This article is found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breitling
"Breitling is a brand of Swiss watches from the Canton of Jura. The watchmaker offers Certified Chronometers designed primarily for aviation use, though most frequently worn as high-end luxury watches. Breitling's watches offer aviation functions, though their chronograph functions have become more of status symbols than practically applied tools. They typically have a large face (e.g. the Breitling for Bentley Motors edition has a 48 mm Case Diameter) for better visibility and to allow display of more information on the analog dials. Many other models feature an automatic winding mechanism that is purely mechanical (i.e. using no electronic components). A lot of Breitling watches are equipped with additional functions such as the flyback function, split-second, moon phase, date display and other complications.
All Breitling watches are manufactured in Switzerland and are made from Swiss components. Raw movements are obtained from ETA and Valjoux and are modified in the Breitling Chronometrie Workshops (former Kelek S.A.) before (since 1999) undergoing extreme COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) certification.
Quartz models such as the Breitling Aeromarine Colt start at $1,650.00, while typical prices of mechanical, steel cased models are $7,300 (US) for the Breitling for Bentley Motors model. The expense is clearly in the 38 jewel self-winding movement as these steel cased models are more expensive than some of Breitling's Titanium or Gold models. Some special edition models also include diamonds on various parts of the watch. I.E. Diamond Bezel, Diamond Bracelet, etc.
Breitling was a sponsor of Team Bentley during their Le Mans 24 Hours campaign, running from 2001-2003. To commemorate this event, Breitling created the Limited Edition Breitling Bentley 24 Le Mans Watch."
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วันเสาร์ที่ 15 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2551
Longines - Swiss Watchmaker since 1832
This article is found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longines
Agassiz & Compagnie
In 1847 Agassiz became the sole owner of the company which he renamed “Agassiz & Compagnie.” In 1852, Agassiz' nephew Ernest Francillon joined the company. During the 1850s, Francillon took over the business from his ailing uncle, focusing on increasing and improving the production of standard watch designs.
Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, successeur
In 1862 Francillon renamed the venture “Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, successeur” adding his own name to his uncle’s, acknowledging the latter’s pioneering role. As he took over day-to-day management, Francillon looked for ways of improving and streamlining the production of his timepieces, then parceled out to a number of different sites. His idea was to gather everything under one roof, in keeping with his vision of a factory where mechanical manufacturing and assembly methods would enable him to make and finish watches in one integrated process.
Les Longines
From this perspective, in 1866, Francillon purchased two adjoining plots of land at a place locally known as Les Longines on the right bank of the River Suze that flows in the Saint-Imier valley. Here he built a factory, to gather the entire production under one roof. By 1867, Francillon had convinced some of his pieceworkers to transfer their activities to his newly built factory and hired a young kinsman, the engineer Jacques David, to help him devise the tools and machines which he needed to improve the manufacturing processes. Despite various setbacks, the Longines factory’s prosperous growth vindicated Francillon’s bold vision. Mechanization of the production processes was successfully implemented thanks to Jacques David’s talent at conceiving and building machines that seconded watchmakers in their tasks and improved the quality of their work.
The Philadelphia Universal Exhibition of 1876
A crack engineer convinced of the merit of mechanical production, David traveled to the Philadelphia Universal Exhibition of 1876 and returned to write a report that triggered a wide-ranging debate within the Swiss watch industry of his day.
Manufacture Longines
The first in-house Longines movement was created in 1867. Francillon was the first watchmaker to introduce the winding crown. All watches before that where wound with a key. The same year Ernest Francillon returned from the World's Fair in Paris with a bronze medal for this novelty watch. From the 1870s on, Longines’ industrial options proved judicious and the company grew steadily until the first third of the 20th century. The buildings themselves regularly had to be adapted to the needs of a flourishing enterprise which, by 1911, employed over 1,100 people and sold its timepieces worldwide.
Worldwide acclaim
Over the years, the company’s various technical research projects earned so much acclaim abroad that Longines could claim the title of “leading prize winner” at international exhibitions up to the Barcelona Exhibition of 1929. It garnered ten Grand Prix (Antwerp 1885, Paris 1889, Brussels 1897, Paris 1900, Milan 1906, Bern 1914, Genoa 1914, Paris 1925, Philadelphia 1926 and Barcelona 1929). In 1969, Longines’ corporate tradition of technical innovation yielded the first cybernetic quartz electronic wristwatch ever designed by a watch manufacturer’s in-house research facilities.
The Winged Clepsydra
In 1880, on the 19th of July the Longines brand and logo were registered at the Swiss Federal Office of Intellectual Property, now the World Intellectual Property Organization. The company had by 1867 already adopted its Winged Hourglass symbol both as a mark of quality and as a defense against the counterfeiting its timepieces increasingly fell prey to.
Sports timing
Building on its in-house expertise, Longines gradually built a special relationship with the world of sport. Present in Athens in 1896, the company has been closely associated with the worldwide development of sport, timing Olympic Games fourteen times, beginning with Oslo in 1952. Its partnership drove the company to devise a variety of inventions and developments enabling it to determine and display winning times.
Gymnastics
After the great success of wrist watches at the beginning of the 20th century, the Longines factory underwent a massive reorganization of methods of production during the 1920s and 30s. In 1912 Longines began a close partnership with gymnastics as the official timekeeper for the 1912 Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet in Basel. The result of this partnership was the introduction of automatic timing. In 1912 at the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet, it introduced the “broken wire” automatic timing system.
Equestrian sports
In 1952, its Photogines was the first device to visualize the finish line as it measured times. By 1960, the Contifort combined moving images and timing functions. These and other inventive developments contributed to Longines’ sporting credentials. Building on its historic association with sports, the company now sponsors gymnastics and equestrian sports. Longines started equestrian timekeeping in 1926 at the Concours Hippique International in Geneva. It has since then officiated at more than one hundred national and international show-jumping competitions in Europe and in North America,providing timing services at competitions including World Championships, European Championships, and Olympic Games along with many CSIO meets as well as, more recently, Arab League competitions.
