1905 HANS WILSDORF

 

 

1908 GENIUS IN  FIVE LETTERS

 

1910 THE QUEST FOR CHRONOMETRIC PRECISION

Rolex first concentrated on the quality of the movements. The relentless quest for chronometric precision rapidly led to success. In 1910, a Rolex watch was the first wristwatch in the world to receive the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, granted by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne.

Four years later, in 1914, Kew Observatory in Great Britain awarded a Rolex wristwatch a class “A” precision certificate, a distinction which until that point in time had been reserved exclusively for marine chronometers. From that date forward, the Rolex wristwatch was synonymous with precision.

 

 

 

1919 GENEVA

Rolex moved to Geneva, a city renowned internationally for watchmaking. Montres Rolex S.A. was registered in Geneva in 1920.

 

OMEGA is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and symbolises accomplishment and perfection – qualities that have been inherent in every OMEGA watch since the company’s founding by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1848.

The brand’s reputation for innovation and quality has led to numerous awards over the company’s 150-year history, starting as early as 1900 with the Grand Prix at the Paris World Fair and continuing with the world precision record of 97.8 points at the Kew-Teddington observatory in England in 1936.

OMEGA went on to be official timekeeper at no less than 21 Olympic Games, bringing numerous innovations to Olympic sports over the years, such as the first electronic timekeeping at the Helsinki games in 1952 – the same year in which the company was awarded the Olympic Cross of Merit for its outstanding contribution to sport.

On account of its precision and reliability, OMEGA’s Speedmaster watch was chosen by NASA as its official chronometer in 1965 and 4 years later was the first watch to be worn on the moon, when, on 21 July 1969, Neil Armstrong made his giant leap for mankind.

In more recent years, OMEGA has continued to build on its reputation for precision and innovation, presenting the world’s first self-winding wristwatch with central tourbillon (launched in 1994) and the revolutionary coaxial escapement sur developed in conjunction with renowned English master watchmaker George Daniels first offered in limited series in 1999.

OMEGA owes a large part of its watchmaking excellence to the quality of its movements.  These magnificent watches are highly collectible, and hold a very special place in many collectors showcases.

There seems to be an aura about Omega watches that captivate this collector especially.

 

 

First watch on the moon

Heuer Watch Company was founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer.  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 – Edouard 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 dash-board 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 race-cars.

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 which was accurate to within 1/1000th of a second.

1969 – Heuer introduces the “Chronomatic”, the first automatic chronograch with a microrotor.  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 worlds 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.

 

 

 

Prestigious Swiss watchmaker Ebel is a brand long associated with elegance, luxury and design for more than a century. Ebel was founded in 1911 by husband and wife team, Eugene Blum and Alice Levy in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

The brand’s name in fact comes from joining the initials of its founders: Eugene Blum et (and) Levy. The two pioneered many milestones in horological history, including their ladies’ strap wrist watch in 1912 and their diamond jewelry watch ring in 1914.

During World War II from 1939 to 1945, Ebel supplied watches to the British Royal Air Force to aid pilots in their air missions throughout Europe. In 1964, Ebel was awarded the Swiss Premier Prix award for their Luna Etoille jewelry watch featuring a sparking diamond and blue sapphire bezel.

 

 

 

The founder’s grandson Pierre Alain Blum took over at the helm of the company in 1970, leading to its status as the world-class watch leader it is today. Ebel introduced the Sport Classic Collection for men and women featuring a rounded, hexagonal shaped case and distinctive wave designed bracelet under Blum’s direction in 1977.

The Sport Classic was an instant global success and remains one of the most popular luxury watches for men and women today. In 1985, Ebel followed the Sport Classic with the Beluga collection, a lustrous and graceful collection of timepieces created expressly for women. With fluid, flowing contours and highly polished lines the Beluga was another international success.

Both the Sport Classic and Beluga collections remain popular today along with more recent introductions from Ebel, including the 1911, Wave and Brasilia series.

 

Vacheron Constantin is one of the oldest continuously operating watch manufacturers in the world. Founded in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron, who was both a talented young watchmaker and a good businessman (an unusual combination), Vacheron quickly established a reputation for producing finely crafted watches, including some of the first “complications” and the first engine-turned dials.

