Rolex * Seiko * Seth Thomas Clock Company * South Bend * Tag Heuer * Tavannes * Thomas LeClear * Ulysse Nardin * Vacheron * Waltham * Wittnauer * XEMEX * Yard * Zenith * Zodiac

Hans Wilsdorf founded Rolex Watch Company. Wilsdorf was born on March 22, 1881 in Kulmbach, Franconia (Germany). A Wilsdorf parent died in 1893 and was placed in a boarding school by his uncle.

He was a businessman with an eye for opportunity. In his late teens early 20's he followed his interests in business, travel, and the new "bracelet watch" and in 1900 he landed himself an apprenticeship in a watch exporting firm located in La Chaux De Fonds, watchmaking "mecca" of the world.

At 24, eager to do things differently, Wilsdorf decided to set-up his own watch-making business. He worked between London and La Chaux-de-Fonds. Interestingly, Wilsdorf never claimed to be a watchmaker; until his dying day he signed all legal documents with the title "Merchant"!

Wilsdorf & Davies was founded in 1905 in London. That year the company introduced a leather 'briefcase' watch that sold in large quantities in a variety of styles. Wilsdorf was interested in concentrating on the new wristwatch in an era when the pocket watch was mainstream. At the time the "wristlet" watch was viewed as "feminine" for women only. It wasn't deemed "manly" by the major watchmakers of the world to wear a watch on ones arm. There were also many questions that were raised as to the size of any such movements. The concern was that they would have to be so small; they wouldn't survive under normal human activity. Even if the movement were crafted well, dust and moisture would permeate it and cause problems.

Despite the early obstacles, Wilsdorf decided that the wristwatch was the way of the future. He was ahead of his time. He contracted with 'Hermann Aegler', based in Bienne. He obtained movements with lever escapement at a low cost. He frequently visited the workshop in Biel, purchasing large quantities of movements. The movements were ideal as they were precise running and the availability of parts and materials was good. Wilsdorf set about employing watchmakers who themselves tested the movements before they were offered to the public from the London office. Hundreds of different models followed this process and it wasn't long before it was the fashion to be seen wearing a 'wristwatch'. Early models were produced, mainly silver with leather straps though it wasn't long before the gold models followed along with the birth of the flexible bracelet in 1906. In 1908, the firm was amongst the leading watch merchants in the United Kingdom.

Wilsdorf had dreamt of creating a brand for his watches, something that you could look at and see immediately what it was, but rather than immortalizing his own name on the watch face as many of other Swiss greats had done he made one up. He chose the name 'ROLEX'. He drew this name from the wording 'Horlogerie Exquisite', (but this isn't confirmed) it was short, catchy and pronounced the same no matter you were in the world. Little did he know that it was going to grow to become one of the most recognized brands of all time?

In 1910, official recognition was gained from the 'Bureau Official' in Bienne, further recognizing the excellence of Wilsdorf timepieces. It wasn't until four years later, on July 15 1914 that the first 'Kew A Chronometer Certificate' was awarded after 45 days of rigorous testing at the Kew Observatory in London. These consisted of various testing positions of the watch as well as three temperatures, inside a refrigerator, air temperature and inside a conventional oven. Wilsdorf now insisted that all his watched must undergo and pass these tests before being sold.

Due to the First World War, the British government levied a heavy import duty on the importing that amounted to approximately one third of the watch's value. This decision basically forced Wilsdorf to transfer the export of his watches to his office in Bienne that was opened in 1912.

Wilsdorf was creating a wide variety of the highest quality watches for men and women alike in a choice of sizes and styles. Recognition would be required from the observatories and as well as ensuring the highest precision, the lasting protection from dust, dirt and moisture would be paramount. On June 14 1925, the first 'Kew A certificate' was awarded to a ladies model, being much smaller in diameter, just some (13mm) as opposed to the gents model (25mm). In 1925, Wilsdorf spent 100,000 Francs into advertisements based in UK news periodicals touting the quality of his watches and assisting him in strengthening the Rolex brand.

In 1926 the next generation of Rolex was born, the 'Rolex Oyster'. Wilsdorf came up with the name during the design of the watch. He was hosting a dinner party and having a particularly hard time getting into an oyster. He made a comment to his guests that he hoped his new design of watch would prove to be as resilient as the mollusk. The name was born. This was a watch that would be totally watertight whilst still continuing to offer precision. The Oyster was put through it's paces on 7 October 1927 when Mercedes Gleitze, an English typist swam the channel wearing an 'Oyster'. She emerged from her fifteen-hour ordeal with the watch functioning perfectly (much to the amazement of the public). On 24 November 1927, Wilsdorf spent 40000 Francs on a title page advert for the Daily Mail newspaper, making the 'Oyster' famous overnight. The watches were displayed prominently in jewelers shop windows, inside a fish tank totally submersed in water; a powerful image that would make the Rolex brand name unforgettable.

Rolex had invented a new type of unbreakable synthetic material that would be used in place of glass on the watch face and with it's new sealing method; provide a watertight seal on the case itself. Later in 1926, the invention of a watertight winding mechanism was introduced, acting like a 'mini submarine hatch' it allowed the wearer to manually wind or adjusts their watch when opened and when closed it would be 100% water resistant. When the crown was tightened, two smooth metal surfaces would come together causing the connection between winder and movement to completely close.

Wilsdorf's next triumph came about in 1931, the invention of a self winding watch that powered itself on the movement of the wearers arm commonly known nowadays as the 'Perpetual', this was manufactured in three sizes, men's, women's and midsize. The 'Rotor' that sat on the movement swung in either direction, charging the watch at only the slightest movement. A mechanism was also introduced to ensure that over winding became a thing of the past. So, in the space of 30 years, Wilsdorf had invented not only the first truly waterproof wristwatch but also one that relied on just the simple movement of the watch to power itself.

In 1945, Rolex received their 50,000th certificate from the official testing office in Bienne. Later this year saw the birth of the 'Datejust' the first wristwatch to show the date, magnified two and a half times by a Cyclops lens. Rolex were now employing over 1100 staff in both their Geneva and Biel offices and were spread amongst five buildings in Geneva alone. 1954 saw the introduction of the first ladies 'Oyster Perpetual' whilst two years later in 1956, the gents 'Day-Date' model was born, this allowed the wearer to view both the day and date whilst still enjoying every other promise Rolex had given. The 'Day-Date' is now available in 26 languages worldwide. Sadly, Hans Wilsdorf passed away on 6 July 1960 leaving the running of the company to the various appointees that were stated in the 'Hans Wilsdorf Foundation'. This foundation also funded various educational projects such as a watch making school based in Geneva.

In 1971 the 'Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 2000' was brought about. This watch was water resistant to 610m (2000f). It was the first watch of it's kind to incorporate a helium gas release valve; this was used to dispense helium during decompression.

1980 saw the introduction of the 'Sea Dweller 4000', allowing divers more freedom of depth, up to 1220m (4000f).

By 1985, more than 4.1 million movements had been awarded the official 'Chronometer' title. Amazingly Rolex watches only make up about 1% of the total Swiss watch production.

For nearly four hundred years Edo-Tokyo has been the center of Japanese timekeeping, and for the last century has been the home and birthplace of Seiko and Citizen. Their history is irrevocably intertwined with that of the great city -- a city that has been repeatedly damaged and destroyed in a series of disasters that they have not only survived, but has indeed flourished.