Skiing
Longines returned to skiing in 2006, becoming official timekeeper for the FIS’s 2006-2007 Alpine World Cup competitions. It had experience from 1933. That said, Longines’ sports timekeeping experience extends far beyond those disciplines with which it is currently associated. The variety of time-measurement devices and systems it has developed over the years has involved it in countless sporting events.
Tour de France
In addition to the Olympic Games, Longines has timed 31 Tours de France.
Formula 1 racing
Longines' mastery of advanced technologies moved it also to approach Formula 1 racing, an experience that ultimately led to a partnership with Ferrari of Italy.
Aeronautics
Official supplier since 1919 to the International Aeronautics Federation (FAI), Longines has provided the watches required to set and then certify numerous world flight records – not least the historic, human and technical exploit represented by Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 first nonstop solo crossing of the North Atlantic. Instruments designed and built by Longines have thus helped world explorers and trailblazers of the skies. Thus, in 1927 Longines timed the first transatlantic flight, which lasted 33 hours and 30 minutes. In the middle of the 20th century Longines was part of the rise of feminine aviation, with Amelia Earhart who was another famous wearer of the brand. This period also marked the appearance of the first in-house self-winding movement watches and the company won several prestigious awards. Among those awards there were four Diamonds-International Academy Awards and the Prix d'Honneur of Lausanne. In the mid 1930s Longines patented the flyback chronograph.
the 1970s
In the 1970s Longines experienced a breakthrough in development and production. There were advances in performance of the watches and their appearance continued to change. In 1980s there were a series of ultra-thin designs, which followed another world record of Longines in 1960 - the thinnest electromagnetic watch - it was just 0.98 mm thick.
the 1980s
In 1982 the factory issued a collection dedicated to the new partnership of Longines and Ferrari Formula 1 Team. In 1984 Longines unveiled a high precision quartz caliber with a thermic sensor to keep its rate stable. It could be manually fine-tuned if required and boasted a variation of 10 seconds per year, which is roughly 5 to 10 times more precise than the average quartz watch."
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Agassiz & Compagnie
In 1847 Agassiz became the sole owner of the company which he renamed “Agassiz & Compagnie.” In 1852, Agassiz' nephew Ernest Francillon joined the company. During the 1850s, Francillon took over the business from his ailing uncle, focusing on increasing and improving the production of standard watch designs.
Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, successeur
In 1862 Francillon renamed the venture “Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, successeur” adding his own name to his uncle’s, acknowledging the latter’s pioneering role. As he took over day-to-day management, Francillon looked for ways of improving and streamlining the production of his timepieces, then parceled out to a number of different sites. His idea was to gather everything under one roof, in keeping with his vision of a factory where mechanical manufacturing and assembly methods would enable him to make and finish watches in one integrated process.
Les Longines
From this perspective, in 1866, Francillon purchased two adjoining plots of land at a place locally known as Les Longines on the right bank of the River Suze that flows in the Saint-Imier valley. Here he built a factory, to gather the entire production under one roof. By 1867, Francillon had convinced some of his pieceworkers to transfer their activities to his newly built factory and hired a young kinsman, the engineer Jacques David, to help him devise the tools and machines which he needed to improve the manufacturing processes. Despite various setbacks, the Longines factory’s prosperous growth vindicated Francillon’s bold vision. Mechanization of the production processes was successfully implemented thanks to Jacques David’s talent at conceiving and building machines that seconded watchmakers in their tasks and improved the quality of their work.
The Philadelphia Universal Exhibition of 1876
A crack engineer convinced of the merit of mechanical production, David traveled to the Philadelphia Universal Exhibition of 1876 and returned to write a report that triggered a wide-ranging debate within the Swiss watch industry of his day.
Manufacture Longines
The first in-house Longines movement was created in 1867. Francillon was the first watchmaker to introduce the winding crown. All watches before that where wound with a key. The same year Ernest Francillon returned from the World's Fair in Paris with a bronze medal for this novelty watch. From the 1870s on, Longines’ industrial options proved judicious and the company grew steadily until the first third of the 20th century. The buildings themselves regularly had to be adapted to the needs of a flourishing enterprise which, by 1911, employed over 1,100 people and sold its timepieces worldwide.
Worldwide acclaim
Over the years, the company’s various technical research projects earned so much acclaim abroad that Longines could claim the title of “leading prize winner” at international exhibitions up to the Barcelona Exhibition of 1929. It garnered ten Grand Prix (Antwerp 1885, Paris 1889, Brussels 1897, Paris 1900, Milan 1906, Bern 1914, Genoa 1914, Paris 1925, Philadelphia 1926 and Barcelona 1929). In 1969, Longines’ corporate tradition of technical innovation yielded the first cybernetic quartz electronic wristwatch ever designed by a watch manufacturer’s in-house research facilities.
The Winged Clepsydra
In 1880, on the 19th of July the Longines brand and logo were registered at the Swiss Federal Office of Intellectual Property, now the World Intellectual Property Organization. The company had by 1867 already adopted its Winged Hourglass symbol both as a mark of quality and as a defense against the counterfeiting its timepieces increasingly fell prey to.
Sports timing
Building on its in-house expertise, Longines gradually built a special relationship with the world of sport. Present in Athens in 1896, the company has been closely associated with the worldwide development of sport, timing Olympic Games fourteen times, beginning with Oslo in 1952. Its partnership drove the company to devise a variety of inventions and developments enabling it to determine and display winning times.
Gymnastics
After the great success of wrist watches at the beginning of the 20th century, the Longines factory underwent a massive reorganization of methods of production during the 1920s and 30s. In 1912 Longines began a close partnership with gymnastics as the official timekeeper for the 1912 Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet in Basel. The result of this partnership was the introduction of automatic timing. In 1912 at the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet, it introduced the “broken wire” automatic timing system.
Equestrian sports
In 1952, its Photogines was the first device to visualize the finish line as it measured times. By 1960, the Contifort combined moving images and timing functions. These and other inventive developments contributed to Longines’ sporting credentials. Building on its historic association with sports, the company now sponsors gymnastics and equestrian sports. Longines started equestrian timekeeping in 1926 at the Concours Hippique International in Geneva. It has since then officiated at more than one hundred national and international show-jumping competitions in Europe and in North America,providing timing services at competitions including World Championships, European Championships, and Olympic Games along with many CSIO meets as well as, more recently, Arab League competitions.