Abraham Vacheron, Jean-Marc’s son, assumed control of the family business in 1785. Abraham guided the company through the difficult years of the French Revolution, and was succeeded in 1810 by Jaques-Barthélemy Vacheron, who was the first to export the company’s watches to Italy and France. It was Jaques-Barthélemy who foresaw the need to expand the company’s markets and he knew he would need a partner to accomplish this goal. He formed a partnership with François Constantin in 1819 and the company became known as Vacheron & Constantin. François Constantin, whose job was primarily sales and marketing, traveled the world seeking new markets for Vacheron & Constantin’s watches, and Constantin began distributing watches throughout North America. It was Constantin who first coined the Vacheron Constantin motto: Faire Mieux si possible, ce qui est toujours possible – “Dobetter when possible, and it is always possible!”

In 1839, the company hired Georges-Auguste Leschot, one of the true pioneers of European watch production. Leschot’s interest was in the application of mechanization and standardization to horology, and he is credited with helping to develop the ebauche system of watch manufacturing and the standardization of watches into calibers (or standard sizes). Before Leschot, virtually every part of the watch was cut, formed and finished by hand, which made every finished watch a “one of a kind” piece. There was no interchangeability of parts as each piece was hand-fitted to the watch and was slightly different than the same piece in the next watch.

Leschot’s contribution was in the design of machines which could produce parts of sufficient quality and precision that they could be used interchangeably across multiple watches, with minimal hand-finishing. (note that parallel efforts were taking place in America, under the guidance of pioneers like Dennison). The greater manufacturing efficiencies achieved by Vacheron allowed them to become a major supplier of components and raw ebauches to other manufacturers, and this contributed greatly to the company’s survival and growth during these challenging years. It can be said that Leschot helped transform Swiss watchmaking from a handcrafted, cottage industry to modern mechanized production.

After the death of Vacheron in 1854 and Constantin in 1863, the company was run by a series of Vacheron or Constantin heirs. The name of the company was changed in 1877 to “Vacheron & Constantin, Fabricants, Geneve,” and in 1880 the company adopted the use of its iconic “Maltese Cross” logo (inspired by the maltese-cross stopworks piece which is sometimes used within the watch to limit mainspring travel). It was not until 1970 that the “&” would be dropped from the name.

In 1938, Jaeger-LeCoultre acquired a partial ownership position in Vacheron Constantin, and George Ketterer (a Managing Director of the holding company which owned JLC and a portion of VC) took the helm at Vacheron. George Ketterer or his son Jacques ran VC until 1987 when they became part of the Richemont Group, one of the largest Swiss luxury-brand conglomerates. Richemont currently owns the following watch brands: Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, IWC, Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Sohne, and Panerai.

According to available records, Vacheron Constantin produces about 20,000 timepieces per year.

 

Today, Audemars Piguet is considered one of the top three horological brands in the world for quality, complexity and desirability. This kind of global respect is not earned overnight – it is the result of over one hundred years of hard work and dedication. In order to be a leader and not a follower, Audemars Piguet had to differentiate itself from its competitors, which means taking risks; risks that almost cost the company its own existence.

Le Brassus, 1875, in the heart of the Vallée de Joux. Two friends, Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet establish a workshop from which to make movements. Audemars produced and assembled movements whilst Piguet ensured that the completed movements were correctly regulated. The two friends made theAudemars Piguet name successful by being the best at what they did, and over time, the company began to grow, quickly becoming one of the largest watchmaking employers in Switzerland. Quality control was where Audemars Piguet excelled, and this allowed them to produce some stunningly complicated movements.

After the death of Audemars in 1918 and Piguet in 1919, the company continued to be one of the finest in watchmaking. The smallest minute repeater, the thinnest watch, the first skeleton watch; all these achievements boosted Audemars Piguet’s reputation as being one of the very best. When the stock market crashed in the 1930’s, however, many watchmakers were forced to the brink of collapse, and Audemars Piguet was one of them. The market for luxury goods had fallen flat virtually overnight.