Even though Citizen has almost wholly devoted themselves to quartz technology to the exclusion of mechanical movements and watches, Seiko continually maintains its mechanical tradition. They have fostered the quartz revolution, which is the foundation of their present prosperity. This has enabled Seiko to continue to produce mechanical pocket watches, wristwatches, and the movements within. In 1983, after 102 years that K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. finally changed its name to Hattori Seiko Co., Ltd., and then to Seiko Corp. in 1990. The 108-year legacy of Seiko as a manufacture dates back to 1892, when the original Seikosha factory was moved and renamed Daini Seikosha in 1937, then renamed Seiko Instruments and Electronics in 1983. Since 1987, Seiko Instruments Inc.

Seth Thomas Clock Company was one of the most prolific and long lived clock companies. The quality of their products was always maintained at an above average level. Many American clock factories in the 19th century suffered factory fires but Seth Thomas was fortunate in this respect. Through conservative growth and taking advantage of the new ideas of others, Seth Thomas was able to enjoy financial stability, whereas many other companies faced financial difficulties.

Seth Thomas was born in Wolcott, Connecticut in 1785, went to work for clockmaker Eli Terry in 1807, bought out Terry’s factory (together with Silas Hoadley) in 1810, and in December 1813 bought out Heman Clark’s clockmaking business in Plymouth Hollow. Thomas continued Clark’s wooden movement tall clock production, and about 1817 began making the wooden movement shelf clock. These were cased in pillar and scroll cases until 1830, when the bronze looking glass and other styles became popular. In 1842, brass movements were introduced, and first cased in the popular O.G. case (which was made until 1913). Wood movements were phased out in 1845. In 1853 Mr. Thomas incorporated the Seth Thomas Clock Company, so that the business would outlive him. Mr. Thomas died in 1859, and Plymouth Hollow was renamed Thomaston in his honor in 1865.

Mr. Thomas was very conservative, and after his death many new styles of clocks were introduced by his sons. Regulator clocks were introduced in 1860. The patterns and machinery for these had been purchased in 1859 from the creditors of bankrupt clockmaker Silas B. Terry. Spring driven clocks were introduced ca. 1855–1860. Perpetual calendar clocks were made from ca. 1863–1917. Some of the most popular later types include walnut kitchen clocks, made from 1884–1909; marble clocks, 1887–ca. 1895; black (Adamantine finish) wood mantel clocks, ca. 1885–1917; black enameled iron cased clocks, 1892–ca. 1895; oak kitchen clocks, 1890–ca. 1915; tambour clocks, introduced in 1904; chime clocks, introduced in 1909; and electric A/C clocks, introduced in 1928.

Many Seth Thomas clocks from 1881 to 1918 have a date code stamped in ink on the case back or bottom. Usually, the year is done in reverse, followed by a letter A–L representing the month. For example, April 1897 would appear as 7981 D.

In 1930, a holding company named General Time Instruments Corporation was formed to unite Seth Thomas Clock Company with Western Clock Company. In 1968, General Time was bought by Talley Industries, and in 1979 the headquarters was moved to Norcross, GA. In June 2001 General Time announced that it was closing its entire operation. The Colibri Group acquired Seth Thomas. The NAWCC (the National Association of Watch and Clock collectors) purchased from Seth Thomas their collection of historical records, drawings, photographs, advertisements and documents.

The New Columbus Watch Company survived until 1903. The contents of the factory, including all the tooling and stocks of movements, were eventually purchased by the Studebaker family, moved to Indiana (along with many key employees) and used to start the South Bend Watch Company. Some early South Bend watches were sold with signed Columbus movements in them.

Eduardo Heuer founded Heuer Watch Company in 1860. He opened a watchmaking workshop in St-Imier, a village in the Swiss Jura region. Heuer watches soon became recognized for a high level of accuracy and workmanship. Perfect for the timing of sporting events Heuer soon found its niche. TAG Heuer has a long tradition of technological innovation in precision timepieces, including stopwatches and water-resistant watches. Reflecting this heritage, the TAG Heuer brand has long been closely associated with the world of competitive sports, providing official timing services for the Olympic Games, FIS Ski World Cup, FIA Formula 1 World Championship and other major international sporting events - automobile racing, ski competitions - since the early 1900's.

In addition, TAG Heuer continues winning an active following among sports enthusiasts around the world. Throughout its history, TAG Heuer has steadily built its reputation understanding design and innovation, as well as, a tradition, establishing itself as a leading producer of prestigious sports watches and chronographs.

Timeline:

• 1860 - Eduardo Heuer founds a watchmaking company in St-Imier, Switzerland
• 1882 - Heuer patents his first chronograph.
• 1887 - Heuer patents an "oscillating pinion" still used by major watchmakers for mechanical chronographs.
• 1911 - Heuer introduces the first automobile dashboard chronograph.
• 1916 - Heuer invents a stopwatch that is accurate to within 1/100th of a second called the micrograph.
• 1920's - Heuer watches are timekeepers at the Antwerp, Paris and Amsterdam Olympics.
• 1933 - Heuer launches the "Autavia" the first dashboard stopwatch for racecars.
• 1950 - Heuer introduces the "Mareograph - Seafarer" a wristwatch with chronograph functions and tide indicator. (COOL WATCH!)
• 1964 - Heuer launches the "Carrera" chronograph. This watch was named for the 1950's "Carrera Pan-America Mexico" road-race.
• 1965 - Heuer patents the MICROTIMER, the first miniature electronic timekeeping device that was accurate to within 1/1000th of a second.
• 1969 - Heuer introduces the "Chronomatic", the first automatic chronograph with a micro rotor. They also introduce the widely popular "Monaco" worn by movie star Steve McQueen.
• 1971 to 1979 - Heuer is named the official timekeeper for formula one racing.
• 1975 - Heuer launches the "Chronosplit", the world’s first quartz wrist chronograph.
• 1985 - Heuer joins "TAG" group and the famous watch name and logo are changed from HEUER to TAG-HEUER. Since then the company has craftily built one of the most recognized watch names in the world. Tag-Heuer becomes a very popular and fashionable status symbol.

Founded 1891 in Tavannes by Tavannes Watch, F. Henri Sandoz. Frederic Henri Sandoz was in heart and soul a businessman. To get on in his profession he turned his back on his home town of Le Locle and the Henri Sandoz & Co. watch company that he had founded there. In the nearby town of Tavannes he started a new company for the production of simple and complicated watches, including chronographs, an aptitude for which was proved by a chronograph patent registered in 1890. Further patents ensued, among them for a stem-winding mechanism and a chiming movement. The new workshops covered more than 1000 square meters. Forty employees, with the help of 55 modern machine-tools completed more than 40 timepieces a day. Some of these went onto the market under the Cyma name. Towards 1892 the company entered into a cooperative agreement with Schwob Freres of La Chaux-de-Fonds. The company continued to expand after the turn of the century.

By around 1905, daily production amounted to some 1000 watches. New markets in the Far East and elsewhere gave a noticeable boost to growth. In 1938, around 2000 employees and 2200 machine-tools reached an output of about 4000 watches and movements a day The company's 20th-century product range naturally included wristwatches of the most diverse character - for example the shock-proof models with a protective cover issued to soldiers in 1915. These were followed by "waterproof" versions. Catalogs from the 1930s also show wrist-chronographs equipped with Valjoux movements. At that time, Tavannes-Cyma claimed to be Switzerland's largest supplier of precision watches.