Skiing
Longines returned to skiing in 2006, becoming official timekeeper for the FIS’s 2006-2007 Alpine World Cup competitions. It had experience from 1933. That said, Longines’ sports timekeeping experience extends far beyond those disciplines with which it is currently associated. The variety of time-measurement devices and systems it has developed over the years has involved it in countless sporting events.
Tour de France
In addition to the Olympic Games, Longines has timed 31 Tours de France.
Formula 1 racing
Longines' mastery of advanced technologies moved it also to approach Formula 1 racing, an experience that ultimately led to a partnership with Ferrari of Italy.
Aeronautics
Official supplier since 1919 to the International Aeronautics Federation (FAI), Longines has provided the watches required to set and then certify numerous world flight records – not least the historic, human and technical exploit represented by Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 first nonstop solo crossing of the North Atlantic. Instruments designed and built by Longines have thus helped world explorers and trailblazers of the skies. Thus, in 1927 Longines timed the first transatlantic flight, which lasted 33 hours and 30 minutes. In the middle of the 20th century Longines was part of the rise of feminine aviation, with Amelia Earhart who was another famous wearer of the brand. This period also marked the appearance of the first in-house self-winding movement watches and the company won several prestigious awards. Among those awards there were four Diamonds-International Academy Awards and the Prix d'Honneur of Lausanne. In the mid 1930s Longines patented the flyback chronograph.
the 1970s
In the 1970s Longines experienced a breakthrough in development and production. There were advances in performance of the watches and their appearance continued to change. In 1980s there were a series of ultra-thin designs, which followed another world record of Longines in 1960 - the thinnest electromagnetic watch - it was just 0.98 mm thick.
the 1980s
In 1982 the factory issued a collection dedicated to the new partnership of Longines and Ferrari Formula 1 Team. In 1984 Longines unveiled a high precision quartz caliber with a thermic sensor to keep its rate stable. It could be manually fine-tuned if required and boasted a variation of 10 seconds per year, which is roughly 5 to 10 times more precise than the average quartz watch."
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Bell and Ross
This article was found on http://www.thewatchquote.com/Bell-Ross-History-No_3873.htm
"1993 • Bruno Belamich and Carlos A. Rosillo, two boyhood friends, joined forces for one of the most beautiful adventures in watchmaking of the late 20th century. They decided to launch a simple idea: “function shapes form.” Efficiency, legibility, and reliability were the three words that would define the Bell & Ross brand.
Indisputably the most brilliant idea of the two young inventors – when they started out as watchmakers – was, from the start, to closely collaborate with Sinn, a highly reputable manufacture. Sinn specialised in the production of dashboard meters.
Space One and Hydro were the fruit of this collaboration..
The second key idea was to get the adventure off the ground by giving the brand a strong identity as an efficient chronometer, to meet the needs of the most exacting user. Immediately adopted by NATO and the Air Force, Bell and Ross also found takers within the French security service’s bomb disposal squad. To make the point, they created Hydromax, the most reliable watch in the world, for deep underwater work, with the world abyssal record for water resistance to 11,000 meters. They also managed to restore with great success the taste for pilot watches that had flourished in the 50s and 60s, but which had since been forgotten.
1994 • Bell & Ross re-issued the Space 1, the first automatic chronometer to be worn in space, by the German astronaut Reinhart Furrer on the Spacelab mission in 1983.
1996 • Creation of the Bell & Ross Bomb Disposal Type, ordered for use by the bomb disposal unit of the French Security Services. The watch had an anti-magnetic, A-magnetic case, and the legibility, reliability and precision to meet the very special needs and constraints of bomb disposal operations.
1997 • World water resistance record awarded to Bell & Ross for the Hydro Challenger (11,000 meters in Guinness Book of Records).
1998 • The Space 3 chronograph brought together all of Bell & Ross’ know how. It is equipped with a screwed down, telescopic retractable winding crown, known as the T-Crown system, which enabled the winding crown to be fully incorporated within the depth of the case. Chanel Horlogerie took a shareholding in the capital of Bell and Ross.
2000 • Second increase in the Chanel stake, but Bell & Ross retained a majority holding.
2001 • Bell & Ross unveiled the modern multifunction men’s watch Function, combining classic style with the modern movement’s analog and digital display.
2002 • First jumping hour hand watch with power reserve indicator. The Vintage 123 Heure Sautante was the fruit of cooperation between Bell and Ross and the Swiss master watchcraftsman Vincent Calabrese. Equipped with an automatic movement, this grande complication offered an easy, original way to tell the time. End of the collaboration with Sinn and autonomous production at Chatelain in Chaux des Fonds.
2003 • Bell & Ross paid timely homage to the ladies with the Mystery Diamond, that magically concealed the secret mystery of its weightlessness: A diamond floats and turns between the crystal and the dial to show the time.
2005 • Introduction of the BR 01 Instrument, the wristwatch born of an airplane clock."
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"1993 • Bruno Belamich and Carlos A. Rosillo, two boyhood friends, joined forces for one of the most beautiful adventures in watchmaking of the late 20th century. They decided to launch a simple idea: “function shapes form.” Efficiency, legibility, and reliability were the three words that would define the Bell & Ross brand.
Indisputably the most brilliant idea of the two young inventors – when they started out as watchmakers – was, from the start, to closely collaborate with Sinn, a highly reputable manufacture. Sinn specialised in the production of dashboard meters.
Space One and Hydro were the fruit of this collaboration..
The second key idea was to get the adventure off the ground by giving the brand a strong identity as an efficient chronometer, to meet the needs of the most exacting user. Immediately adopted by NATO and the Air Force, Bell and Ross also found takers within the French security service’s bomb disposal squad. To make the point, they created Hydromax, the most reliable watch in the world, for deep underwater work, with the world abyssal record for water resistance to 11,000 meters. They also managed to restore with great success the taste for pilot watches that had flourished in the 50s and 60s, but which had since been forgotten.
1994 • Bell & Ross re-issued the Space 1, the first automatic chronometer to be worn in space, by the German astronaut Reinhart Furrer on the Spacelab mission in 1983.
