supplied the dials used in Patek Philippe watches, ultimately acquired the company. Although Patek Philippe has certainly prospered under the Stern family's management, it is nonetheless interesting to contemplate what effect a Patek Philippe/Jaeger-LeCoultre merger may have had on the Swiss watch industry.

Needless to say, the company has continued to thrive, introducing such innovations as the Memovox, Futurematic, Atmos Clock (which in and of itself could be the subject of an article) and strikingly original movements such as the world's thinnest automatic with a thickness of just 2.35 mm, just to name a few. The thin automatic movement in particular was an incredible success, as both Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet featured it in wristwatches advertised as being the world's slimmest self-winding timepieces. During the 1970's and early 1980's, Jaeger-LeCoultre produced a 36 jewels, self-winding calibre for Patek Philippe. Once again, both companies had come full circle.

On a final note, it is worth noting that Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the few companies in Switzerland that still produces its own movements, cases, dials, hands, and bracelets. Virtually every single component in a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch is hand-finished, produced in-house, and these in turn results in strict quality control. As a result, Jaeger-LeCoultre watches are recognized as being among the very finest handcrafted watches available and evidence of this can be seen in the fact that Jaeger-LeCoultre regularly produces such masterpieces as the Reverso Tourbillion and Reverso Minute Repeater. There is also the Master Control series of watches, which boast 1,000 hours of testing and assembly at the patient hands of a master watchmaker.

In any event, if you are contemplating the purchase of a Jaeger-LeCoultre wristwatch, you've made an excellent choice. It's a highly prestigious and respected brand with a long and wonderful history, as well as a proven track record.

Jean Marcel’s creations meet the highest technical quality standards. In the world-famous Swiss watch-making city of Bienne, master watchmakers create exceptional timepieces with the Jean Marcel hallmark. They vest every Jean Marcel with the calmness and tranquility required by micro-mechanics to create these masterpieces. Each Jean Marcel watch is meticulously tested and finely hand-tuned by Swiss specialists for several days to ensure superb performance.

At Jean Marcel Montres S.A. discerning men and women, always seeking statements of their personal style, have found the perfect compliment with which they can fully identify themselves. Jean Marcel’s varied assortment of manual and automatic mechanical watches feature solid 18kt. gold cases, stainless steel and 18kt. cases, and all stainless steel cases, Top Wessleton Diamond set cases, sapphire crystals and exhibition backs, deployant buckle straps and solid link stainless steel bracelets – features found only in the most expensive Swiss hand finished watches. From a design viewpoint, Jean Marcel offers you an exciting and diversified assortment of case shapes, finishes and sizes. Simple, sleek and elegant round dress cases, tank, tonneau and sport shapes, complimented by coin edge or multi-stepped bezels are hallmarks of Jean Marcel handcrafted watches. Watches for all occasions and purposes…dress to sport, pocket to complicated automatic chronographs, Jean Marcel timepieces for men and women set the standard for design, finish and performance.

With the secure investment of a Jean Marcel watch, you’ll have the assurance of an exceptional product of Swiss precision watch making that will always reflect your distinctive personality and individuality.

For more than a century, Juvenia has been producing fine, innovative luxury timepieces. The factory headquarters are still situated in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, the town where Jacques Didisheim settled in 1860 to found the company. Juvenia is credited with creating some of the first key winding systems ever used in watchmaking, including designs with a winding stem, designs with a lever escapement, and surprisingly slim movements.

In 1914, Juvenia introduced the smallest watch movement ever: 2.5 millimeters thin and 9.5 millimeters wide. In addition to wrist and pocket watches, the company was renowned for its luxury table and alarm clocks, which continue to be highly coveted by collectors. The company continues to create exceptional fine and jeweled luxury watches, making it one of the watch industry's leading manufacturers without interruption for more than 135 years.

With such a long-standing record for timepieces innovation, Juvenia continues to produce fine watches with innovative characteristics and function. The Mystere watch, for example, available in men's and women's designs, features an unusual see-through bezel treatment where the dial seems to float. The self-winding Planet watch replaces traditional hands with well-positioned circles that revolve around the dial center much like the planets in a solar system. Another watch featuring an amazing "handless" display is the Sextant watch, where a "graduated limb" indicates hours, a "compass" hand indicates minutes and a "Dauphine" sweep second hand records seconds.

The company Lacher & Co. – the name Laco deriving from the first syllables - was founded by Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel in Pforzheim in the middle of the 1920s. At the time, Pforzheim's many watch manufacturers used to fit their casings almost exclusively with Swiss mechanisms, either delivered complete, or as individual parts, which could then be finished and re-assembled by the factories themselves. Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel's young business made a successful start, yet after a few years they went their separate ways. Hummel continued to manage the greater part of the original company, the Laco watch-making factory. Frieda Lacher branched off into the production of precision parts for wristwatches, such as wheels and pinions. Later, under the direction of her son Erich Lacher, Frieda's branch was to start producing complete watches again. Erich entered the firm in 1936, which was then renamed the "Erich Lacher Uhrenfabrik".

However, it was Laco-Durowe which developed to become a world-class brand and Pforzheim's main watch producer through the sister company "Lacher & Co.", run by Hummel. Hummel, born July 26th 1889 in Engelsbrand, wanted to do more than simply fit Swiss mechanisms into casings. Hummel strove to become independent of the Swiss manufacturers, with the aim of producing his own line of watches. The fact that the wristwatch was comparatively slow to take off in Germany, and that many of Pforzheim's assembly plants continued to need the rough movements from Switzerland, made Hummel's plans somewhat harder to realize.

So in 1933 he founded a mechanism-producing company (Durowe -Deutsche Uhren-Rohwerke) which was to supply not only his own Laco plant but other watchmakers as well. The production range was soon to include a wide assortment of high quality wristwatch mechanisms. The company continued to grow steadily until the outbreak of the Second World War, with the number of mechanisms produced per month increasing from to 20,000 to 30,000. Even during the war, Laco continued to manufacture watches and mechanisms, in particular the aviators' watches. In both models ticked a first-class Durowe 22 line pallet bridge movement, adjusted with chronometer accuracy.

The war ended catastrophically for Laco and almost all the Pforzheim manufacturers. During a devastating air-raid by the Allies, all the factories were destroyed and more than 80% of the town itself was reduced to rubble. However, the work of rebuilding was to begin soon after the end of the war, and they were back in business again by 1949. Helped by the Marshall Plan, Ludwig Hummel built an impressively large 5-storey edifice to house Laco-Durowe, and by the middle of the 1950s 1,400 people were employed there. Production of rough movements rose to 80,000 a month, giving some idea of the company's dramatic growth over this period.

The years up until 1959 may be regarded as Lacher's "golden age". Laco enjoyed a strong market position with the manual wind and - starting in 1952 - with the automatic models, while Durowe supplied various watchmakers with an ever-increasing number of reliable and high-quality movements. By this time, Laco-Durowe had already been owned for some years by the U.S. Time Corporation, better known as "Timex". As a result of a slump in sales, Ludwig Hummel sold the company to the American watchmaking giant on 01.02.59, Timex being particularly interested in Laco-Durowe's advanced research into the possibilities of electrical and electronic timepieces. With the emphasis heavily on this aspect of the business, the "Laco-electric" was to appear in 1961 and was Germany's first reliably functioning electric watch. An attempt by a Mr Epperlein to introduce the first electric watch onto the market in 1958 had been largely unsuccessful, owing to design flaws. So here too, it was Lacher that was to set the technical pace.

The company did not remain long in American ownership. On 01.09.1965, the Swiss firm Ebauches S.A. took over Durowe – however, Lacher & Co. and the brand name Laco were not swallowed up. The Swiss, who from now on wanted Durowe to produce only mechanical movements for ladies' and gents' wristwatches, acquired easy access to the markets of the European Union through the German company. Durowe remained a dominant producer – in 1974, a total of 550,000 movements were manufactured.