In 1943 the company launched its first automatic movement, the caliber 420, with a swinging arm winding in one direction. This movement was fitted into the square-cased "Watersport" model, for example. Another collector's item is the "Autorotor" self-winding caliber 485, launched in around 1957. Thereafter Cyma used ETA calibers.

In 1966 Tavannes-Cyma ceased production and the rights to the brand name passed to Chronos Holding.

Born in Oswego, New York, Thomas LeClear was a genre and portrait painter who had studios in New York City and in Buffalo, New York. Considered one of the major artists of Buffalos first golden age in the mid 1800s, LeClear is nationally recognized for his portraits of children.

Thomas LeClear was mainly self-taught, but did receive some training in New York City. He began his career in Buffalo, London, and Canada, first painting portraits in Oswego, New York, in 1844, and then in New York City from 1845 until 1847. He settled in Buffalo, where he received a commission to paint decorative panels for a steamboat, and soon found himself part of the artistic nucleus that was forming in that city. Like so many other painters in the country at the time, he painted mostly portraits, but made his reputation with his appealing and refreshing scenes of childhood, such as his Marble Players, Young America, Itinerants, and his best known, Buffalo Newsboy. (1853, oil on canvas)

By 1861, Le Clear had left Buffalo and was living in Brooklyn. Two years later he had a studio in Manhattans Tenth Street Studio building, where William Holbrook Beard had lived a year earlier, from 1860 to 1861. Beard was later to marry LeClears daughter.

Despite living in New York City, both Beard and LeClear continued to be closely connected to Buffalo, especially through their involvement with the newly founded Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. LeClear and Beard, along with William John Wilgus and Lars Gustaf Sellstedt, were the major artists of Buffalos first golden age in the mid 1800s. LeClear taught private pupils in Buffalo, as did Wilgus and Sellstedt, and one of LeClears pupils was Albert Samuels, who painted genre and still-life pictures.

Buffalo presented its first major art exhibition in December 1861, and a fifth of the works were by Buffalo artists. The exhibition was a financial success and led to the formation in 1862 of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy under the leadership of LeClear and Henry W. Rogers, one of Buffalos principal art patrons.

LeClears portraits of children are exemplars of mid nineteenth-century dress and demeanor, and one of his particularly intriguing works is "Interior with Portraits", (about 1865, oil, 25 7/8 x 40 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum), a painting of a nineteenth century photographer taking the picture of a boy and girl in his studio. In this work LeClear records the arrival of a new technological form of "virtual reality", photography, into the painter's traditional territory. For three or four centuries, people had hired a painter to capture loved ones features for posterity. But then, after daguerreotypes were introduced in 1839, suddenly there was a choice. You could have a colorful, often life-sized painted likeness that looked more or less like your relative, or you could have a tiny, monochromatic, but startlingly real photograph.

"Interior with Portraits" is unsigned and undated, but it is said to have been painted by LeClear sometime around 1865. Supposedly LeClear was commissioned to make the picture by an elder brother of the two children shown in the picture. The little boy had just died when the picture was requested, but he was not then the small child shown; rather he was a 26-year-old volunteer fire fighter who had just perished in a hotel fire. His older sister had already died when she was an adolescent, more than fifteen years before the picture was made. Most viewers today think the little boy in the picture looks definitely dead, even stuffed.

One possibility is that the painter, for lack of live models to get likenesses, used a daguerreotype of the children as a substitute so he could get the features right. If so, he must have known he was entering a highly charged arena of controversy. Painters everywhere were threatened by the new photography, and vowed never to use photos as aids. LeClear obviously decided he would engage the issue.

The villain of this portrait game is the photographer himself, portrayed from the rear and concealing his face from us under his cloth. (Incidentally, his wet collodion camera was not manufactured before 1860, and this has helped in dating the painting.) All the paraphernalia of the professional artist is arrayed in the studio, which depicts the famous artists' building, the Tenth Street Studio Building in New York, where, as mentioned above, both LeClear and Beard had studios. In the painting there is plenty of evidence that the inhabitant of the sky-lit studio was no mechanical hack. And yet, the artist is being asked to make way for an insolent photographer who has only learned to manipulate machines and chemicals.

So in his painting, "Interior with Portraits", LeClear shows a scene within a scene, and then implies yet another still larger view from outside the canvas. Through this technique, LeClear used the occasion of this commissioned portrait to make an homage to the 17th-century Spanish master, Velázquez, whose painting "Las Meninas" used the same device. By implication, LeClear could be said to be paying homage to the art of painting.

Another of LeClears notable works is his portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant, dating from about 1880 (Oil on canvas, circa 1880, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution). He painted two versions, one originally owned by Grant himself, and a second that became part of the White House collection.

His portrait of William Page painted in 1878 hangs in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC. In Buffalo, New York, The Buffalo and Erie County Museum Collection of Paintings holds approximately 500 works documenting two centuries of the region's changing landscape, as well as the men and women who helped shape the area's history. LeClear is among the nationally recognized artists in the collection, along with William H. Beard, Raphael Beck, Alvah Bradish, Augustus Rockwell, Lars G. Sellstedt, and William Wilgus.

Thomas Le Clear exhibited at both the National Academy and the Royal Academy, London. He was elected as a National Academician in 1863.

Biography found on the AskArt website

Ulysse Nardin established his company in 1846. 30 years later, his son, Paul-David, took over and continued his father’s excellence. Ulysse Nardin specialized in mechanical marine chronometers. For the next 50 years, they won so many awards and certificate the company the company's legacy was guaranteed. The company was sold in 1983. In 1996, the company celebrated its 150th anniversary with the release of the 1846 Chronometer. Many other incredible watches soon came including the "Freak" and the "Sonata". The core of the Ulysee Nardin line is the "Marine" series which has the "Maxi Marine", "Marine Annual Chronograph" and the "Marine Chronometer 1846". All of these models sell well. Additionally, the "San Marco" series has always been popular. There are also limited editions that have gained Nardin great notoriety which include the new repeater "Sonata", the tourbillion "The Freak", and the "GMT +/- Perpetual".

The oldest watch company in Geneva Switzerland is Vacheron Constantin, also has the highest honor of having produced the single most expensive watch of all time -- the "Kallista" (Greek for "the most wonderful") -- which is set with over 130 carats of emerald cut diamonds, each with its own GIA Gem trade lab report. The Kallista's original selling price was over $5 million, and today, its value is estimated at over $10,000,000.00 that figure should the watch ever be offered at auction. Needless to say, there are many loyal fans of Vacheron Constantin.

Genevois watchmaker Jean-Mark Vacheron founded the company in 1755 at just 24 years of age. Vacheron was known for expensive and finely finished timepieces. His personal ambition was to create timepieces that would stand out for their elegance and quality. In 1785, Vacheron's son Abraham took over the company, which survived the French Revolution, among other economic problems. By 1814, third-generation watchmaker Jacques Barthelemy Vacheron was leading the company, but Vacheron realized that he needed a partner if the company was to survive. He could not oversee the company's day-to-day operations and travel overseas to market the watches. So it was that in 1819, Francois Constantin -- son of a wealthy grain merchant -- became a partner in the firm. From that point forward, the firm went under the name "Vacheron & Constantin", a name that is to this day synonymous with the finest quality timepieces.