1996 • Creation of the Bell & Ross Bomb Disposal Type, ordered for use by the bomb disposal unit of the French Security Services. The watch had an anti-magnetic, A-magnetic case, and the legibility, reliability and precision to meet the very special needs and constraints of bomb disposal operations.
1997 • World water resistance record awarded to Bell & Ross for the Hydro Challenger (11,000 meters in Guinness Book of Records).
1998 • The Space 3 chronograph brought together all of Bell & Ross’ know how. It is equipped with a screwed down, telescopic retractable winding crown, known as the T-Crown system, which enabled the winding crown to be fully incorporated within the depth of the case. Chanel Horlogerie took a shareholding in the capital of Bell and Ross.
2000 • Second increase in the Chanel stake, but Bell & Ross retained a majority holding.
2001 • Bell & Ross unveiled the modern multifunction men’s watch Function, combining classic style with the modern movement’s analog and digital display.
2002 • First jumping hour hand watch with power reserve indicator. The Vintage 123 Heure Sautante was the fruit of cooperation between Bell and Ross and the Swiss master watchcraftsman Vincent Calabrese. Equipped with an automatic movement, this grande complication offered an easy, original way to tell the time. End of the collaboration with Sinn and autonomous production at Chatelain in Chaux des Fonds.
2003 • Bell & Ross paid timely homage to the ladies with the Mystery Diamond, that magically concealed the secret mystery of its weightlessness: A diamond floats and turns between the crystal and the dial to show the time.
2005 • Introduction of the BR 01 Instrument, the wristwatch born of an airplane clock."
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The Histroy of Wittnauer
This article is found on http://www.bulova.com/about/Wittnauer_history.aspx
"TIMELINE
1872
Sixteen-year old Albert Wittnauer arrives in New York from Switzerland. Already a skilled watchmaker, young Wittnauer is to work for his brother-in-law, J. Eugene Robert, an importer of fine Swiss watches.
1874
Louis Wittnauer joins his older brother, Albert, in New York. The teenager also begins working for J. Eugene Robert.
1880
Convinced of the need for a watch designed expressly for the growing U.S. market, AlbertWittnauer creates the Wittnauer brand. Manufactured in Geneva, Switzerland, with all the functions and durability demanded by the American consumer, the Wittnauer brand, priced lower but as finely crafted as more expensive Swiss imports, is an instant success.
1885
Albert Wittnauer takes over the management of his brother-in-law’s importing company. The company continues to distribute several brands of Swiss watches as well as the growing Wittnauer brand.
1888
Emile Wittnauer, at 23 the youngest of the Wittnauer siblings, arrives in New York to work with his brothers.
1889
The company runs its very first advertisement. Appearing in the twentieth anniversary issue of the Jewelers’ Weekly, the ad notes that the company sells both “plain and complicated” watches, suggesting that it is a source for chronographs and repeating watches.
1890
The A. Wittnauer Company is formally established when J. Eugene Robert transfers title to the company to his young brother-in-law, Albert Wittnauer. Also involved in the company are Albert’s brothers, Louis and Emile, and their sister, Martha.
With offices on Maiden Lane, then the heart of New York’s jewelry and watchmaking business, the company employs a nationally recognized roster of skilled technical experts including H.A. Lungrin, the inventor of a popular chronograph system, Ferdinand Haschka, later the head watchmaker for Tiffany & Co., and Charles Johns, whose 80-jewel perpetual calendar chronometer would later be displayed at the 1939 World’s Fair.
1899
With continuing success, the A. Wittnauer Company outgrows its small building at 19 Maiden Lane. Embracing the modern age, it moves to the tenth floor of a new fourteen-story skyscraper at 9-13 Maiden Lane.
Louis Wittnauer, who ran the company during Albert’s frequent business trips to Switzerland, dies at age 41. The death may be from tuberculosis, a near epidemic in Europe at that time.
With Albert Wittnauer spending increasing amounts of time overseeing his watchmaking operations in Geneva, surviving brother Emile assumes management of the New York office.
As explorers press on to the most remote portions of the globe, A. Wittnauer Company becomes famed for selling the extremely accurate timepieces known as chronometers to navigators, astronomers, geographers and explorers.
1904
Albert Wittnauer incorporates the A. Wittnauer Company, with himself as president and brother Emile as vice president.
1907
An exciting era in Wittnauer history begins when Albert Wittnauer submits two watches for use by the Navy in its early aviation tests. In the years to come, no firm would become more closely identified with the new science of aviation. Nearly every pioneer aviator in the early years of the twentieth century would carry or wear a watch supplied by the A. Wittnauer Company. Attracting some of the world’s most prominent explorers as well, Wittnauer would become known for its long list of daring fans, including Roald Amundsen, Richard E. Byrd, Clarence D. Chamberlin, Paul Codos, Charles B.D. Collyer, Amelia Earhart, Harold Gatty, Bennett Griffin, Howard Hughes, Jack Lambie, James Mattern, John Henry Mears, Dick Merrill, Wiley Post, Elinor Smith, Kingsford Smith, Louise Thaden and Sir Hubert Wilkins.
Highly accurate Wittnauer chronometers, equipment essential to aviators, navigators, astronomers, geographers and explorers in the years before radio beacons, radar and satellites, would also be used in American observatories and throughout the U.S. military. Years later, assessing the unparalleled contributions of the A. Wittnauer Company in his book Military Timepieces, horologist Marvin E. Whitney writes that:
“No one company has been more involved in the design and production of so many different types of navigational timepieces and been involved in so many history making expeditions….”
1908
Albert Wittnauer dies at age 52, another possible tuberculosis casualty. In an eloquent obituary, The Jewelers’ Circular Weekly notes that:
“Mr. Wittnauer was one of the first to introduce American ideas and principles in the Swiss watch industry, and the magnificent success in this country of [his company’s] watches stands as an evidence of the conspicuous business ability of Mr. Wittnauer. [He] had a genial disposition and the faculty of making many friends both here and abroad, and nothing gave him more pleasure than to meet his American friends in Geneva or elsewhere in Europe, where he was noted for his hospitality…his generosity was unostentatious and many will hold his goodness in grateful memory.”
Emile Wittnauer becomes the head of the A. Wittnauer Company.