However, the Japanese quartz revolution was to mean that even the once mighty Laco-Durowe concern soon sank into oblivion. Fortunately, during the 1980s someone at Erich Lacher Uhrenfabrik – which all these years had continued to exist and produce as Laco's "little sister" – still remembered the two companies' joint beginnings, and the prestige of the Laco name. Consequently, on September 8th 1988 the managing partner Horst Günther acquired the rights to the Laco name and logo, which enabled the company to start producing a modern range of high-quality Laco watches. Even today, some of these watches are still mechanical – but they now tick with a Swiss "heart", just as in the early years of the Lacher business. The fortunes of the firm lie in the hands of Andreas Günther, the sixth management generation.

Lathem Time - Keeping The World On Time Since 1919.

In 1919, when George Lathem and his son, Louie Sr., began selling time clocks, factories were one of the few markets for time recorders and night watchman patrol clocks. The Lathems traveled by train throughout the Southeast, getting off at whistlestops and looking for the telltale smokestacks of a potential new customer. The expansion of the time recorder market began with the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, requiring accurate time records. Increasing wage scales further added to this growing market. Following World War II, the Lathems resigned their sales relationship with another manufacturer and began selling war surplus machines while developing their first Lathem product.

At about the same time, Harrison Hooper came to work for the Lathems. He was the engineering power at Lathem in the early years and helped develop Lathem's first time recorder. In 1947, Louie P. Lathem, Jr., joined the firm. It was the same year that Lathem Time developed its first time recorder - the Series 76 Lathem Watchman Clock, named for the company's former address, 76 Spring Street. Over the next 10 years, Lathem began building a network of independent office supply and machine dealers that today stretches worldwide. Lathem Time Corporation has grown to become one of the industry's leading suppliers of small business time and attendance products and boasts one of the largest dealer networks in the country.

Today, the Locman Group represents the most important enterprise of the Italian watch-making industry, with a leading company - Locman S.p.a. - whose headquarters are located in Tuscany, on the Island of Elba, and a network of offices in Florence, Milan and New York. The heart of Locman's watches strikes on Elba, in the premises looking on the wonderful bay of Campo, where a team of professionals is working together in extraordinary harmony. Living on an island of Tuscany is their choice of life, friendship and style. Here, close to the seaside, ideas are borne and strategies are worked out, both technical and commercial. But this is not all.

At Marina di Campo, administrative offices, technical laboratories, the quality management as well as the assembly department of the most sophisticated lines, warehouses and logistics are housed in the firm's premises. Further production stages are carried out in Milan, inside the Genesi industrial compound, where a staff of 25 master watchmakers is working in compliance with the highest quality standards. This deserves being considered the most efficient and modern factory of the whole Italian watch-making sector. Cases and high-tech components are produced inside the laboratories of Materie Future: in a highly sophisticated and protected environment, a team of particularly skilled engineers is devoted to research and working of technologically advanced materials, such as carbon fiber, titanium, aluminum and alternative alloys.

Communication strategies and relations with the mass-media sector are managed by Marchio Giallo, the internal advertising agency of the Locman Group, having its seat in Milan. The LOCMAN site, this site, was designed inside the company, on the basis of ideas and valuable suggestions coming from all over the world, from co-operators, but also from fans of LOCMAN watches who write every day.

This information was taken directly from the official LOCMAN website.

The Longines story starts back in 1832 when Auguste Agassiz opened a small 'comptoir' (workshop) in St. Imier. One of Auguste's sisters married Marc Francillon, a shopkeeper from Lausanne and in 1834 they had a son, Ernest Francillon. At that time watch-making in the area used the skills of people working away from the 'comptoir', often at home. In 1866, Ernest Francillon constructed a factory on fields at "Es Longines", near to St. Imier, and brought all of the watch-making skills under one roof - this was the first "Longines factory".

Anyone concerned with the history of Longines of Saint-Imier is bound to plunge into the most thrilling adventures, which have become the stuff of legend of modern times. Longines developed aviators’ watches and cockpit instruments. Longines led the field as time-keepers to the world of sports, developing precision stop watches for athletes. Longines was at the Olympic Games and ensured that athletes’ performances were accurately recorded.

But it is not merely to its top-quality range that this watch-making firm owes its greatness and importance. By the time Longines was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the registration of the brand-name and logotype - the winged hour-glass - in 1967, the Saint-Imier watchmakers had made 15 million watches and sold them all. For all these reasons, therefore, Longines is a virtually inexhaustible mine of reasonably priced collectors’ items, ranging from pocket chronometers to classic wrist-watches and milestones of quartz technology. Longines later became part of the Wittnauer and Vacheron watch family.

Martin Braun was eagerly welcomed to the world in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1964. An industrially and culturally important southern German city, Karlsruhe is located a mere fifteen miles from the country’s oldest watchmaking center, Pforzheim. Braun’s father, master goldsmith Karl-Christian Braun, was firmly entrenched in the industry as a well-known specialist producer of watch cases. Thus, Martin Braun was introduced to the world of horology at a rather early age.

He officially became a watchmaker upon graduating from Pforzheim’s famed School of Watchmaking in 1983 – with honors. He then embarked upon an internship with a well-known watch company, following up on this by earning the title of master watchmaker in 1991 at the age of 27. The modernistic table clock he built for his final examination illustrated well the promise that he has continued to display throughout his solo career: It contained an eight-day movement, a Republican calendar (a French calendar system in use from 1792 until 1806), the date, an accurately running moon phase display, and an equation of time that Braun developed himself.

Braun’s newly earned master diploma inspired father and son to begin creating mechanical masterpieces together in 1991, which marks the beginning of watchmaking’s so-called mechanical renaissance. The pair came across interesting, rare, and vintage mechanical movements from Pforzheim and elsewhere, which they restored according to their precise specifications and housed in one-of-a-kind cases. The company, dubbed CCM for the partners’ initials, flourished, earning Martin Braun a well-deserved reputation as a specialist in the classics.

On the road to becoming a master watchmaker, Martin Braun began work on a timepiece that would show the times of sunrise and sunset. Braun continued to work on this concept for almost ten years before proudly presenting the fruits of his labor in November 2000: the EOS model. Simultaneously, he announced the founding of his own brand, one which would feature a collection of watches strictly of his own design – both in appearance and technology.

Basel 2002 saw the presentation of the Boreas line, and 2003’s Baselworld represented the backdrop for Braun’s newest shining star: the Korona Collection. Recently, and for the third time in a row, one of Martin Braun’s watches – the Koronamatik – was nominated for the Technical Innovation award. The Boreas model won first place in WatchTime magazine’s Watch of the Year 2003 Technical Innovation competition; in 2002, EOS took second place in the Watch of The Year Technical Innovation competition held by the German watch magazine Chronos, and third place in WatchTime magazine’s Technical Innovation competition.

Martin Braun now lives and works in a suburb of Pforzheim, located about halfway between that famed city and Karlsruhe, with his wife and three children. Eager to give back to the discipline which has given him so much, Braun has also held highly regarded watchmaking seminars for laymen since 1998.

MIDO, a name known and respected by watch connoisseurs around the world. MIDO's history dates back to November 11, 1918, the day George G. Schaeren found the company in Biel, Switzerland. MIDO (Latin for "measuring") has always been the forefront of innovation and timeless designs.

In 1934, the Mido Multifort surprised the world to be the first automatic, anti-magnetic, water-resistant, and shock resistant watch. It remained the most popular MIDO design through the 1960. In 1998, in celebration of the company's 80th anniversary, the Multifort was re-launched. Other recognitions included being the first company to make a watch with unbreakable springs (1934), the company to make the world's first Center Chronograph (ie: all hands arranged in the center; 1945), the company to make the world's most powerful winding mechanism (1954), and the company to make the world's smallest automatic ladies watch (1967).