By all accounts, Francois Constantin led an opulent lifestyle and was quite a flamboyant character. He relished his role as Vacheron & Constantin's representative and journeyed around the world selling watches. Whenever Constantin traveled, the firm protected itself by constructing huge shipping cases with all sorts of hidden compartments. Francois Constantin also led the charge in opening new markets overseas, especially in North America, where the Vacheron & Constantin agency was eventually established in 1864. Francois Constantin's unique motto remains the company's motto to this day: "Do better when possible, and it is always possible!"

Another important person in the Vacheron Constantin story is Georges-Auguste Leschot. A mechanical genius, Leschot had experimented with machines that could be used for series production of watch components. This was a revolutionary concept to be sure, but the watchmaking establishment ridiculed Leschot. In 1839, Leschot was hired as Technical Director for the House, which wanted to improve their production methods. Thanks to Leschot's cost-saving inventions, including a turning and drilling machine that could drill holes in the exact same position every time, Vacheron & Constantin was able to sell their watches for far less than what other comparable watches were selling for. In spite of the cost savings, Leschot insisted that every part still be worked on by hand. As a result, the watchmakers were able to focus more of their attention on finishing, rather than fabrication of component parts.

A series of Vacheron and Constantin heirs took over the company in the wake of Francois Constantin's death in 1854, followed by Jacques Barthelemy Vacheron's death in 1863. Interestingly enough, the company was even led by two women at one point when Charles Vacheron, an heir apparent, died at the age of 25. Laure Vacheron-Pernessin, the widow of Charles Vacheron, and Catherine-Etienne Vacheron, the 88-year-old widow of Jacques Barthelemy Vacheron, made an unlikely team, but they successfully guided the company into the 20th Century.

In 1877, the name of the firm was officially registered as "Vacheron & Constantin, Fabricants, Geneve", while salesman Jean-Francois Constantin was promoted to partner. Moreover, the company started using the Maltese cross as its trademark, which is still in use today. After Laure Vacheron-Pernessin and Catherine-Etienne Vacheron passed away, the firm was re-organized as a stock company in 1887. Several years of declining sales ensued, but the firm bounced back in the early part of the 20th Century, when they successfully capitalized on the newfound demand for wristwatches. A number of spectacular pocket watches were also sold, including an ultra-complicated pocket watch that was presented to the Egyptian King Fouad I in 1931.

Although Vacheron & Constantin suffered through lean times during the Great Depression, the one bright spot was that Charles Constantin became president of the company in 1936, the first time that a Constantin had led the company since the mid-1850s. Unfortunately, with the advent of World War II, sales once again plummeted. Georges Ketterer acquired a majority ownership position and under Ketterer's watch, Vacheron & Constantin bounced back. It was during Ketterer's reign that they produced some of their most famous watches, such as the "Chronometre Royale" wristwatch.

Georges Ketterer died in 1987, and the company changed hands, yet sales have improved and Vacheron is now producing nearly 20,000 watches a year.

Vacheron Constantin (the ampersand was dropped sometime in the late 1970s) recently introduced a number of popular models such as the sporty "Overseas", as well as the "Les Historiques" series of mechanical wristwatches whose designs are clearly modeled after classic designs from the 1940s and 1950s. Vacheron Constantin also continues to manufacture a limited number of ultra-complicated watches, such as the Tourbillon watches, the unique "Grand Mercator" and a magnificent minute repeater/perpetual calendar. The prices for these watches are obviously quite high, but for many watch enthusiasts, a Vacheron Constantin represents the ultimate expression of the watchmaker's art -- an heirloom to be passed down through the generations and treasured by those lucky enough to own one.

Timeline

1755 Jean-Marc Vacheron starts his own business and makes a pocket watch from 1760 signed J.M. Vacheron.

The company's own archives contain nothing about its first 60 years, starting as they do in 1810 with letters signed by Jaques-Barthelemy Vacheron. In fact, most of the information about the company from Jean-Marc Vacheron's founding in 1755 to 1810 are derived from referent secondary sources, including documents and references from the public record. For centuries, until the discovery of the Jean-Marc Vacheron contract of 1755, even the company itself held 1785 as its founding date.

The current official history dating to 1755 is based upon a copy of a public filing that was discovered among the records contained in the estate of a Geneva Notary. The public filing declared the official adoption of J.M. Vacheron as an apprentice to a Master Watchmaker in 1755, when Jean-Marc was 24 years old.