1915
As the center of New York manufacturing moves farther uptown, A. Wittnauer Company moves operations to 30 West 36th Street. Also located in the new building is a subsidiary, the Brighton Watch Case Company, which manufactures gold, platinum and diamond-studded cases to house the company’s Swiss movements. 1916
Emile Wittnauer dies, leaving the company in the hands of his sister, Martha Wittnauer. With women’s suffrage still four years away, A. Wittnauer Company becomes one of the few major American enterprises to be headed by a woman. Martha, who had worked in the family business with her brothers for many years, would encourage Wittnauer’s growing involvement with the new frontier of aviation. During her years at the company, Wittnauer would also develop a close association with the sporting world. The highly regarded Wittnauer sports watches would include moisture resistance and precision timing. In addition, the U.S. Olympic Committee would make extensive use of the company’s extremely accurate timers.
1917-1918
As the American Expeditionary Force joins the fighting in World War I, Wittnauer watches and other navigational instruments become essential equipment for many early aviation units.
During the War, servicemen in the field recognize wristwatches as a far more practical alternative to bulkier pocket watches. The Swiss watch industry moves quickly to take advantage of this new trend, giving the Swiss made Wittnauer an immediate edge in the U.S. market.
1918
The Wittnauer All-Proof, the world’s first waterproof, shock-proof, anti-magnetic watch, makes its retail debut. In the years to come, it would prove its mettle by being dropped from airplanes, thrown from the Empire State Building, taken to steaming Amazon jungles, and brought to the highest elevations of the Himalayas, Alps and Andes. Later, it would be used by countless service personnel during World War II.
Continuing its important role in the history of aviation, A. Wittnauer Company creates a Wittnauer aircraft clock for the U.S. Army Air Corps. This is the first clock designed expressly for military aircraft.
An A. Wittnauer advertisement in the magazine, Flying, cites the company’s expertise in “aviation chronographs, chronometers, timers, torpedo boat and deck watches.”
1926
The National Broadcasting Company, America’s first radio network, chooses A. Wittnauer Company to provide the official timing for radio broadcasting.
Commander Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett become the first men to fly over the North Pole. On this historic journey, Byrd relies on A. Wittnauer Company timepieces for crucial navigation assistance.
1927
Wittnauer begins producing a navigational watch for use by aviators. The watch grows out of conversations between Commander P.V.H. Weems, the leading authority on aerial navigation, and Wittnauer watchmaker, J.P.V. Heinmuller. An aviation enthusiast, Heinmuller was then the official timekeeper of the U.S. National Aeronautical Association, as well as the developer of Wittnauer’s line of navigational timepieces, dashboard clocks and other aviation instruments.
On June 6th, Clarence D. Chamberlin and Charles A. Levine land their Wright-Bellanca monoplane, “Columbia,” in Germany, completing the first trans-Atlantic flight to include a passenger. Taking off barely two weeks after Charles A. Lindbergh’s first solo flight, they set new distance and speed records by flying 3,911 miles in 43 hours of non-stop travel. The following day, these two grateful Wittnauer customers write from Berlin:
“[A. Wittnauer Company] chronometers gave us the utmost satisfaction during the flight and were lucky instruments for us.”
1928
“Racing the moon,” Captain Charles B.D. Collyer and John Henry Mears circle the globe by air and sea in 24 days, beating the orbiting moon by a full three days. The two use A. Wittnauer Company timepieces throughout the journey.
With growing success in the booming economy of the 1920s, Wittnauer moves to opulent new headquarters at 402-404 Fifth Avenue. The company would remain in these beautifully appointed offices for almost twenty years, until it moved further uptown to 580 Fifth Avenue, near the center of the city’s high-end jewelry trade and close to its most exclusive retail stores.
1932
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman – and the first person since Lindbergh – to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her Lockheed Vega-5B monoplane is equipped with A. Wittnauer Company timepieces. The 15-hour trip from Newfoundland to Ireland comes on May 21st, the fifth anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight.
In July, although falling short of their around-the-world goal, Bennett Griffin and James Mattern complete the first successful non-stop flight from Newfoundland to Russia. A. Wittnauer Company timepieces are essential equipment on “Century of Progress,” their Lockheed Vega monoplane.
1933
Flying solo this time, James Mattern takes the “Century of Progress,” stocked with A. Wittnauer Company timepieces, from New York’s Floyd Bennett Field to Siberia. A forced landing brings him short of his goal of besting the 1931 round-the-world-flight speed record held by Wiley Post and Harold Gatty. Mattern soon sends Wittnauer a resounding endorsement of his Wittnauer All-Proof:
“It gives me great pleasure to advise you that my Wittnauer All-Proof Watch was my only constant companion on my ’round the world solo flight, and it survived all hardships. It is a crashproof timepiece par excellence. After my ’plane crashed and I had to wade and swim in some of the rivers it proved absolutely waterproof. It kept up a true performance when I was lost to civilization for many days. It was a sensation with the Eskimos…who considered it something super-natural. It personifies mechanical perfection heretofore unknown to me, and when I reached New York it was correct to the minute. I banged it all around. It was dropped on concrete a number of times – still it keeps ticking away. I should not have believed that such a watch could be built, but my experience has shown me that too much cannot be said about this wonderful All-Proof timepiece which I recommend for hard usage.”
One month later, in July, Wiley Post achieves the first solo flight around the world – assisted by reliable A. Wittnauer Company timepieces. “Winnie Mae,” his Lockheed Vega-5B monoplane, makes the trip in seven days, nineteen hours – breaking his own speed record (in a two-person flight) by a full day.
1936
With the Depression continuing, A. Wittnauer Company, like most businesses offering luxury items, struggles. An era ends – and an exciting new one begins – when Martha Wittnauer sells the company founded by her brother to the Hella Deltah Company, a successful pearl manufacturer. A farsighted team consisting of Fred Cartoun, Hella Deltah’s sales manager, and investors Bernard Esh, a manufacturer of gold and platinum watch cases, and Ira Guilden, former vice president of the Bulova Watch Company, set to work revitalizing the company.
Launching an aggressive advertising campaign, Wittnauer executives vigorously promote the company, paying particular attention to its rich history and numerous awards, certificates of commendation, medals and testimonials.