With the introduction of MIDO Commander in 1959 also came the revolutionary single shell case, which improved the life span of watches significantly. Today, the MIDO Commander is one of the most recognized watches in the world featuring a variety of models, including an 18 carat gold model, chronographs, and COSC certified Chronometers. With the introduction of the ingenious "Aquadura Crown Sealing System" in the 1970's, MIDO secured its fame as the "King of Waterproof Watches." Aquadura crown sealing system involves the sealing of the crown, the most vulnerable place for watch leakage, with a specially shaped and treated piece of natural cork. This system allows a watch to be water resistant even with its crown pulled out. This system is still being used in many MIDO lines.

Today MIDO is part of Swatch Group family. Compared to its sibling brands such as Omega, Breguet, and Blancpain, just to name a few, MIDO was clearly designed for the value-oriented consumers who understand that quality timepieces doesn't have to be accompanied by a high price tag.

Movado, a company whose name means "always in motion" in Esperanto, began its life in 1881 in a small workshop in La Chaux-de-faunds, Switzerland. Founded by talented watchmaker Achille Ditisheim and his team of six employees, all watches were manufactured and assembled by hand. By 1899, their hard work and determination had paid off. They were awarded six first-class Official Rating Certificates in their class, and in the following year, they were awarded the Silver Medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris.

By 1905, the company had settled on its now famous name, Movado, and began in earnest its now famous pursuit of excellence in design and function. They won the 1910 Grand Prix Exhibitions in Paris, Rome, Brussels and Rio de Janeiro for their introduction of 8 ligne wristwatch movements. The introduction of the Polyplan watch in 1912 took the watch community by storm, and these watches are highly sought after at auction today. In 1947, American designer Nathan George Horwitt created the first Museum Watch. It featured an uncluttered dial, with a simple gold dot marker at the 12:00 position. He likened the design to that of a sun-dial, like recognizing the sun at its zenith at high noon. Movado later teamed up with designers and artists such as Andy Warhol to create one-of-a-kind limited edition watches, which reside in museums, galleries, and collections today.

Movado is returning to its roots today. It has re-introduced the KingMatic series, which was originally introduced in the 1950's, and featured the first automatic movement and sweeping second hand, both driven from a central rotor. Today, the KingMatic features an all stainless steel case, stainless steel or leather bracelet, sapphire crystal, automatic movement, and is water resistant to 50 meters.

Today, seven out of ten people throughout the world are familiar with the OMEGA watch brand - a truly amazing rate of awareness to which few other watch brands can lay claim. The reason behind this success is said to be the reliably fine quality of every OMEGA watch. From its modest beginnings in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848 the assembly workshop created by 23-year-old Louis Brandt gradually gained renown. Louis Brandt assembled key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen. After Louis Brandt's death in 1879, his two sons Louis-Paul and Cesar took over control of the business.

Louis-Paul and Cesar Brandt both died in 1903, leaving one of Switzerland's largest watch companies - with 240,000 watches produced annually and employing 800 people - in the hands of four young people, the oldest of whom was Paul-Emile Brandt. The economic difficulties brought on by the First World War would lead him to work actively from 1925 toward the union of OMEGA and Tissot then to their merger in 1930 within the group SSIH. By the seventies, SSIH had become Switzerland's number one producer of finished watches and number three in the world. The severe monetary crisis and recession of 1975 to 1980, the banks bailed out SSIH in 1981. In 1985 the holding company was taken over by a group of private investors. Immediately renamed SMH, Society Suisse de microelectronic et d'horlogerie, the new group achieved rapid growth and success to become today's top watch producer in the world. Named Swatch Group in 1998, it now includes Blancpain and Breguet. Dynamic and flourishing, OMEGA remains one of its most prestigious flagship brands.

1st March 1965 - OMEGA's Speedmaster chronograph was "flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space missions" as the only wristwatch to have withstood the entire U.S. space agency's severe tests. On 21 July 1969 - 02:56 GMT, the Speedmaster records man's first steps on the Moon's surface. The Speedmaster became the first watch (and the only watch since) to be worn on the Moon. With this unique accomplishment came a unique nickname: the Moon Watch. April 1970 - the OMEGA Speedmaster rescued the Apollo 13 mission from a potential disaster, earning OMEGA the "Snoopy Award".

1948 saw the advent of the Seamaster, Seamaster 300 in 1957, In 1981, the newly launched Seamaster 120 set a new world free dive record at a depth of 101 meters. The Seamaster is also famous for being the choice watch for James Bond.

In the minds of watch fans today, the name of Oris is synonymous with the mechanical watch. This didn't just happen by accident, of course.

At the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, when the "normal" watch consumer was becoming more educated in the ways of mechanical watches, the small watch company Oris, hailing from Holstein in the hinterlands of Basel (one of the few factories in German-speaking part of the Switzerland), registered the growing demand and reacted immediately. The Oris heads were able to call upon a rich fund of historical models reaching back to 1904 that all seemed to have something special about them, One need only think about the hand-winding alarm watch outfitted with the AS Caliber 1730 and its carefully modernized 1950s design that was obviously so much to the taste of an entire generation of mechanical-watch consumers with its moderate price that, for a while. The demand for it seemed almost hysterical. That sparked, in a manner of speaking, the beginning of Oris's career. Strongly fueled by the catchy slogan, "It's high mech by Oris", and with just the right mixture of nostalgically designed watches, slightly modified movements, and incredibly low prices, Oris's position on the market was continually pushed upward. At first the cases were designed with the 1940s in mind and seemed a bit old-fashioned, but today they are styled more contemporarily, and the watches themselves have also been outfitted with some remarkable technical innovations.

Secure in its good nose for the likes and dislikes of its clientele, Oris presented models like the Pointer, with an unusual sweep calendar hand, the Complication, and Rectangular. The World timer models, sporting a dial train exclusively developed for Oris, proves that the company also has the technical competence to modify ETA base movements immensely. And let's not forget the overly large crown on some models, a characteristic that has practically become Oris's trademark over the last decade. In keeping with this, the company named an entire line Big Crown, now known in its abbreviated from BC. Certainly a large part of the appreciation that Oris presently enjoys has to do with the serious interest of the clientele in their "high mech " watches.

In 1860 Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897), founded the family business and opens the first watchmaker's shop in Florence on the Ponte alle Grazie and establishes contact with the most prestigious and longest established Swiss watch manufacturers. Giovanni is succeeded by his son, Leon Francesco.