• 1785 company name ownership, name changed to Abraham Vacheron-Girod
• 1810 company name ownership, name changed to Vacheron-Chossat, under Jacques Barthelemy Vacheron
• 1819 critical event in the history of the company - Francois Constantin, previously with J.F. Bautte, joins the company in a sales and marketing capacity. He coins the phrase which becomes the company slogan, Faire Mieux si possible, ce qui est toujours possible - Do better when possible, and it is always possible! During this time, there is a second quality range signed variously as Abm Vacheron a Geneve or Chossat &Cie lesser models were signed Abraham Vacheron
• 1825 First Jumping Hour pocketwatch produced by Vacheron
• 1830 representation in New York by Jean Magnin in New Orleans by Brey
• 1839 Georges-Auguste Leschot joins Vacheron, and begins design and development work on precision machines for production
• 1844 Cesar Vacheron joins the company
• 1845 Vacheron becomes an OEM manufacturer, supplying movements to other companies
• 1854 Jean-Francois Constantin took over as sales director after death of Francois Constantin
• 1864 Vacheron and Constantin agency opened in US
• 1867 company ownership, name changed to Cesar Vacheron &Co
• 1869 company ownership, name changed to Charles Vacheron & Cie
• 1870 Laure Vacheron-Pernessin, Catherine-Etiennette Vacheron take over running of the company, name changed to Vve. Cesar Vacheron & Cie
• 1875 Headquarters moved from the historic Tour de L'Ile to rue des Moulins, where it has remained to this day.
• 1877 The company name is formally changed by charter to Vacheron & Constantin regardless of ownership changes
• 1880 Maltese Cross logo registered the origin of this symbol is the tension spring regulator
• 1906 Boutique opened in the rue des Moulins headquarters building
• 1910/1911 First VC wristwatch
• 1928 VC Grande Complication pocket-watch produced
• 1938 after years of close cooperation, LeCoultre takes a partial ownership position, and a Jaeger-LeCoultre marketing alliance is formed. Jaeger's Swiss sales organization were moved into the VC business address in Geneva
• 1940 George Ketterer, through SAPIC, takes a majority shares position in VC. Ketterer was Managing Director at SAPIC, which was the holding company for Le Coultre, Jaeger-Le Coultre, and a majority shareholder of VC; he was also a Manager in VC. There was a Ketterer in charge at VC - either George or his son Jacques - until 1987.
• 1940-1950's VC's operational role became etablisseur to LeCoultre's manufacture
• 1944 The caliber 2003 is announced - 1.64mm thinnest manual wind in history - by AP, and VC participates in a similar announcement.
• 1946 AP ships the finished Ultra Thin based on the cal. 2003 (AP company literature, No. 1, 2000)
• 1950's US importer was VC-Le Coultre, which was itself a division of Longines Wittnauer Watch Co
• 1955 VC 200 year bicentennial - VC releases Ultra Thin announced in 1944 as a 200 year anniversary piece. Vacheron claim several advanced features not claimed by AP for the cal. 2003, including unique escapement and regulator innovations, which allowed for the elimination of shock protection and the elimination of adjustment normally required after cleaning and lubrication. VC presented to Bulganin (Soviet Union), Eden (Great Britain), Eisenhower (USA), Faure (France)
• 1965 George Ketterer left Jaeger LeCoultre and went to head VC, thus separating the LeCoultre ownership connection.
• 1967 thinnest ever full rotor auto movement of 2.45mm - 21kt rotor mounted on beryllium-bronze rails that rested on ruby rollers on the outer edge of movement, rather than on a center bearing, allowing for less point friction and lower overall height. (AP also claims this milestone - ref: No. 1, 2000 - cal 2120)
• Piaget produced the 12P at 2.3mm in 1959, but it was with micro-rotor.
• 1969 George Ketterer died, succeeded by Jacques Ketterer, his son
• 1979 Kallista - most expensive watch in the world - $5,000,000
• 1987 Jacques Ketterer died. Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, former Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, Harvard MBA, and avid watch collector, became majority shareholder, who then folded VC into his personal portfolio of holdings. There are those that would argue that VC stagnated during this phase. As with any subjective generalization, this may not be entirely fair or accurate.
• 1987/88 Claude Daniel Proellochs becomes CEO
• 1994 Vacheron Constantin private museum opened, replicating a 1700's cabin tier’s workshop
• 1996 Johann Rupert and his holding company, Compagnie Financière Richemont AG, through its 70% shareholding of the Vendome Luxury Group, takes over ownership of Vacheron &Constantin. The buyout is announced in 1997, preceded by the introduction of the Overseas, new luxury sport line
• 1998 HDG (Haut De Gamme) - a small specialty movement maker specializing in tourbillions and repeaters, acquired to become an in-house manufacture for Vacheron Constantin
• 1999 Nov 22 - Press Announcement - "Vendome Luxury Group is wholly merged into Compagnie Financière Richemont AG"
• 2000 Dec 8 - Press Announcement - "Acquisition of Les Manufactures Horlogères SA Completed by Richemont";, which includes JLC, IWC, and A Lange und Sohne (the 40% of JLC that was owned by Audemars Piguet was previously acquired in July 2000)
• 2001 March 23 - Formal announcement that "Mr. Günter Blümlein, previously Chief Executive of LMH, becomes Chief Executive of Richemont's new specialist Watch Division with responsibility for Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Baume &Mercier, IWC, Vacheron Constantin, A.Lange &Söhne and Officine Panerai.

Around 1850, Roxbury Massachusetts the collective plans to begin a watchmaking business of three men, David Davis, Mr. Howard, and Aaron Dennison would later become the American Waltham Watch Company. The business plan was to inexpensively manufacture watches of without losing quality, a plan that utilized a new concept at the time in watchmaking: interchangeable parts.

Early watches were produced around 1850. They were actually marked "Howard, Davis & Dennison - Boston". The new company struggled early on as it coped with higher then anticipated manufacturing costs. They also had problems making the interchangeable parts system actually work. Although in theory the parts should have been identical once produced, they found that each part was a little different from the next. The machines weren't exact. It took the company months to produce watches that were actually no better than those already on the market.

Howard would eventually perfect and patent his precision watch making machines and the company was almost ready for production. In 1851, with the factories complete, the American Horology Company was named. By 1852 the first watches were completed. The first 17 watches were marked "The Warren Mfg Co". Watches 18 through 100 were named "Warren Boston". The next 800 were named "Samuel Curtis". These early watches are extremely rare and very valuable.

The name was changed to "Boston Watch Company" in 1853. In 1854 a factory was built in Waltham Mass. The watches that were made here (1001-5000) were named "Dennison, Howard, & Davis" as earlier stated, as well as P.S.Batrlett, and "C.T. Parker". Boston Watch Company failed in 1857. The company was sold at auction to Appleton Tracy & Co in May 1857. In January 1859 the Waltham Improvement Company and Appleton, Tracy & Company merged to for the American Waltham Watch Company. By 1860 the country was in Civil War, and the company was in trouble again. Production ground to a halt. With a war going on, finding a market for their watches was becoming a serious problem. The company decided to downsize to the lowest possible level to keep the factory open. It worked!

In 100 years of existence the factory produced 40 million jeweled watches, plus clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses for bombs and other precision instruments.

Waltham Watch company went out of business in the late 1950''s-early 1960's, in 1957 they planned to merge into Waltham Precision Instrument Company which was completed March 1960. The shareholders of the old company received shares of the Waltham Precision Instrument Company and also received shares in a Waltham Watch Company. In the mid 60's the remaining assets were purchased by the Dextra Corporation which failed in 1983.

Auguste Agassiz started Longines Watch Company in 1832. Agassiz opened a workshop in St Imier, Switzerland. He operated what today would be called a "Home Business". Workers would work on watches out of thier own homes, which Agassiz would later sell. Sometime between the years of 1854 and 1866 Agassiz handed down over the operation of the watchmaking business to his nephew Ernest Francolin. Realizing the lack of consistent quality coming from the manufacture of watches in so many locations, Francolin soon built a factory in Les Longines near St. Imier and consolidated all of the areas watchmaking under one roof. The Longines name was born.

The company began producing chronographs in 1879. They later produced aviator watches and cockpit instruments. The company registered its "Winged Hourglass" trademark in May of 1890. In 1912 the company produced the first automatic timekeeping device. From that day Longines has long been associated with time keeping at major sporting events. In the 1950's Longines purchased the Wittnauer watch company and marketed a number of very similar lines of watches in the US under both brand names.

XEMEX was founded in 1995 by graphic designer Ruedi Kuelling with Hans Peter Hanschik as the head of his marketing department. Both Hanschik and Kuelling own the company. Everything was created from scratch - the watches, logo, company, etc. He did not take an old brand name and make new watches, which is what usually happens. Ruedi Külling's story is that of a successful idealist. Born in 1935, he first worked as a successful sales promoter and graphic designer. During this time he created unforgetable advertising for brands such as "Sinalco" and "bic." However, by 1994 he felt his creativity was restricted by too much emphasis on marketing. He had the idea of making the Swiss rail station clock available in watch format so he sold his shares in an advertising agency in order to realize his dream.

After one and a half years of preparation, the time was ripe: Külling presented his new brand XEMEX Swiss Watch with its product philosophy and launched his first line, "Offroad." Ruedi Külling's motto is "less is more." His consistent and elegant expression of this concept made him famous as a graphic designer. His posters are on display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and now they have been joined by some of his watches. They can also be admired in the Chicago Museum of Architecture Design, the London Design Museum and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Külling reduces things to the bare essentials. The foundation of his designs are clear forms, equally functional and stylish. Readability is of prime importance; it is achieved through the clarity of the design. XEMEX only uses Sapphire Crystals and Stainless Steel backs, no glass backs.

Most XEMEX watches are in the middle price range. Külling wanted to create a watch that he could read without his glasses, and succeeded so well that the almost-blind can read the hands.