1937
Aviation and movie mogul, Howard Hughes, sets a coast-to-coast speed record by flying from Burbank to Newark in seven hours, twenty-eight minutes. His own Hughes Aircraft H-1 racer, “Winged Bullet,” is equipped with timepieces supplied by Wittnauer.
1941
As America enters World War II, Wittnauer, with its long relationship with the U.S. military, receives contracts to produce compasses, laboratory timers, aircraft clocks and military watches. The company’s topnotch workshops also offer employment to many skilled watchmakers forced to flee Europe. With domestic watch production diverted, Swiss watches flourish on the consumer market. While all assembly and repair facilities are devoted to the war effort, Wittnauer craftsmen work overtime to produce watches for the domestic market with movements imported from neutral Switzerland.
1945
At the war’s end, Wittnauer offers many veterans, some with disabilities, positions as apprentices and watchmakers.
With returning service personnel favoring the company’s durable water-resistant, shock-resistant and anti-magnetic offerings, Wittnauer concentrates on meeting the demand for such useful, war-tested innovations as day, date and month indicators and seconds hands. The company sends lecturers, as well as visual aids and manuals describing these developments, to watchmaking schools throughout the country.
1948
CBS begins airing a series of half-hour radio programs featuring the Wittnauer Choraliers, a group of male singers performing both popular music and standards. Among the members of the show’s orchestra is Mitch Miller, who would later use this formula to create the early television mainstay, “Sing Along With Mitch.”
1949
Wittnauer introduces an accurate self-winding watch that is slimmer, yet more durable, than previous self-winding models.
1957
Wittnauer introduces its first electric watch.
1969
Westinghouse Electric Corporation purchases Wittnauer, bringing together an electrical industry giant and the company at the forefront of the newest electronic timekeeping technology. Newly installed president Robert Pliskin, a watch industry veteran, dedicates himself to improving the quality of the company’s offerings, concentrating on the Wittnauer watch brands, as well as Atmos clocks, while continuing to refine its electronic watch innovations.
1970
Wittnauer moves its offices and factory to New Rochelle, New York, a Westchester County suburb just north of New York City.
1979
John L. Davis, an active and innovative sales executive for the preceding 34 years, becomes president of Wittnauer. Davis continues to update and refine the company’s products, bringing it firmly into the electronic age with improved quartz analog watches.
1991
With the revived slogan, “the watchmaker’s watch,” the Wittnauer watch brand becomes the primary focus of the company. New company president, Reynald M. Swift, hires a new advertising agency specifically for Wittnauer watches, also instituting a new Wittnauer “Quality Pledge” and continuing the company’s “buckle-to-buckle” warranty.
1994
Wittnauer International Inc. is born, as the company gives up its dual role as manufacturer and agent to concentrate on its own Wittnauer brand.
2001
Two of world’s most prominent timekeeping names unite when Wittnauer becomes part of the Bulova Corporation. Founded in New York City in 1875, just five years before Wittnauer, Bulova, an early neighbor on New York’s Maiden Lane, had long been a respected competitor in the American watch industry. As a subsidiary of the Loews Corporation, Bulova has the financial strength to revitalize the Wittnauer brand in the face of a difficult economy. Wittnauer continues to function as a separate entity, operating independently from Bulova’s core Bulova, Accutron and Caravelle brands, with the added benefit of Bulova’s established strengths in financial management, distribution and service. Robert M. Mazzone, formerly Wittnauer’s Senior Vice President of Sales, is named Managing Director of Wittnauer International. Former Wittnauer president, John L. Davis, a Bulova Senior Vice President, renews his relationship with Wittnauer as a consultant.
After a 31-year absence, Wittnauer returns to its New York City birthplace, moving corporate operations to Bulova’s New York offices.
2002
Concentrating on the special qualities that had long given it a distinctive profile in the world of American watch companies, Wittnauer launches a new line of high-quality, Swiss watches retailing from $300 to $1,200. Under the new slogan, “Passionate About Elegance,” Wittnauer focuses on its expertise in producing elegant special occasion watches. The new Astor, Biltmore, Marquee, Metropolitan and Savoy Collections debut, joining the popular Krystal and Laureate Collections.
A new Wittnauer cooperative advertising program offers independent jewelers an unprecedented level of support, with ads highlighting regional retailers appearing in over 90 markets in some of the country’s most prominent publications.
2004
With the introduction of the dramatically stylized Montserrat Collection, Wittnauer adds sleek, contemporary design to its more traditionally elegant special occasion watch collections. To mark this exciting expansion, the company selects a new slogan encompassing all the mystery and possibility of evening adventure, whatever one’s preferred style – “Into the Night”. The accompanying marketing campaign includes television commercials, radio spots, billboards, mall duratrans, and both national and regional print advertising.
Wittnauer’s new website, www.wittnauer.com, goes online. Designed to give consumers and retailers instant access to information on Wittnauer’s full range of luxurious styles, the site also features a comprehensive dealer locator, complete with maps, as well as a detailed history of the brand. "
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"TIMELINE
1872
Sixteen-year old Albert Wittnauer arrives in New York from Switzerland. Already a skilled watchmaker, young Wittnauer is to work for his brother-in-law, J. Eugene Robert, an importer of fine Swiss watches.
1874
Louis Wittnauer joins his older brother, Albert, in New York. The teenager also begins working for J. Eugene Robert.
1880
Convinced of the need for a watch designed expressly for the growing U.S. market, AlbertWittnauer creates the Wittnauer brand. Manufactured in Geneva, Switzerland, with all the functions and durability demanded by the American consumer, the Wittnauer brand, priced lower but as finely crafted as more expensive Swiss imports, is an instant success.
1885
Albert Wittnauer takes over the management of his brother-in-law’s importing company. The company continues to distribute several brands of Swiss watches as well as the growing Wittnauer brand.
1888
Emile Wittnauer, at 23 the youngest of the Wittnauer siblings, arrives in New York to work with his brothers.
1889
The company runs its very first advertisement. Appearing in the twentieth anniversary issue of the Jewelers’ Weekly, the ad notes that the company sells both “plain and complicated” watches, suggesting that it is a source for chronographs and repeating watches.