• 1890 - 1900 - Guido Panerai (1873-1934), grandson of the founder, expands his grandfather's business and gives it new impetus, specializing in high precision mechanisms and becoming official supplier to the Royal Italian Navy. At the turn of the century, the shop moves to the Piazza San Giovanni site in Florence, where the Panerai boutique can be found today, and the Orologeria Svizzera name, still visible today, appears on the shop door to underline the close link between the watches and their Swiss origin. In this period, the first deliveries of precision optical and mechanical instruments are made to the Ministry of Defence.
• 1910 - The first experiments with luminous materials begin and a system is developed to make instrument dials and sighting and telescopic devices luminous. The luminescence is achieved using a mix of zinc sulphide and radium bromide given later the name Radiomir. Inserted into tiny glass tubes to increase its resistance over time, this mix was the subject of patent applications by Guido Panerai in Italy and other countries.
• 1915 - 1918 - The Royal Italian Navy employs the precision instruments supplied by Panerai during the First World War. The products delivered include luminous devices for sighting naval guns at night, timing mechanisms, depth gauges and mechanical calculators to launch torpedoes from MAS, high speed motor torpedo boats.
• 1934 - Guido Panerai's children, Giuseppe and Maria, continue developing their father's business. Maria is mainly concerned with running the Orologeria Svizzera shop, while Giuseppe devotes himself almost entirely to the company's business of supplying underwater instruments, torches, wrist compasses and wrist depth gauges to the Royal Italian Navy. He can take credit for the creation of the famous Radiomir and Luminor watches.
• 1936 - Following disappointing tests carried out on the watches available at that time, the Royal Italian Navy asks Panerai to develop a watch able to withstand the extreme conditions it will be subjected to. A Radiomir prototype is submitted to the Command of the First Submarine Group and the watch passed all the tests with flying colours.
• 1938 - Production of Radiomir watches begins for the Italian Navy, with a large (47 mm in diameter) cushion-shaped case, wire loop strap attachments welded to the case, screw-down crown, luminous dial easy to read under water in the dark, and a hand-wound mechanical movement supplied by Rolex. The wide strap was made of oiled and punched leather, and with its extra long length it could be worn over the diving suit.
• 1943 - Officine Panerai presents the prototype of the first Panerai chronograph, the Mare Nostrum, designed for deck officers. Due to events in the war, the Mare Nostrum never went into production but remained at the prototype stage. The device protecting the winding crown was fitted to the Radiomir watch to keep the crown in position. This device will enable the watches to descend to a depth of 200 metres, a remarkable achievement for the time.
• 1949 - The patent is granted for Luminor, the luminous substance based on tritium, which replaced the previous Radiomir mix developed between 1910 and 1915. The Radiomir and Luminor watches take their names from these two luminous substances.
• 1956 - On the request of the Egyptian Navy, Panerai creates a large Radiomir watch with an Angelus movement with 8-day power reserve and 5-minute intervals to calculate immersion times. For other Mediterranean Navies, Panerai makes limited production runs of approximately thirty pieces each. In the same year the patent is granted in Italy for the device protecting the winding crown, which clamps it in position and ensures the water-resistance of the watch. This device will be patented in the U.S.A. in 1960.
• 1972 - On the death of Giuseppe Panerai, the running of the Florentine company is handed over to the engineer Dino Zei and the family firm becomes Officine Panerai s.r.l. The close collaboration with the Italian Navy continues in the supply of watches, instruments and sophisticated devices for its men.
• 1980 - A watch is designed capable of withstanding a pressure equivalent to a depth of 1000 metres. The only prototype built has a titanium case, an automatic mechanical movement, a rubber strap and a luminous dial achieved by using tiny phials of tritium on the dial face and on the hands.
• 1993 - Officine Panerai creates a numbered series in a limited edition of models aimed at the civilian market: Luminor, Luminor Marina and an edition of the Mare Nostrum chronograph.
• 1995 - A special edition of watches called Slytech is created. Sly is the nickname of actor Sylvester Stallone, a great admirer of the watch, who had requested a special edition called Submersible to use during the shooting of the movie Daylight. Subsequently, Stallone requested an edition with a white dial, named Daylight, and a personalized re-edition of the Mare Nostrum. All of these watches bear the actor's signature engraved on the back.
• 1997 - The Vendôme Group, now RICHEMONT, takes over Officine Panerai and the company's range of watches, compasses, torches and depth gauges. New productions are started up, with a significant improvement in quality, and the official watch of Italian Navy commandos takes on an international dimension following a worldwide launch.
• 1998 - The first Panerai watches with automatic mechanical movements are presented to an international public: the Luminor Submersible professional diver's watch; the Luminor GMT with a second time zone indication and the Luminor Power Reserve with a function of high quality watchmaking which enables the power reserve to be read.
• 1999 - At the International Salon of Haute Horologerie in Geneva, Panerai presents a new range of Contemporary watches based on important innovative features: a smaller case, 40 mm in diameter; a Panerai Luminor fitted with a metal bracelet; the use of the chronograph function and an exclusively designed Luminor chronograph case, in which the push-pieces are integrated into the device protecting the crown in total respect of the aesthetic of the historic watch; the use of a titanium-steel combination for the case parts and the links of the bracelet of the Panerai Luminor Chrono.
• 2000 - Panerai creates the Luminor Submersible 1000 metres, a professional diver's instrument designed according to the NIHS (Normes de l'Industrie Horlogère Suisse) specifications relating to diver's watches and able to withstand a depth of 1000 metres. Equipped with a helium valve necessary for decompression, the sapphire crystal has a thickness of 5.1 mm and the steel back is 3 mm thick.
• 2001 - The Panerai Boutique is inaugurated, following restyling, at the historical site in Piazza San Giovanni in Florence, following the purchase of the family boutique by Officine Panerai. This Bottega d'Arte represents a meeting point for enthusiasts and collectors of the brand who can find here, in addition to the current collection, special editions and production runs which Panerai reserves exclusively for its boutiques. The shop also plays host to the Panerai Historical Archive, a selection of historical items created by the Florentine company: watches, compasses, depth gauges, torches and horology instruments.
• 2002 - The first Panerai boutique in Asia opens in the Prince's Building in Hong Kong. Officine Panerai opens the Manufacture in Neuchâtel, where all activities relating to the development and production of watches are based.
• 2003 - The Panerai Boutique in Portofino is opened in the charming Piazzetta in this well-known Italian seaside resort. New ideas come to life...
• 2004 - The Radiomir collection is enhanced by the 8 Days model. This is a return to the past, with the re-presentation in a modern key of a mechanism which Officine Panerai has already experimented with, the hand-wound 8-day movement. The calibre used in the 1940s was the Angelus, while the new model has a Jaeger-LeCoultre base. The case is 45 millimetres in diameter and is fitted with the patented slim wire loop strap attachments and a round caseband, while the screwed back and crown ensure water-resistance to 100 metres.

The company known today as Patek Philippe was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1839 by an exiled Polish Nobleman, Count Antoine Norbert de Patek, and his compatriot Francois Czapek. The earliest watches were signed Patek, Czapek & co. until 1845 when Czapek left the partnership. Several years later the company was joined by French watchmaker Jean Adrien Philippe, who later became the inventor of their famous stem-winding and hand setting mechanism, a modern and reliable concept. From May 1845 to January 1851 the firm was known as Patek & Co; Philippe lent his name to the company in 1851 when he became a full partner. Among the reasons for their initial success was the high standard of watch making and practicality of Philippe's new stem-winding system.

In the early years of partnership Queen Victoria of England herself was already a client. The firm's clientele has included many of the famous figures across history including royalty such as Queen Victoria, as well as distinguished scientists, artists, authors, and musicians including Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Charlotte Bronte and Tchaikovsky.

From the middle of the 19th century Patek Philippe assumed a leading role in the Swiss watchmaking industry by raising the standards of workmanship and time keeping through the introduction of technical improvements (the free mainspring, the sweep seconds hand), in addition to implementing improvements to regulators, chronographs, and perpetual calendar mechanisms. As early as 1867 at the Paris Exhibition, Patek Philippe displayed watches featuring functions that were to become the standard for complicated watches at the beginning of the 20th century. Namely a perpetual calendar, a repeater, and a chronograph with split-seconds.

The two most complicated watches of all time were made by Patek Philippe. The first, made for Henry Graves Jr. of New York, was completed at the beginning of the century. The second, the Caliber 89, the world's most complicated watch at the time, was completed in 1989 (hence the name) to mark the firm's 150th anniversary. In 1932 Patek Philippe changed hands, and the new owners became Charles and Jean Stern. Today the third generation of this family still owns and manages the company. Shortly after World War II Patek Philippe established an electronic division. In the 1950's the company pioneered quartz technology, filing several patents and winning multiple awards. Today Patek Philippe SA, Geneva is still a family company, owned jointly by its president, Mr. Henry Stern, and his son and Vice President, Mr. Philippe Stern.