The brand's success story is still continuing today; it has been able to make a name for itself in a short time - and not only with watch lovers. Everyone who loves simple elegance appreciates the clear design, well thought out down to the smallest detail, and the appealing charisma of these timepieces. Their self-contained, straightforward design has made XEMEX watches popular all over the world.

The life of Raymond C. Yard is a delicious swirl of contradictions. He was a poor boy (the son of a railway conductor) who rose to the top of a rich man's business. He was a commoner in a world of pedigree. And in a realm of Europeans and Europhiles, he was as American as George M. Cohan — born not on the Fourth of July but on April 19, 1885 in Montclair, New Jersey. He was also — judging by the comments of those who knew him in his prime — that rarest of gems, a man of flawless integrity. "Once," recalls Bob Gibson, president of Raymond C. Yard, who took over the firm from his father in 1987, "Yard had my father go to a gem dealer to purchase a batch of moonstones he had first dibs on. My father, quite naturally, wanted to pick through the pile and select the best stones. He dispatched a message to Raymond, who wrote back with instructions to divide the pile by placing his forearm in the center and choose one side or the other. Raymond later explained that out of respect for the seller he would not take all the best stones, since that would prevent the wholesaler from making further quality sales and thus damage his reputation. This kind of self-imposed fairness is unheard of in today's world."

There's a Horatio Alger quality to Yard's career. ("Raymond is a perfect example of the American dream," states Gibson.) He started working at age 13 as a door boy for Marcus & Co.—a prominent New York jewelry store. Earning three dollars a week, he opened doors for members of high society who would one day open doors for him. Four years later Yard was promoted to the pearl-stringing department, where he developed an astute eye for color, shape, and luster, and four years after that to the floor of Marcus & Co. as a salesman, where he would work for the next 15 years. "In those days everyone was wearing pearls because they were in abundance," says Gibson, who—thanks to volumes of original Yard sketches—now makes Yard jewels to order. "Then two things happened that forever changed the jewelry business: the use of platinum in jewelry, which allowed for intricate flexible design, and access to Kashmir sapphires." Precisely the two ingredients, it turns out, necessary for the advent of Art Deco jewelry—and Yard's future success.

Yard's break came in 1922 when John D. Rockefeller Jr. approached him with an irresistible proposition: If Yard would open his own salon; Rockefeller would buy the majority of his jewels from him and encourage his friends to patronize him as well. No discounts, no deals—just the desire to see a good man succeed. Thus it was that at age 37 Raymond C. Yard opened an "upstairs" salon at 607 Fifth Avenue. Rockefeller kept his word. And not only he, but the Vanderbilts, DuPonts, and Harrimans became clients, as did, in later years, the Flaglers and F.A.O. Schwarzes, Joan Crawford and Douglas Fairbanks. "He made several important pieces for John D. Rockefeller Jr.," says Ralph Esmerian, a dealer in precious stones whose father—Raphael Esmerian—was one of Yard's major gem suppliers for many years. "For instance, Yard created a great necklace of perfectly matched Oriental pearls that took him ten years to find." Among Joan Crawford's many purchases from Raymond C. Yard was a wide, fancy-cut diamond bracelet punctuated with three star sapphires weighing 73.15, 63.61, and 57.65 carats, respectively. She always wore this as part of a suite that earned her the moniker Joan Blue.

If social connections were Yard's only suit, the story would stop here, but in fact he was a fine jeweler in his own right—known for procuring the finest-quality gems and best platinum-smiths on the market. "Raymond had all the 400s as his clients because of the relationships he forged while at Marcus & Co.," says Manhattan estate jeweler Fred Leighton, referring to the New York society A-list. "But he also became a master-craftsman. Anytime you find a really beautiful Art Deco bracelet or a combination of top stones, it signifies it as a Yard piece. Yard was the American counterpoint to Cartier in the twenties."

It's not uncommon for Yard pieces to show up at fine auction houses and exceed the catalog estimate. In October 1996 that pearl necklace made for Rockefeller sold at Sotheby's New York for $464,500; the estimate had been $250,000-$350,000. And at Sotheby's in April 1997, a ca. 1927 diamond, emerald, and ruby pendant-watch, with a catalog estimate of $35,000-$45,000, went for $51,750; while a ca. 1925 diamond and emerald pendant jabot clip, listed for $15,000-$20,000, sold for $27,600. "Yard jewelry fetches more because of the quality of the workmanship and the stones," says Leighton. "His diamonds were always the whitest and beautifully matched. His colored stones were always the brightest. I've never seen a piece of his jewelry that was not of the greatest quality. On a scale of one to ten, he deserves a nine and a half. I really can't think of many other jewelers I'd say that about."

As worldly as he became, Yard never seems to have lost the integrity that proved so winning to New York high society. "I met him only once, when I was about fifteen," says Esmerian, "but I got the sense he was a meat and potatoes kind of guy. He was on the front lines when buying gem and colored stones. He protected his clients' interests. He never made false promises. Bob Gibson still gets the great-grandchildren as clients to this day." In fact, Gibson has the firm today because Yard took his father, Robert Gibson, under his wing after the boy caddied for him at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. He hired Gibson as a door boy and saw to it that the young man's career paralleled his own. When Gibson left the firm to serve as a fighter pilot in World War II, Yard promised to rehire him after the war. He not only redeemed that promise but passed the business on to Gibson when he retired in 1958. (Yard died in 1964).

Raymond C. Yard represented the end of an era in jewelry. His career commenced around the time that most of the world's mines for precious colored stones were drying up (though good stones were still available), and by the time it ended gem-quality stones were increasingly difficult to find. That's why Bob Gibson's quest today is to warehouse original pieces, thereby preserving the Yard heritage. "No one hopes for the discovery of a new mine. Great-quality colored stones are just a rarity these days," he says. "Many of the new stones are heat-treated to intensify the color. Plus in the old days they cut five-carat stones to look like four carats because you wanted depth. Depth is what makes the color bolder. Now they cut five-carat stones to look like six carats. Most modern stones are not cut for intensity. That's why we use old stones. When we do find a quality stone we cut and set it according to our original designs. Of course, my passion is to bring all Raymond Yard jewelry back into the house, but what I really love is to acquire great colored stones through estate purchases and reset them in a Yard design. We'd much rather do that than create something new." "You just can't produce that kind of jewelry anymore," says Leighton. "His things were so beautifully made, from every bezel to every link. There's jewelry that's really art; Yard brought it up to that level."

"There is a formula to making a great jeweler," muses Gibson. "You need great wealth, great platinum-smiths, and great colored stones. But Raymond C. Yard had heart, and that's the only way to come up with something that's worth more than its weight in gold."

To cultivate beauty and total precision, with audacity. For almost one and a half centuries Zenith has sculpted time, seeking the ultimate perfection.

In 1865, under the guidance of Georges Favre-Jacot, one of the most mythical manufacturers of quality watches was born. A 22-year old visionary, he was the first to create the very concept of a watchmaking Manufacture. He brought all artisan watchmakers together under one roof, providing them with heat and light, allowing them thus to dedicate themselves entirely to the design of their timepieces. From the hand of the watchmaker, “manus” in Latin, came the etymology of the word “Manufacture”.