 

This make-or-break scenario gave Audemars Piguet a chance to try something daring. The up-and-coming off-the-wall design talent that was Gérald Genta was hired to design a piece so bold and unique that it could have very easily sunk the name of Audemars Piguet into oblivion. Taking inspiration from the 1862 battleship, the HMSRoyal Oak, Genta used the octagonal portholes as the basis of his case design, integrating the bracelet into it seamlessly. Compared to the period watches of the time, theAudemars Piguet Royal Oak was a futuristic, dynamic, angular shock to the system.

The biggest shock was not the watch itself, but the price. At its release in 1972, it cost more than every other Audemars Piguet watch and ten times that of the period Rolex Submariner, and so initial take-up was slow. This extreme pricing did, however, introduce a new level of super-premium luxury, being a product that only the most affluent could afford. Once the Royal Oak took, it took well, and in doing so it pulled Audemars Piguet out of the mire and back into financial success.

The Royal Oak evolved into the Royal Oak Offshore in 1993, a modern evolution of the watch that changed history for Audemars Piguet. The large, bold and often colourful Royal Oak Offshore has recreated the niche for super-luxury watches by raising the price bar once again, and opening the floodgates for other, new, super-premium brands to follow in its footsteps. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore can be summed up partly by its use of exotic materials and by its inflated proportions, but mainly for its quality and watchmaking excellence that has run through the DNA of Audemars Piguet since its very beginning.

 

 

“You simply don’t become official supplier to world aviation by chance”

A specialist of technical watches, Breitling has played a crucial role in the development of the wrist chronograph and is a leader in this complication. The firm has shared all the finest moments in the conquest of the skies thanks to its sturdy, reliable and high-performance instruments. One of the world’s only major watch brands to equip all its models with chronometer-certified movements, the ultimate token of precision, Breitling is also one of the rare companies to produce its own mechanical chronograph movements, entirely developed and manufactured in its own workshops. This family business is also one of the last remaining independent Swiss watch brands.

A brand long associated with aviation, Breitling was founded in Jura Switzerland in 1884 by Leon Breitling. The brand is renowned for being a specialist of technical timepieces and played a pivotal part in the development of the world’s first chronograph.

In 1915, Breitling invented the first independent chronograph push-piece. The brand in 1923 perfected the system of the stop/start functions from that of resetting a mechanism. This was extremely valuable for the timing of sporting events and calculation of flight times. Breitling designed the second independent reset push-piece in 1934, a decisive breakthrough in watch-making history.

Breitling introduced a range of specialty onboard aviation chronographs for use in aircraft cockpits in the 1930’s, which were immediately indispensable for pilots and were employed by the British Royal Air Force in World War II on fighter planes.

Breitling solidified its aviation reputation in 1952 with the introduction of the legendary Navitimer chronograph, a mechanical timepiece which featured a slide-rule bezel to perform navigational functions. The Breitling Navitimer immediately became a favorite of pilots and is one of oldest mechanical chronographs still being produced today. It also remains the first timepiece choice for professional pilots around the globe.

Breitling today holds the distinction of being an independent, family-owned watchmaker for over 132 years, a feat unparalleled in the watch making industry. Each and every timepiece produced by the Breitling is manufactured at their plant in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Breitling is also one of the only watch brands to submit all of its timepieces, both automatic and quartz to the Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute for official Chronometer certification.

1884: In St-Imier, in the Jura mountains of Switzerland, Leon Breitling opens a workshop specializing in the making chronograph pocket watches and precision counters for scientific and industrial purposes

1892: Leon Breitling relocates in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the center of Swiss watchmaking of the day.

1914: Leon Breitling dies.  His son Gaston Breitling takes over the company.

1915: During WWI, Recognizing rapid advancements in aviation and the need for a precision timepiece for that purpose, Gaston introduces the first wrist-watch chronograph providing pilots with the first Breitling wristwatch.

1923: Breitling develops the first independant chronograph pushpiece.  Start and return-to-zero functions had previously been controlled using the winding-crown.

1932: Gaston’s son, Willy Breitling, takes over for his father as the head of the company.

1934: Breitling develops a watch with a second return-to-zero pushpiece.  This invention, made it possible to measure several successive short times with an added function using the first pushpiece, and gives the wrist chronograph its difinitive form.