The firm has traditionally made complete timepieces, watches, and clocks. They employ craftsmen who are master-watchmakers capable of designing and finishing the most complicated watch movements. Other specialists such as goldsmiths, chain smiths, enamellers, jewelers, and engravers complete the firm's manufacturing capabilities. Although Patek Philippe is rightly famous as the leading manufacturer of mechanical horology, the firm is also at the forefront of the industry as producers of industrial and electronic timekeepers, with their highly accurate master-clocks installed in power stations, hospitals, airports, and other public buildings and factories.

Today most of the firm's production consists of wristwatches, but Patek Philippe retains the ability to produce pocket watches and clocks to order, from highly complicated movements to those decorated with enameled miniature paintings and engravings. The company continues to patent new inventions and improvements in horology and plays an important role in maintaining the quality, prestige, and reputation of the Swiss watchmaking industry.

PATEK PHILIPPE TIMELINE

• 1839: On May 1, Antoine Norbert de Patek and Francois Czapek founded the firm Patek, Czapek & Co. in Geneva, with head offices located at 29 Quai Des Bergues.
• 1842: Jean Adrien Philippe made the first watch which could be wound and set by means of crown.
• 1843: On May 29, Antoine Norbert de Patek obtains Swiss Citizenship.
• 1844: Antoine Norbert de Patek meets Jean Adrien Phillipe at the universal Exhibition in Paris.
• 1844: Jean Adrien Philippe is awarded the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris for his revolutionary system of keyless winding.
• 1845: On April 22, Philippe is accorded Patent no:1317 for his first system of winding by means of the crown.
• 1845: On May 1st, Antoine Norbert de Patek with his partners Jean Adrien Philippe and Vincent Gostkowski found in Geneva the firm Patek Philippe & Co, located at 15 quai Des Bergues.
• 1845: On May 17, The firm Patek, Czapek & Co changes name, officially adopting the name Patek & Co.
• 1851: On January 1, the same partners, establish a new company with the name Patek Philippe &Co.
• 1854: Tiffany & Co., New York, becomes an official customer of Patek Philippe & Co, in the US.
• 1860: On October 4, Adrien Philippe is granted a patent of his fifth system of winding by means of the crown, Patent no.46951.
• 1861: On September 27, Adrien Philippe further develops patent.
• 1862: On May 23, a hunting case pocket watch is put on sale; it is the 18k gold, no.19850, montre a tact, quarter hour and hour repeating; 20''' movement of gilt brass, 19 jewels, lever escapement, bimetallic balance, flat hairspring.
• 1863: On June 16, Adrien Philippe is accorded Patent No.58941, for the slipping mainspring. this invention allows simultaneous winding of 2 or more mainspring barrels, a technique which is the foundation for all further development of self winding systems in wristwatches. This slipping spring makes the mainspring slide a few degree towards the inside of the barrel while staying fully wound. The end of the spring passes from one groove to another inside the barrel, stopping each time, thus keeping the spring under constant tension.
• 1863: Adrien Philippe writes: Les montres sans clef, a work on pocket watches wound by means of a crown in the pendant. This work was published in both Geneva and Paris.
• 1865: Sale of an 18k gold astronomical pocket watch, No.24919, with a double dial, one for a perpetual calendar and thermometer, the other for a solar dial with compass and equation of time. A second, similar, watch is sold in 1868.
• 1868: Creation of a watch mounted on a gilt bracelet with baguette movement, key winding. Enamel dial.
• 1876: On January 21, Vincent Gotkowski retires from the firm Patek Philippe
• 1876: Three employees of the firm replace Vincent Gostkowski: Albert Cingria, Gabriel Marie Rouge and Edouard Kohn.
• 1877: On March 1, Antoine Norbert de Patek dies.
• 1880: The first prize in the Chronometer Competition of the Geneva Observatory is obtained by a pocket chronometer with lever escapement and a Breguet over coil hairspring.
• 1881: On April 16, Adrien Philippe is accorded Patent No. 142376 for a micro metric adjustment to the index regulator subsequently adopted for all the chronometro Gondolo as well as by many other pocket watches and wristwatches.
• 1887: On April, 27, at 8 a.m. , the trademark PATEK PHILIPPE & Cie Fabricants a Geneve is registered with No. 1881, with the symbol of the Calatrava cross.
• 1889: On May 23, a perpetual calendar mechanism is protected by Patent No. 1018
• 1889: A system of winding with two mainspring barrels for independent seconds movements is granted a patent.
• 1891: January, Adrien Philippe passes the company management to the youngest of his five children, Joseph Emile Philippe, and to Francois Antoine Conty.
• 1891: Edouard Kohn leaves Patek Philippe and takes up management of the firm of watchmakers Henri-Robert Ekegren.
• 1893: A mechanism for the isolation of the minute recorder is patented; it can be applied to simple watches as well as to those with split-seconds.
• 1894: On January 5, Jean Adrien Philippe dies.
• 1897: A patent is granted for a fixing device for the opening spring of the cover, set on the band of the watch case
• 1899: A patent is granted for a push-bottom system to trigger the minute repeater.
• 1900: From this year through 1967, Patek Philippe receives 764 prizes at the Geneva Observatory competitions, 187 of which are first prizes..
• 1901: On February 1, the firm of Patek, Philippe & Co. becomes a Joint Stock Corporation under the name Ancienne Manufacture D' Horlogerie Patek Philippe &Cie S.A.
• 1902: On March 10, at 8am the trademark Chronometro Gondolo is registered with No. 14401. Characteristics of the Gondolo chronometer in its various sizes and in pocket or wristwatch from are the lever a moustaches, the eccentric micrometric regulation the 9k gold wheels and the movement with 18 19 20 and 21 jewels for pocket watches.
• 1902: On November 13, a double chronograph mechanism is granted Paten No. 27052
• 1903: A patent is granted to a hairspring regulator with upper en-piece for all types of watches.
• 1904: On March 3, a new system of winding-crown is granted Patent No. 30474
• 1904: A patent is granted for an instantaneous transmission mechanism in chronograph minute recorders.
• 1904: A patent is granted for an extra-flat watch movement.
• 1906: The firm delivers to Tiffany in New York, 12 minute repeating movements, which will first be used for pendant watches and later for wristwatches.
• 1910: On March 24 an 18k gold hunting-case pocket watch. No 138285, with the Arms of the Duke of Regla in multicolored enamel is sold. Westminster carillon. Grande et petite Sonnerie on 5 gongs minute repeater, 22 movement, rhodium plated, 38 jewels, lever escapement, bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet overcoil hairspring.
• 1915 : Creation of the first Lady's wristwatch in platinum with 5 minute repeater, 10th caliber with 29 jewels, bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet over coil hairspring.
• 1916: On January 31, a very complicated astronomical pocket watch is sold to James Ward Packard; it is in 18k gold, No. 174129, perpetual calendar with retrograde date, phases of the moon, Grande et Petite Sonnerie on 3 gongs, minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph and diablotine at a fifth of a second, 60-minute and 12-hour recorders, up and down indicators for both the movement and the chime, 22nd movement, rhodium plated, 58 jewels, lever escapement, bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet overcoil hairspring with micrometric regulation.
• 1916: On July 24, an astronomical pocket watch, in 18k gold (started in 1898) with indication of he equation of time, sunrise and sunset perpetual calendar and phases of the moon, is sold. The equation system rotates and is mounted on the axis of the central wheel on the back plate.
• 1917: On July 16, an astronomical pocket watch is sold to James Ward Packard. It is in 18K gold. No. 174623, perpetual calendar, sunrise and sunset phases of the moon, double barrel, 25''' movement, 21 jewels, lever escapement, bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet hairspring.