One evening, Georges Favre-Jacot perfected a movement that he considered almost perfection. He went out into the silver night and lifted his eyes towards the heavenly sky. And the cosmos spoke to him. He saw a gigantic constellation turning around the Pole star, similar in its complexity to the movements of the pivots and the wheels on their axes. He decided then to call his new movement, and its Manufacture, after the word that designates the highest point in the universe, Zenith. He adopted the star as a symbol, a shining good luck charm, and a celestial guide towards a promising destiny.

From then on, protected by this radiance, the Manufacture with its 2000 golden hands traversed the 20th century with style. 1565 awards, over 50 mythical calibers, branches throughout the world, from New York to Paris, from Moscow to Tokyo. History is in the making, led by exceptional men and women, who conscious of the treasure they hold in their hands, develop it with love, while keeping true to the founding values: beauty, truth, integrity, precision, and mastery over complexity. Furthermore, not content to simply perpetuate tradition, they reinvent it.

Today, the Manufacture continues to meet its challenge: to combine beauty and mechanical perfection, subtly uniting tradition with modernity. In the heavens, the Zenith star continues to shine, as if Georges Favre-Jacot, from a panoramic vantage point, continues to look after his heritage, observing the work of his successors.

The trademark Zodiac, now over a hundred years old, was only registered in 1908 - after having been used for years by the grandson of the founder of the factory which was run at that time under the family name of a dynasty of watchmakers: Calame. The known roots of this family go back to 1537. They are clearly older because the name Calame is to be found in the archives in Le Locle in a document of that time. This states that the lord of the region, Lord de Valangin Rene de Chilland, was promoting the members of this family to the rank of "free-dwellers."

Finding small holders to occupy the land before others took it over was a policy followed for a long time by the Lords of Valangin and Neuchatel and also by their neighbors. So it was that in 1650 Guillaume Calame left Le Locle, attracted by the advantages offered by the Prince-Bishop of Basel, sovereign of a territory corresponding to the present Jura including the Franches-Montaganes at the north-east frontier of the Calangin seignuery. This is now the eastern end of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds. He set up house St. Le Creux-des-Biches near La Ferriere, twenty kilometers or so from Le Locle. And it was here that the matchmaking dynasty began; in 1820 you find Jacob Calame, owner of a domain here with extensive buildings, meadows and pasture lands. He was a watchmaker-farmer and had at various times housed soldiers and horses when allied troops (Austrians, Russians and Poles) had passed through the area in the war against Napoleon in 1815. His son Julian was also a watchmaker, but in Saint-Imier.

Return Of Le Locle

In 1864 a descendant of Jacob Calame returned to Le Locle, Ariste Calame set up house at No 7 Grande Rue, and paid 6 francs 70 in tax twice a year, on St. Martin’s and St. John’s Days, when workers received their hall yearly wages. At that time a kilo of bread cost 10 centimes and a pound of beef 24 centimeters. To place this little anecdote on its historical context, we note in passing that Ariste Calame showed his republican sympathies in 1648- the year of the Neuchatel revolution which saw the overthrow of the representative of the King of Prussia, who was then the country’s sovereign.

After an apprenticeship as an assembler, he finally set up on his own in a small workshop at Cret-Callant which he turned into a watch trading house, with first one, then two and then five workers, whom he looked upon as friends. He sometimes worked for the other watchmakers including the celebrated Jurgensens, but above all he supplied watches to Favre-Perret. He opened his trading house at a transitional point between two eras, at a time when the Swiss watch industry had scarcely recovered from the shock of 1876.

Shock Of Seventy-Six

The Swiss watch industry led a peaceful life with its fine craft production. Until 1876 when the famous Philadelphia Fair opened and showed the world and the Swiss watchmakers, who were at first incredulous, the enormous progress made by the mechanized American watch industry. The shock was followed-those who experienced the shock caused in 1974 by the quartz electronics firms can easily imagine it-by a new awareness, fuelled by a report that is still famous from the Swiss delegates to Philadelphia, who included Jacques David of Saint-Imier and Ed. Favre-Perret of Le Locle.

The need to produce in batches and mechanize watch production having been proved, the struggle to do so began. Influenced by enlightened people, mechanization was adopted which was above all suited to the interchangeability of component parts, the keyterm at the time, together with the reorganization and concentration of the companies. Which was what the complete watch manufacturers, who lived side-by-side in the watch industry with those that only assembled watches and sometimes supplied the latter with special "ebauches" had negated to do. This with the certainly that the vertical concentration of operations under one roof within one and the same factory, contrary to the assembly of parts from outside, was "the latest thing" in modern matchmaking. It was still the case nevertheless that the essential part of the work was based on craft methods and skills, on improving watch mechanisms and making them more sophisticated, rather than on machines.

The time lost was caught up: statistics show that in 1896 in ten cantons the Swiss watch industry produced 4 million watches worth 100 million francs and employed 20000 men and 14000 women, very high figures for that time. Figures which it would be ridiculous to try and compare with those of today, when with slightly fewer people results are achieved which ate 10,20,50, or 60 times higher in value; none of the circumstances are the same.

Ariste Calame Hands Over

Industrial reorganization, integration of the mechanical manufacture of "ebauches" and component parts perhaps reinforced a primary form of concentration but brought a crisis in terms of quality in the "etablissage " systems under which production was still dispersed and lacked homogeneity. The crisis in quality degenerated into a prices and profits crisis and followed the eight crises that had been experienced between 1837 and 1889. It was probably because of these difficulties, which lasted until 1896, that the family firm hardly expanded, but it nevertheless provided Ariste Calame with a livelihood and security. 1896 was the year of the Paris World Fair and the revival of the industry. In 1890, when Ariste retired at the age of 61, Switzerland exported 7.3 million watches with a value of 120 million francs.

Louis-Ariste Calame was 25 years old in 1900, in the heyday of the Belle-Epoque. However, he did not have a chance to enjoy the pleasures of Paris. He had just got married in Le Locle and, with his wife as assistant, took over the company from his father. A company where, according to the description his son Rene gave the Zodiac Congress organized for its 75th anniversary in 1957; there was plenty of family dynamism at that time. The brother-in-law also set up at the time as manufactures of complicated watches while at the Calames, the company expanded rapidly enough to give up manufacturing as a sub-contractor for Favre-Perret and became an exporter, in particular to Japan, a market reputed to be difficult: and for what a distributor. Relations were established with no less than Hattori-Seiko, whom there is no need to introduce.

By 1903 the premises were too small and Louis-Ariste Calame and his wife moved to the rue du Marais to a large workshop where they centralized manufacturing and prepared to carry out batch production. Like other industrialists, Louis-Ariste favored an advanced policy for those times: controlling production from A to Z and standardizing quality to the maximum. The only way to do this was to become a complete manufacture, to design, make and perfect the necessary tools and ebauches as well as taking charge of all stages of manufacturing, in order to achieve a finished product with its own individual character and be able to approach the markets with a clear brand policy. The trade mark Zodiac-which had long been used-was soon registered. Relations with Japan improved, the orders came flowing in and the dream of building soon came true. On 1st May 1908 the factory in which the company was to remain until 1950 was inaugurated.