 

 

1936: Breitling becomes the official supplier to the Royal Air Force.  This difinatively marks the start of its longstanding ties to aviation.

1942: Breitling launches the Chronomat, the first chronograph to be fitted with a circular slide rule.  In parallel, the company broadens its professional clientele to include the American armed forces.

1952: Breitling creates the Navitimer, a wrist instrument equipped with the famous “navigation computer” capable of handling all calculations called for by a flight plan.  This “super” chronograph quickly becomes a favorite among pilots around the world.

1962: Astronaut Scott Carpenter wears the Cosmonaute chronograph during his orbital flight aboard the Aurora 7 space capsule.

1969: Breitling introduces the self-winding chronograph.  This technical feat represents a major breakthrough for the entire Swiss watch industry.

1979: Ernest Schneider – a pilot and watch manufacturer takes over as the head of Breitling.

Present: The company continues to produce timepieces of the highest quality in the world.

This information was obtained from the Breitling Company

 

FOUNDATION AND PARTNERSHIP

His sons, Ernst and Carl Eduard Bucherer, joined the family-owned company in the 1920s and, thanks to their wide-ranging experience, took it even greater success. In 1924, Ernst Bucherer entered into a particularly fruitful partnership with Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex. He decided to include the then little-known watch brand in its range. Today, Rolex is one of the world’s most celebrated watch brands and remains the House of Bucherer’s most important partner.

EXPANSION INTO LUXURY

Despite the crises of the 1930s and the Second World War, the company continued to grow and opened branches in other Swiss cities and tourist destinations. In 1977 the third generation of this family of entrepreneurs joined the flourishing company. Under the direction of Jörg G. Bucherer, the company expanded to Austria in the 1980s and, ten years later, to Germany.

In Switzerland, Bucherer also took over the Kurz Group in 1989 and, in 2001, Swiss Lion AG, whose main target group was tourists. That same year, the independent Carl F. Bucherer company was founded to maintain the Bucherer family’s watchmaking tradition established in 1919. In 2013, Bucherer celebrated its 125th jubilee and opened the world’s largest watch and jewelry store in Paris.

Bulgari is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and retailers of luxury products. Since the very beginning, Bulgari traditionally focused on creating the highest quality jewelry and watches, expanded later into the production of perfumes, silk scarves, and eyewear.

The history of Bulgari began in 1884 in Italy, when Sotirio Bulgari, a Greek immigrant, opened his first shop on Via Sistina in Rome. Sotirio descended from a family of silversmiths. In 1905, with the help of his two sons, Costantino and Giorgio, a second shop was inaugurated on Via Condotti. The store quickly became a place where the aristocracy, the rich and the famous came for unique high quality jewelry designs that integrated Greek and Roman arts. During the first decades of the 20th century, the two brothers developed a passionate interest in precious stones and jewels becoming the finest professionals in this craft. Giorgio devoted his life to the creation of a “Bulgari style”. Costantino compiled his studies and experiences in a book “Argentieri, Gemmari et Orafi d’Italia”, creating the most authorized and serious reference on Roman silver.

 

 

During the 1940s, Bulgari introduced their first timepiece, the snake-watch, that was inspired by the Art Deco period of the 1920s. It was unique and extravagant, with bold coils of gem studded gold. Bulgari snake-watch quickly became an unmistakable attribute of jewel-watches.
In the 1960s Bulgari’s clientele included Italian nobility, South American political figure Evita Peron, American businessmen, like Nelson Rockefeller and Woolworth’s founder Samuel Henry Kress, and the U.S. Ambassador to Italy Clare Boothe Luce. In the 1970s Bulgari opened its first international store in New York, and later in Paris, Geneva and Monte Carlo. Bulgari re launched the snake-watch with the “Tubogas”, a flexible elastic gold bracelet entirely hand-made.
Although the company had created and sold pocket, lapel, and wrist watches for men and women throughout its history, Bulgari did not introduce a major collection of its timepieces until the late 1970s. The year 1977 saw the creation of the Bulgari Bulgari, with a double engraved logo on the perfect cylindrical section, which became the company’s most recognized and highest selling watch. In the 1980s, Bulgari remained in the high position of the jewelry market, expanding itself by opening several other stores throughout the world: Munich, London, Milan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.