• 1919: On November 19, the 18K gold watch No. 174720 is sold to James Ward Packard; it is a crown-winding minute repeater with push-button release and 1-minute tourbillon regulator, with 30-hour power reserve. The first class precision bulletin was obtained from the Geneva Observatory with this watch.
• 1920: On March 23, an astronomical 18K gold pocket watch No. 174749 is sold to James Ward Packard; it has Westminster Carillon, Grande et Petite Sonnerie on 4 gongs, minute repeater, perpetual calendar, power reserve indicators for the movement and the chime. 22''' rhodium-plated movement, 37 jewels, lever escapement, bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet overcoil hairspring with micrometric regulation.
• 1925: Beginning of the construction of minute repeating wristwatch movements.
• 1925: Patek Philippe makes the world's first instantaneous changing perpetual calendar wristwatch, with indication of leap years. Originally it had been created as a lady's pendant watch, 12''' movement, No. 97975, 20 jewels, bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet overcoil hairspring.
• 1925: Patek Philippe obtains an exceptional result, winning the first prize in the chronometer trials, with a pocket chronometer, obtaining 848 points (7 more points than the best naval chronometers) at the Geneva Observatory.
• 1926: Fabrication of the first single push-button wrist chronograph, with 13''' movement, 19 jewels. This type of movement is housed is housed in classic, cushion- tortue and tonneau shaped cases in yellow pink white gold platinum or steel.
• 1927: Fabrication of a gentleman's watch for left-handed individuals, with split-seconds chronograph, and 30-minute recorder, 13''' rhodium plated movement, No. 198012, 21 jewels, 18k gold cushion shaped case.
• 1927: On January 20, the first carry-galbe wrist chronograph is sold by Patek Philippe with 13'' movement, for the amount of 2,135 Swiss Francs.
• 1927: On March 8, a hunting-case 18k gold pocket watch No. 198014, minute repeater and music alarm is sold to James Ward Packard. The tune is taken from the opera Jocelun by B. Godard, 29th rhodium plated movement, 48 jewels lever escapement bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet overcoil with micrometric regulation.
• 1927: On April 6, an 18k gold astronomical hunting-case pocket watch No. 198023 is sold to James Ward Packard; 3-gong minute repeater, double dial. On the first, perpetual calendar, phases of the moon, sunset and sunrise and equation of time; on the second dial a star chart as from Warren, Ohio.
• 1927: In the month of July the production of wristwatches with split-seconds chronograph begins. The split-seconds chronograph can record two readings simultaneously. These watches have classic, cushion, tortue and tonneau shaped cases in yellow, pink, whit gold platinum or steel.
• 1927: On October 13, the first instantaneous jumping perpetual calendar wristwatch, built in 1925, is sold.
• 1928: Manufacturing of wristwatches with complete, but not perpetual, calendar begins and some models have the phases of the moon. They have a movement of 11''' or 12'''. The cases of these watches have a classic tortue shape and subsequently a Calatrava model with Ref. 96 The cases are in yellow punk white gold, platinum or steel.
• 1928: Manufacture of the only pocket chronometer with 52 ½ minute Karousel regulator, 19''' movement, in gilt brass, Geneva quality seal, Lever escapement, bimetallic balance wheel, flat overcoil hairspring.
• 1929: On January 31 an astronomical pocket watch No. 198240 in 18k gold is sold to James Ward Packard. It is fitted whit several complications including perpetual calendar with retrograde date display, phases of the moon, Grande et petite Sonnerie minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph and 30-minute recorder, up and down indicators for the movement and the chime, 21''' rhodium plated movement, bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet overcoil hairspring with micrometric regulation.
• 1929: Beginning of the manufacture of wristwatches with jumping digital hours, 10''' caliber, and other models with jumping hours and minutes. The cases of these wristwatches are rectangular or tortue shape, either in gold or platinum. Subsequently, as the watches did not become popular, the production was stopped.
• 1930: Creation of the 13''' Q caliber, split-seconds chronograph and 30-minute recorder, with rectangular push-buttons. Only three pieces were made with Ref. 2571. Wristwatches manufactured either in yellow or pink gold.
• 1930: Beginning of the Fabrication of a wristwatch with split-seconds chronograph and perpetual calendar, which will be completed in 1938, the year of its sale (movement No. 198393).
• 1930: Beginning of the fabrication of a wristwatch with minute repeater, perpetual calendar, platinum case, movement No. 198340, 29 jewels.
• 1930: Patek Philippe manufactures a special wristwatch with perpetual calendar, date and rectrograde date display, cushion case, 13''' movement, No. 198167.
• 1930: Beginning of the use of the 9''' round caliber for wristwatches, used until the beginning of the 1940s. This movement is housed in Calatrava and other shape of cases. These watches were made in yellow, pink white gold, platinum or steel.
• 1932: The brothers Charles and Jean Stern acquire the majority of the shares of Patek Philippe & Cie.
• 1933: Fabrication of the gentleman's rectangular wristwatch, Reversible of which very few examples were made. One was given as a gift by Charles and Jean Stern to an employee in commemoration of his 20 years of service. The case is made of gold, with a 9''' movement.
• 1933: The most complicated watch ever manufactured by Patek Philippe up to 1989 up to 1989, second only to the Calibre 89 is sold to Henry Graves Junior. Astronomical double dial watch, perpetual calendar phases of the moon, sidereal hours, minutes and seconds, equation of time, sunrise and sunset star chart for the New York sky, Westminster carillon, Grande et Petite Sonnerie on 5 gongs, minute repeater and alarm, chronograph, fly-back and 60-minute and 12-hours recorders, power reserve indicators for the movement and the chime, Movement, 25''', in rhodium-plated nickel, No. 198385, 70 jewels, lever escapement, bimetallic balance wheel, Breguet overcoil hairspring.
• 1934: Henri Stern, son of Charles Stern, becomes responsible for the distribution on the American Market and founds the Henri Stern Watch Agency in New York.
• 1934: Manufacture of the 9''-90 calibre, of which 17'890 pieces were made and used until about 1987. The movement is tonneau shaped and is housed in wristwatches of different shapes and metals: yellow, pink, white gold or platinum and rarely, steel. Among them are references: 425/1, 494, 528 562, 564, 579, 596, 1434, 1450, 1480, 1482, 1507, 1553, 1593, 2495, 2440, 2441, 2442, 2443, 2456/1, 2471, 2503, 2517, 2519.
• 1935: Manufacture of the 8'''-80 rectangular caliber, of which 3'918 pieces were made and used until about 1960.
• 1935: Manufacture of the 12'''-120 round caliber, of which 24'188 pieces were made and used until 1953. the movement is housed in classic, round or fantasy cases. These watches are manufactured in yellow, pink, white gold, platinum or steel. Among them are references: 96, 1435, 1510, 1527, 1528, 1534, 1543, 1565, 1571, 1582, 1583, 1584, 2405, 2428, 2431, 2439, 2459, 2478, 2511.
• 1936: Delivery of the second of the two very rare wristwatches made on special request by the London firm Goldsmiths & Silversmiths of 14 and 16''' diameter, movement and sonnerie de bord in passing with repeater. The mechanism is operated by a push-button coaxial with the winding-crown.
• 1936: Fabrication of two lady's rectangular wristwatches, Reversible.
• 1936: Manufacture of the 8'''-85 round caliber, of which 8'300 pieces were made and in use up to the year 1967. The movement is housed in square, fantasy, asymmetrical, driver's wristwatches. In yellow, pink, white gold or platinum. Among them we ca find references: 556, 560, 576, 588, 589, 1421, 1478, 3424/1.
• 1936: Manufacture of an astronomical wristwatch with perpetual calendar. Rectrograde date display and phases of the moon, 11''' movement.
• 1937: Manufacture of a unique model of World Time wristwatch. Ref. 515, 10''' round caliber, housed in a gable rectangular case. The universal hour dial is fixed and indicates 28 cities based on New York mean time.
• 1937: Manufacture of a gentleman's wrist chronograph with one push-button and 30-minute recorder, 13''' rhodium plated movement, 18 jewels, 18k gold carre galbe case.