Between 1908 and 1914 Zodiac manufactured its own calibers and movements and employed around fifty people. The pistil shot at Sarajevo brutally shook Europe and its dreams of prosperity. During the 1914-18 war the demand held up and even strengthened in certain markets. There was an ever-fiercer price war and in the post-war years it was necessary to produce a lot to earn anything. Having put too many eggs in one basket, the factory suffered badly during the crisis years of 1921 and 1922-and worse still form 1932 and 1934, but we have not got there yet. Louis-Ariste had been one of the first industrialists to work towards setting up the Federation of the Associations of Watch Manufactories- now called the FH. In November 1923 his son, Rene A. Calame, a matchmaking technician, joined him as an employee. The younger generation was to give new impetus to the company, both commercial and technical: fashions had changed with the arrival of wristwatches, which called for new design calibers.

The 1930’s brought economic crisis and its procession of unemployed, which passed through Le Locle. Prudently, the from became a limited company. The hand times passed. As Rene A. Calame, a new co-director at that time recalls: "From 1930 onwards, we were more and more successful thanks, it should be emphasized, to the confidence which old and new customers showed us. This is the greasiest asset that a company can have."

In 1945 business had grown to such an extent that the other brother took over as commercial director. The company was classified as one of the leading medium sized watch companies, but its premises had again become too small. The inauguration of the new factory Bellevue 25 in Le Locle did not go unnoticed. Its bold architecture-Le Locle is not far from La Chaux-de-Fonds, the birthplace of Le Corbuster-in an eye-catching position above the town and its station, is evidence of a certain brave sprit of enterprise. The same went in 1986 for the large extension and the inauguration of a new building adjoining the earlier one: an ultra-modern factory much commented on in the Swiss press, particularly the specialized press from which we have taken the following: In the tast five years the watch industry’s average rate of increase was 8%. During the fast four years Zodiac doubled its sales, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 25%. This growth was the result of a substantial effort in terms of production and the use of modern machines, while profits achieved through rationalization were systematically reinvested in quality, for which there were 92 control stations during the course of manufacture. Zodiac level of quality, confirmed by the Watch Testing Office-the manufactures’ bogy-was 50% higher than the Swiss average.

Products Honors List

• 1924 Launching of the first extra-flat pocket watch based on The Zodiac caliber 1617.
• 1930 Launching of one of the first Swiss automatic watches.
• 1932 Invention of the Autographic power reserves indication systems, now sought-after collectors piece.
• 1932 Invention of one of the first modern shock resistant system.
• 1953 Lauching of the Seawolf, professional sports and divers’ watch.
• 1965 Zodiac wins a prize at the Montres et Bijoux Exhibition in Geneva.
• 1967 First prize at the World Fair in Montreal
• 1968 Launching of the first Swiss electronic watch, Dynortron.
• 1968 Launching of the first fast beat, 36,000 oscillations per minute automatic watch, in parallel with other brands.
• 1969 Invention and launching of Astrographic watch, which caused a great sensation.
• 1970 Launching of the first Swiss analog quartz watch, the famous Beta 21 calibre.
• 1974 Patent for a shock-resistant watch case.
• 1977 World’s first LCD watch to obtain an official chronometer certificate.
• 1978 Launching of world’s slimmest quartz watch and, using traditional technology, the flattest automatic watch with calendar.
• 1990 New Zodiac presents its collection at the European Watch, Clock and Jewellery Fair in Basel.

Last Congress

At the Zodiac 90th anniversary Congress in 1978, Pierre Calame, who had in the meantime become the managing director, recognized that the economic climate in which it was taking place was bleeding discouragement and lassitude. The Swiss watch industry’s 20-25 years of prosperity and its quasi-monopoly position worldwide had a perverse effect; the relative lethargy always linked to facility and success. As this period had ended and the watch industry was faced with new circumstances, innovative solutions and polices were called for. It was with this positive attitude that Zodiac’s general policy was reviewed:

• Irreproachable quality in its ultra-modern factory.
• Design; a major asset at Zodiac where individualized and original models in new shapes appeared under the names Astrographie, SST 36,000, Kingline, Olympos, Sea Wolf, Cordair, Aerospace, GMT, Spacetronic, Modul-O-Quatz, etc.
• Loyalty to the retail watchmaker; the high quality watch remains the preserve of the specialist.
• Quality after sales services on the theme "Our responsibility begins-it does not end-with the sale of a Zodiac watch. "

In a period in which concentration was the universal panacea, the magic formula to solve economic problems, Zodiac decided in favour of independence and relying on its own resources in order to make the most of its technical and commercial ability. In concluding his very wide-ranging speech to this last Zodiac Congress, Pierre Calame particularly stressed that the battle looked as if it would be very tough. "A very hard process of natural selection is taking place in our industry and the smallest mistake in this struggle may be fatal. We see clearly that 80% of our success will come from the quality of the effort made by you, our customers. "

The importance of the front line of sales can never be overemphasized. A blow on this front put Zodiac in a difficult position and forced it to ask for a financial arrangement. Paul Castella, head of the world famous Dixi group of Le Locle brought and saved the brand. Next, an experiment in "managing " the brand, entrusted to specialists in watch marketing, failed to bear the hoped-for-fruit. It should be stressed that this was during one of the worst periods of the economic crisis. In 1982, its centenary year, Zodiac was virtually merged with Zenith. The Bellevue buildings were henceforth to be part of the Dixi machine factory.

New Departure

The production of Zodiac watches is currently entrusted to the Zenith Watch Company’s factory in Le Locle, which gives us leave to claim that the high quality that was the pride of the Calame dynasty has been 100% preserved. Design and innovation, marketing, sales, and exports are handled at the headquarters of the new Zodiac SA in Neuchatel. The new Zodiac is in the hand of Willy Gad Monnier, the former managing director of a large watch manufacturer, whose experience in sports watches-a specialty of the brand-is recognized in the entire world’s markets. While we are at it and as a drawing or photo is worth ten thousand words, let’s have a look straightway at the new collection.

Willy Gad Monnier, a major shareholder and managing director of the new Zodiac, joined the watch industry when he finished his education. He was head of a company, which went through all the postwar periods of matchmaking. He has acquired considerable experience, particularly in terms of management and above all, traveling with a collection case, in markets internationally. His objective is to secure a place for Zodiac and its traditional quality, not only through production but also by respecting the loyalty built up in the distribution channels leading to the watch retailers. In terms of the product, there will be a certain degree of specialization in sports and so-called "technical " watches.

"From the drawing board to the wrist of the consumer, the marketing policy is designed to foster a long term relationship of confidence and trust with customers, " says Willy Gad Monnier. The fact of having inherited a prestigious past will not prevent Zodiac from building the future with the same dynamism as young companies with no history behind them.

Zodiac has used the world of sport as the focal point of its collection, in line with the tastes and exceptions of a public that is young, dynamic and in a state of constant movement. All the models are made in stainless steel with screw-in crown and screw back and are water restraint to 200 meters. The advertising and PR message had sport at its most daring as its theme and Zodiac has enlisted the help of a professional diver, the first Swiss woman guide and a canoeist-explorer.

The Zodiac point is a symbol of quality and a guarantee of the ultimate precision.

The 1990 collection is divided into three groups, based on the idea of the point, as follows:

• Red Point Collection
• Silver Point Collection
• Gold Point Collection

The information in this article was from a piece of Zodiac literature published in 1990.