1890
The A. Wittnauer Company is formally established when J. Eugene Robert transfers title to the company to his young brother-in-law, Albert Wittnauer. Also involved in the company are Albert’s brothers, Louis and Emile, and their sister, Martha.
With offices on Maiden Lane, then the heart of New York’s jewelry and watchmaking business, the company employs a nationally recognized roster of skilled technical experts including H.A. Lungrin, the inventor of a popular chronograph system, Ferdinand Haschka, later the head watchmaker for Tiffany & Co., and Charles Johns, whose 80-jewel perpetual calendar chronometer would later be displayed at the 1939 World’s Fair.
1899
With continuing success, the A. Wittnauer Company outgrows its small building at 19 Maiden Lane. Embracing the modern age, it moves to the tenth floor of a new fourteen-story skyscraper at 9-13 Maiden Lane.
Louis Wittnauer, who ran the company during Albert’s frequent business trips to Switzerland, dies at age 41. The death may be from tuberculosis, a near epidemic in Europe at that time.
With Albert Wittnauer spending increasing amounts of time overseeing his watchmaking operations in Geneva, surviving brother Emile assumes management of the New York office.
As explorers press on to the most remote portions of the globe, A. Wittnauer Company becomes famed for selling the extremely accurate timepieces known as chronometers to navigators, astronomers, geographers and explorers.
1904
Albert Wittnauer incorporates the A. Wittnauer Company, with himself as president and brother Emile as vice president.
1907
An exciting era in Wittnauer history begins when Albert Wittnauer submits two watches for use by the Navy in its early aviation tests. In the years to come, no firm would become more closely identified with the new science of aviation. Nearly every pioneer aviator in the early years of the twentieth century would carry or wear a watch supplied by the A. Wittnauer Company. Attracting some of the world’s most prominent explorers as well, Wittnauer would become known for its long list of daring fans, including Roald Amundsen, Richard E. Byrd, Clarence D. Chamberlin, Paul Codos, Charles B.D. Collyer, Amelia Earhart, Harold Gatty, Bennett Griffin, Howard Hughes, Jack Lambie, James Mattern, John Henry Mears, Dick Merrill, Wiley Post, Elinor Smith, Kingsford Smith, Louise Thaden and Sir Hubert Wilkins.
Highly accurate Wittnauer chronometers, equipment essential to aviators, navigators, astronomers, geographers and explorers in the years before radio beacons, radar and satellites, would also be used in American observatories and throughout the U.S. military. Years later, assessing the unparalleled contributions of the A. Wittnauer Company in his book Military Timepieces, horologist Marvin E. Whitney writes that:
“No one company has been more involved in the design and production of so many different types of navigational timepieces and been involved in so many history making expeditions….”
1908
Albert Wittnauer dies at age 52, another possible tuberculosis casualty. In an eloquent obituary, The Jewelers’ Circular Weekly notes that:
“Mr. Wittnauer was one of the first to introduce American ideas and principles in the Swiss watch industry, and the magnificent success in this country of [his company’s] watches stands as an evidence of the conspicuous business ability of Mr. Wittnauer. [He] had a genial disposition and the faculty of making many friends both here and abroad, and nothing gave him more pleasure than to meet his American friends in Geneva or elsewhere in Europe, where he was noted for his hospitality…his generosity was unostentatious and many will hold his goodness in grateful memory.”
Emile Wittnauer becomes the head of the A. Wittnauer Company.
1915
As the center of New York manufacturing moves farther uptown, A. Wittnauer Company moves operations to 30 West 36th Street. Also located in the new building is a subsidiary, the Brighton Watch Case Company, which manufactures gold, platinum and diamond-studded cases to house the company’s Swiss movements. 1916
Emile Wittnauer dies, leaving the company in the hands of his sister, Martha Wittnauer. With women’s suffrage still four years away, A. Wittnauer Company becomes one of the few major American enterprises to be headed by a woman. Martha, who had worked in the family business with her brothers for many years, would encourage Wittnauer’s growing involvement with the new frontier of aviation. During her years at the company, Wittnauer would also develop a close association with the sporting world. The highly regarded Wittnauer sports watches would include moisture resistance and precision timing. In addition, the U.S. Olympic Committee would make extensive use of the company’s extremely accurate timers.
1917-1918
As the American Expeditionary Force joins the fighting in World War I, Wittnauer watches and other navigational instruments become essential equipment for many early aviation units.
During the War, servicemen in the field recognize wristwatches as a far more practical alternative to bulkier pocket watches. The Swiss watch industry moves quickly to take advantage of this new trend, giving the Swiss made Wittnauer an immediate edge in the U.S. market.
1918
The Wittnauer All-Proof, the world’s first waterproof, shock-proof, anti-magnetic watch, makes its retail debut. In the years to come, it would prove its mettle by being dropped from airplanes, thrown from the Empire State Building, taken to steaming Amazon jungles, and brought to the highest elevations of the Himalayas, Alps and Andes. Later, it would be used by countless service personnel during World War II.
Continuing its important role in the history of aviation, A. Wittnauer Company creates a Wittnauer aircraft clock for the U.S. Army Air Corps. This is the first clock designed expressly for military aircraft.
An A. Wittnauer advertisement in the magazine, Flying, cites the company’s expertise in “aviation chronographs, chronometers, timers, torpedo boat and deck watches.”
1926
The National Broadcasting Company, America’s first radio network, chooses A. Wittnauer Company to provide the official timing for radio broadcasting.
Commander Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett become the first men to fly over the North Pole. On this historic journey, Byrd relies on A. Wittnauer Company timepieces for crucial navigation assistance.
1927
Wittnauer begins producing a navigational watch for use by aviators. The watch grows out of conversations between Commander P.V.H. Weems, the leading authority on aerial navigation, and Wittnauer watchmaker, J.P.V. Heinmuller. An aviation enthusiast, Heinmuller was then the official timekeeper of the U.S. National Aeronautical Association, as well as the developer of Wittnauer’s line of navigational timepieces, dashboard clocks and other aviation instruments.