• 1937: Manufacture of a gentleman's wrist chronograph with one push-button and 30-minute recorder, 13''' rhodium plated movement, 23 jewels, platinum case.
• 1938: Manufacture of the 12''' caliber with base caliber of 12'''-120, in use up to 1950. The movement is round with center-seconds hand, with indirect transmission; it is housed in round wristwatches, in yellow, pink, white gold, platinum or steel. Among them are references: 96 SC, 592, 1497, 1536.
• 1939: Manufacture of the 12'''-120 HU (Heures Universelles) housed in gold wristwatches. In the watch the outer crown with the name of the cities is rotated manually, while the crown moves the intermediate ring divided in 24 hours. Some of these World Time models have the 12 hour dial in cloisonné enamel
• 1939: Fabrication of an Observatory model gentleman's watch, Calatrava case Ref. 570, 13''' rhodium-plated movement, 18 jewels, Guillaume balance, Breguet over coil hairspring, lever escapement.
• 1939: Manufacture of the 10''' 405 round caliber, of which 1'914 pieces were made and in use up to 1946. The movement is housed in round and square wristwatches in either yellow or pink gold with differently Designed cases and lugs. Among these watches are references: 1406, 1410, 1413, 1414
• 1940: Fabrication by special request of a unique wristwatch with World Time indicator, with chronograph and pulsometer.
• 1940: Manufacture of the 10'''-110 round caliber, of which 2'463 pieces were made and in use up to 1950. The movement is housed in round, rectangular or square cases, either in yellow or pink gold, with different Designs both for cases and lugs. Among them the are references: 1428, 1469, 1525, 1537, 1539, 1542, 1548, 1551, 1940. Beginning of the construction, by special request, of a wristwatch with complete calendar finished in 1942. In this model, the date display ca be found in the center of the dial and the day of the week and of the month on two cylinders between the two of the dial and the day of the week and of the month on two cylinders between the two lugs (Ref. 1490)
• 1941: Beginning of the production of the astronomical wristwatch with perpetual calendar and phases of the moon, chronograph and 30-minute recorder, square buttons, Ref. 1518, with 13''' Q caliber, of which 281 pieces were made and used up to 1954. These wristwatches are made in yellow, pink gold or stainless steel.
• 1942: Manufacture of 7'''-70 round caliber, of which 11'780 pieces were made and used up to 1969.
• 1942: Making of 12'''-120 Q caliber with perpetual calendar, of which 210 pieces were made up to 1952 with Ref. 1526. These wristwatches are made in yellow, pink or stainless steel.
• 1944: Patek Philippe obtains first prize in the Geneva Chronometry Competition with a movement of the category D (max. diameter 39mm). First prizes were also attained in 1946, 1948, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, and 1964. Manufacture of 12''' SCQ caliber with perpetual calendar, center-seconds, only 12 pieces made before 1947 with Ref. 1591. These wristwatches are in either yellow or pink gold.
• 1945: Creation of a 13''' ¼ wristwatch with one minute Tourbillon, 18 jewels, lever escapement, Guillaume balance, Breguet free-spring overcoil hairspring. Designed and made by the master-watchmaker Andre Bornand. Chronometric precision regulation by Andre Zibach, who participated in the Chronometry Competitions of the Geneva Observatory in 1949, 1951 and 1953, obtaining a Precision Bulleting in 1958.
• 1946: Manufacture of the 10'''-200 round caliber, of which 20'197 pieces were made and in use up to 1965. The movement is housed in round, square and rectangular cases, in yellow pink, white gold, platinum or steel, with different Design of the cases and lugs. Among them are references: 431, 482, 1419 (also with 10''' -105 calibre), 1458 (also with 10'''-105 calibre), 1519, 2407, 2408, 2440, 2488, 2496, 2501, 2527, 2528, 2546, 2547, 2548, 2549/1, 2549/2, 3496.
• 1948: Creation of the Electronic Division
• 1949: On May 15, a patent is granted for the Gyromax balance wheel.
• 1949: Manufacture of the 27 SC round caliber, of which 12'879 pieces were made and in use up to 1970. The movement is housed in wristwatches, with center-seconds, some pieces with cloisonné enamel cases. The cases are in yellow, pink, white gold, platinum or steel. Among them are references: 2457, 2460, 2467, 2467, 2481, 2482, 2508, 2514.
• 1950: Beginning of the manufacture of the wristwatch Ref. 2499, 13''' Q caliber, perpetual calendar, phases of the moon, 30 minute recorder and chronograph, first with rectangular push-buttons, later with round ones. A total 349 pieces were made up to 1985. the cases are in yellow, pink or white gold and two pieces are in platinum.
• 1950: Manufacture of the round 12''' -400 calibre, of which 10000 pieces were made and in use until about 1961. The movement is housed in classic round cases in yellow, pink, white gold, platinum or steel. Among them are references : 2532, 2536, 2537, 2538/1, 2560, 2569 2570.
• 1950: Andre Zibach and Eric Jaccard begin the construction of a movement caliber 34 S tonneau, with lever escapement for the Chronometry Competitions, Category D. Finished in 1952.
• 1951: Sale of three gentleman's astronomical wristwatches, perpetual calendar, phases of the moon, split-seconds chronograph and 30-minute recorder. Gold case. Ref. 2571. Movement 13''' rhodium plated, 25 jewels, lever escapement, mono metallic balance with 18'000 oscillation per hour, self-compensating Breguet overcoil hairspring with micrometric regulator, manufactured in 1930.
• 1952: Manufacture of caliber 27 SCQ with perpetual calendar, phases of the moon, of which 179 pieces are made up to 1963. Housed in wristwatches Ref. 2438/1 and Ref. 2497, in yellow, pink or white gold, (chronometers) with 13''' round caliber, Guillaume balance for the Chronometry Competitions of Geneva Observatory. These Watches in gold or platinum, with Ref. 2458.
• 1953: Manufacture of the 12'''-600 AT caliber, of which 7'100 pieces were made and in use up to 1960. Movement with bi-directional winding. Gold rotor.
• 1953: On March 31, a patent is granted for a system of automatic winding which prevents inertia of the rotor by means of a ring of eccentric rotation. It thus launches the first automatic caliber: the 12'''-600 AT (automatic), with central rotor in guilloche 18k gold.
• 1954: Manufacture of automatic wristwatches with indication of the two time zones on two parallel dials, but with a single movement. The hands of the two zones can be separately adjusted.
• 1956: Manufacture of caliber 23-300, round. The movement is fitted in round, square and asymmetrical cases, in prototypes (not made in series) and also in the Ellipse watch up to 1975, the watches are made in yellow, pink, white gold or in platinum. Among these pieces are references: 2592, 2594/10, 3405A, 3412, 3413, 3548.
• 1956: On July 31, a special mechanism for a system of automatic winding to reduce friction is granted Patent No. 315161
• 1956: Creation of the First autonomous quartz clock.
• 1958: On July 31, the firm Patek Philippe is accorded Patent No. 331592 for a system of adjustable fixing of the hairspring to the balance-cock.
• 1958: Henri Stern is appointed President and General Manager of Patek Philippe, Geneva.
• 1958: Creation of a prototype wristwatch with linear minute and hour indicator (not made in series). Patent No. 338402. This watch in 18k gold with bracelet has a rectangular horizontal shape, Movement No. 977121, 9'''-90 caliber, Gyromax balance.
• 1958: The master-watchmaker Andre Bornand Modifies the rectangular caliber 34 S and fits in with a 57-hour power reserve, 50-seconds Tourbillon regulator with Guillaume balance, bronze-beryllium cage, weight of 1,018 grams including escapement, 21'600 oscillations per hour. Five of these chronometers were built between 1958 and 1966. All obtained first class chronometry bulletins and two won the first prize in their category in the Geneva Observatory competition.
• 1959: Manufacture of caliber 13,5-320, round, of which 25'000 pieces were made and used up to around 1971.
• 1959: On July 31, a device for the two time zone watch is granted Patent No. 340191. The hour hand can be adjusted without moving the minutes hand.
• 1960: Manufacture of caliber 27-460, round of which 6,900 pieces were made and in use up to 1970. Automatic movement with 18k gold bi-directional rotor. It is generally fitted in classical round watches in yellow pink or white gold or steel.