Most of the Bulgari watches have more then 200 pieces, some of which are 0,3mm, which demands extremely professional knowledge and skills of the master watchmaker. Bulgari is one of the few watch manufacturers able to produce timepieces with high-complicated movements. The Bulgari watches are made in the heart of the “watch valley” in Switzerland and are subject to the toughest tests to insure the highest standards of quality of their movements. Bulgari’s strategy of continuous search of perfection, technological development, spiritual beauty and original style led this company to be one of the finest and top selling watch-building companies in the world.

 

Patek Philippe is one of the world’s most prominent companies in the world of luxury watches. The company makes a number of high-end watches that are extremely expensive. This company has been behind several interesting models that are particularly impressive for today’s watch collectors to find. It’s amazing to see how this company has done so much to get watches made for the high-end members of the general public to enjoy.

Patek Philippe was founded in 1851 when Antoni Patek, a businessman who joined forces with watchmaker Francois Czpaek in Geneva, and watchmaker Jean-Adrien Philippe created an official association. Philippe was noted for creating a watch crown system that utilizes stem winding and a special setting system.

The company was sold to Charles and Jean Stern in 1932 and the company is still owned by the Stern family to this day. The company continues to make its own parts and has made a handsome amount of money over time. The company even made around $1 billion in revenue in 2012.

A critical part of how Patek Philippe works comes from how the company has been making its watches in Geneva since 1839. The company allows its employees to have the full freedom to make their own models and to prepare different models right from the company’s on-site factory. In fact, the luxurious nature of the company’s watches has made it so the company will only make around 45,000 watches each year.

The company focuses on making sure its watches are very specific and unique. The company has 200 different watch models today and only makes gradual changes to these watches as the company sees fit.

One huge part of what makes Patek Philippe so unique comes from the silicium movement system used in the company’s watches. This is a silicon-built system that does not respond to environmental changes as much as quartz does. This part doesn’t require lubrication and is used to help get the friction process to work right without worrying about the watch losing its power over time. This is designed to make the watch a little more functional and capable of doing more.

The fine metals used for the watches are also important to spot. The company makes watches that are designed with white, yellow and rose gold materials. These are high-value materials that are often very effective for creating some nice shines that make these watches easy to show off in a variety of different places.

The company is extremely selective about the materials it uses when making its watches. It does not work with any plastic parts whatsoever.

The company focuses on feedback from its individual retailers to see which watches are more viable and interesting for people to buy. They value these retailers to ensure that they can get watches that are of actual use to them out on the market.

The first watch that the company, or the people associated with it, made for the general public was a pocket watch drafted by Patek and Czapek before Patek Philippe was formed. It was made in around 1840 and had a silver case with a rose gold hinge.

In 1855, Patek Philippe as it is known today made a yellow gold pocket watch with a white enamel dial and blued-steel Breguet hands. This watch was originally designed to be sold in Poland at the time and had a fine blue cover at the front to make it more visible.

Not much is known about modern sales after that. It is known that the company sold a Complication watch in 1900 just two years after it was first made. This is believed to be the earliest Patek Philippe model in existence and also the earlier one to have been officially reported. This was designed with yellow gold and an extensive series of dials to make it functional and capable of telling time as well as possible. In fact, this watch was sold for a little more than a million dollars during a recent auction, thus making its value all the more impressive for people to spot.

Patek Philippe watches have become so popular and highly revered that they are extremely expensive to get these days. In fact, they cost so much that today the company goes through several standards to get people to be accepted as particular dealers.

A majority of watches for sale on the market are going to cost at least $20,000 for the average person to get. These include a number of watches that feature fine metals and dials to make them specific and unique in appearance. In fact, a basic Golden Ellipse watch that is made with rose gold materials can go for $24,200 on the market. A similar watch with a completely gold bracelet will go for $60,000.

The history of Patek Philippe is filled with all sorts of interesting things relating to the company’s watches. It has a number of different kinds of watch models with all kinds of accents and features to make them special and appealing for all to see.