The company celebrated its 85th birthday in 2002. At the same time, Rado looked back on forty-five years of watch production and 40 successful years with the legendary DiaStar collection.

In 1957, after 40 years as a supplier of watch movements, the firm launched its first collection under the brand name Rado. And only five years later, with the legendary oval DiaStar – the world's first scratchproof watch – the foundation stone was laid for an exceptional success story.

In 1983, Rado became member of the then formed SMH Group which has been renamed as The Swatch Group, the biggest watch conglomerate in the world. Rado's headquarters are situated in Lengnau near Biel, Switzerland. The company has a workforce of about 300 in Switzerland and abroad. People automatically connect the name Rado with watches of individualistic design made from scratchproof materials. The Rado company is one of the most important Swiss watch manufacturers and has succeeded over a short period in building up a distinctive brand with successful worldwide distribution.

Rado watches are different. Different in form and different in the materials they are made from.

Since the beginning, Rado has not only concentrated on developing beautiful watches – the factor of material has always been at the forefront too. The aim has been, and still is, to create watches that are beautiful and that stay beautiful. Watches that are not made from gold, brass or steel, as in conventional watch manufacture, but from innovative materials like high-tech diamond, sapphire crystal, hardmetal or high-tech ceramics. Materials with much more than just average resistance, a unique brilliance and – of course – the legendary Rado scratchproofness.

While other brands use conventional materials like gold, brass or steel, Rado goes for materials of the future such as high-tech diamond, high-tech lanthanum, sapphire crystal, hardmetal or high-tech ceramics. And this is always in the endeavour to develop design/material combinations that unite in perfect harmony the double functions of the watch as a modern piece of jewelry and a functional timepiece. The basis for this is provided by the mastery of highly developed leading technologies for the manufacture and processing of the hardest materials in the world. It has taken decades for Rado to build up this know-how, which today constitutes the core expertise of its material-technological developments.

For Rado, the development of a new watch means coming to terms with Time, in the quest for an outstanding creation that captivates with its materials and its form. Thus, the form of the watches does not simply mirror their functionality but embodies a philosophy that manifests itself in the design of the watch. The attainment of such sophisticated objectives requires designers who understand the scratchproof Rado materials and development engineers who can work together with the designers.

Riggs & Brother was started in 1818 by Wm. H. C. Riggs, a Philadelphia clock and watch maker. The firm became W. H. C. Riggs & Son in 1863, and Riggs & Brother in 1865, and through 1901. The business expanded to include repair work, supplying nautical paraphernalia, and industrial timepieces, in addition to the retailing of jewelry, silverware, clocks, and watches. PhiladelphiaBuildings.org shows they were at one time located at 310 Market Street.

In 1930, the RODANIA watch factory was established by Mr. Hans Baumgartner in Grenchen Switzerland. Already at that time, the region of Grenchen was a renowned place for watch and clock making. Today the region is the home of such brand names as Breitling, Eterna, Rado etc. In more recent years, Grenchen itself has become known around the world as the birthplace of the Swatch watch and its technology. In 1947, RODANIA Grenchen had the vision and foresight to expand it's operations with the establishment of a subsidiary in Montreal Canada. A short time later, in 1951 a distribution Company was established in Belgium - becoming rapidly the uncontested and highly respected leader in the Belgian and Luxembourg markets and one of the top names in watches throughout Europe.

In the watch capital of the world, Geneva, where famous Swiss brands have taken several centuries to climb to their world-leading position, it is refreshing to note that this is no closed shop of a few greats but a society that welcomes new comers of an entrepreneurial bent. Thus the small company, Roger Dubuis Horologer Genevois, has just been recognized as a ‘watch manufacturer’ permitted to carry the famous coat of arms of the City of Geneva in recognition of the fact that Roger Dubuis conforms to regulations codified in the seventeenth century. To achieve this accolade, the watch manufacturer must show that the mechanical movements have been assembled in the Canton of Geneva and that they meet strict technical requirements and esthetic quality standards.

The Roger Dubuis brand has always been known for its exceptional range of products such as men's and women's watches with two or three hands, window or patented bi-retrograde calendar wristwatches, single-pusher chronographs with coaxial winding crowns, tourbillion wristwatches with a patented bi-retrograde perpetual calendar and many more features. Art, according to Roger Dubuis, is ‘the expression of the harmony, purity, authenticity and nobleness of a great, age-long watch-making know-how.’

Many of the most famous Swiss brands are located in Geneva carrying on a tradition that so well reflects the city itself. Leading edge engineering excellence, a fine sense of aesthetic creativity, and a spirit of innovation. Qualities that have led to the development of many other economic activities in the city that go to make it such an exceptional cosmopolitan centre of excellence in the heart of Europe.

A Bit of Swiss Watch History

The Swiss watch and clock industry in fact began in Geneva in the middle of the 16th century. In 1541, reforms implemented by Jean Calvin and banning the wear of jewels, forced Geneva’s renowned goldsmiths and jewelers to turn to a new, independent craft: watchmaking. By the end of the century, Geneva watches were already reputed for their high quality. In 1790, Geneva was already exporting more than 60,000 watches a year. The mass production of watches began at the turn of the 20th century, thanks research and new technologies introduced by reputed watchmakers. The increase in productivity, the interchangeability of parts and standardization progressively led the Swiss watch industry to its world supremacy.

For more than four centuries now, tradition, craftsmanship, leading technologies and ongoing innovation have allowed Swiss watchmaking industry to maintain its world leadership. Its exceptional dynamism and creative power have made it a state-of-the-art industry with many world firsts: the first wristwatch, the first quartz watch, the first water resistant wristwatch, the thinnest wristwatch in the world, the smallest or the most expensive watch in the world, and many more.

The Swiss Watch Industry Today

The watch and clock industry is Switzerland's third largest exporter after the machine and chemical industries. Swiss made timepieces are to be found in all the countries of the globe. And, what is no less surprising, to suit all pockets, or almost so from quartz fashion watches for a modest price to mechanical masterpieces, made of gold and decorated with precious stones, costing several million francs. It is this wide variety and its worldwide vocation that together have ensured the survival of the industry over the course of centuries.

The Swiss watch industry exports nearly 95% of its production. Asia and Oceania take 33.8% of Swiss watch exports in value, Europe 37.7%, North America 18.6%, the Middle East 5.3%, South America 3.9% and Africa 0.7%. The Swiss watch industry today is one of the brightest stars in the Swiss economic firmament. Better still, during the last five or six years, it has taken the leading position amongst the country's most successful industries, breaking its own records in exporting each year and going from 4.3 billion francs in 1986 to more than 10 billion in 2000.

What’s in a Name?

Watches, clocks and alarm clocks manufactured in Switzerland bear the designation "Swiss made" (or its abbreviation "Swiss") as well as the logo of the producer or distributor. This label enjoys a solid reputation throughout the world. And globalization of trade has done nothing to diminish its importance. On the contrary, the modern consumer is looking for a maximum of information when he or she goes shopping for a new timepiece.

"Swiss made" embodies a concept of quality that has been forged over the years. It includes the technical quality of watches (accuracy, reliability, water-resistance and shock-resistance), as well as their aesthetic quality (elegance and originality of design). It covers both traditional manufacturing and new technologies (micro-electronics).