On June 6th, Clarence D. Chamberlin and Charles A. Levine land their Wright-Bellanca monoplane, “Columbia,” in Germany, completing the first trans-Atlantic flight to include a passenger. Taking off barely two weeks after Charles A. Lindbergh’s first solo flight, they set new distance and speed records by flying 3,911 miles in 43 hours of non-stop travel. The following day, these two grateful Wittnauer customers write from Berlin:
“[A. Wittnauer Company] chronometers gave us the utmost satisfaction during the flight and were lucky instruments for us.”
1928
“Racing the moon,” Captain Charles B.D. Collyer and John Henry Mears circle the globe by air and sea in 24 days, beating the orbiting moon by a full three days. The two use A. Wittnauer Company timepieces throughout the journey.
With growing success in the booming economy of the 1920s, Wittnauer moves to opulent new headquarters at 402-404 Fifth Avenue. The company would remain in these beautifully appointed offices for almost twenty years, until it moved further uptown to 580 Fifth Avenue, near the center of the city’s high-end jewelry trade and close to its most exclusive retail stores.
1932
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman – and the first person since Lindbergh – to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her Lockheed Vega-5B monoplane is equipped with A. Wittnauer Company timepieces. The 15-hour trip from Newfoundland to Ireland comes on May 21st, the fifth anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight.
In July, although falling short of their around-the-world goal, Bennett Griffin and James Mattern complete the first successful non-stop flight from Newfoundland to Russia. A. Wittnauer Company timepieces are essential equipment on “Century of Progress,” their Lockheed Vega monoplane.
1933
Flying solo this time, James Mattern takes the “Century of Progress,” stocked with A. Wittnauer Company timepieces, from New York’s Floyd Bennett Field to Siberia. A forced landing brings him short of his goal of besting the 1931 round-the-world-flight speed record held by Wiley Post and Harold Gatty. Mattern soon sends Wittnauer a resounding endorsement of his Wittnauer All-Proof:
“It gives me great pleasure to advise you that my Wittnauer All-Proof Watch was my only constant companion on my ’round the world solo flight, and it survived all hardships. It is a crashproof timepiece par excellence. After my ’plane crashed and I had to wade and swim in some of the rivers it proved absolutely waterproof. It kept up a true performance when I was lost to civilization for many days. It was a sensation with the Eskimos…who considered it something super-natural. It personifies mechanical perfection heretofore unknown to me, and when I reached New York it was correct to the minute. I banged it all around. It was dropped on concrete a number of times – still it keeps ticking away. I should not have believed that such a watch could be built, but my experience has shown me that too much cannot be said about this wonderful All-Proof timepiece which I recommend for hard usage.”
One month later, in July, Wiley Post achieves the first solo flight around the world – assisted by reliable A. Wittnauer Company timepieces. “Winnie Mae,” his Lockheed Vega-5B monoplane, makes the trip in seven days, nineteen hours – breaking his own speed record (in a two-person flight) by a full day.
1936
With the Depression continuing, A. Wittnauer Company, like most businesses offering luxury items, struggles. An era ends – and an exciting new one begins – when Martha Wittnauer sells the company founded by her brother to the Hella Deltah Company, a successful pearl manufacturer. A farsighted team consisting of Fred Cartoun, Hella Deltah’s sales manager, and investors Bernard Esh, a manufacturer of gold and platinum watch cases, and Ira Guilden, former vice president of the Bulova Watch Company, set to work revitalizing the company.
Launching an aggressive advertising campaign, Wittnauer executives vigorously promote the company, paying particular attention to its rich history and numerous awards, certificates of commendation, medals and testimonials.
1937
Aviation and movie mogul, Howard Hughes, sets a coast-to-coast speed record by flying from Burbank to Newark in seven hours, twenty-eight minutes. His own Hughes Aircraft H-1 racer, “Winged Bullet,” is equipped with timepieces supplied by Wittnauer.
1941
As America enters World War II, Wittnauer, with its long relationship with the U.S. military, receives contracts to produce compasses, laboratory timers, aircraft clocks and military watches. The company’s topnotch workshops also offer employment to many skilled watchmakers forced to flee Europe. With domestic watch production diverted, Swiss watches flourish on the consumer market. While all assembly and repair facilities are devoted to the war effort, Wittnauer craftsmen work overtime to produce watches for the domestic market with movements imported from neutral Switzerland.
1945
At the war’s end, Wittnauer offers many veterans, some with disabilities, positions as apprentices and watchmakers.
With returning service personnel favoring the company’s durable water-resistant, shock-resistant and anti-magnetic offerings, Wittnauer concentrates on meeting the demand for such useful, war-tested innovations as day, date and month indicators and seconds hands. The company sends lecturers, as well as visual aids and manuals describing these developments, to watchmaking schools throughout the country.
1948
CBS begins airing a series of half-hour radio programs featuring the Wittnauer Choraliers, a group of male singers performing both popular music and standards. Among the members of the show’s orchestra is Mitch Miller, who would later use this formula to create the early television mainstay, “Sing Along With Mitch.”
1949
Wittnauer introduces an accurate self-winding watch that is slimmer, yet more durable, than previous self-winding models.
1957
Wittnauer introduces its first electric watch.
1969
Westinghouse Electric Corporation purchases Wittnauer, bringing together an electrical industry giant and the company at the forefront of the newest electronic timekeeping technology. Newly installed president Robert Pliskin, a watch industry veteran, dedicates himself to improving the quality of the company’s offerings, concentrating on the Wittnauer watch brands, as well as Atmos clocks, while continuing to refine its electronic watch innovations.
1970
Wittnauer moves its offices and factory to New Rochelle, New York, a Westchester County suburb just north of New York City.
1979
John L. Davis, an active and innovative sales executive for the preceding 34 years, becomes president of Wittnauer. Davis continues to update and refine the company’s products, bringing it firmly into the electronic age with improved quartz analog watches.
1991
With the revived slogan, “the watchmaker’s watch,” the Wittnauer watch brand becomes the primary focus of the company. New company president, Reynald M. Swift, hires a new advertising agency specifically for Wittnauer watches, also instituting a new Wittnauer “Quality Pledge” and continuing the company’s “buckle-to-buckle” warranty.
1994
Wittnauer International Inc. is born, as the company gives up its dual role as manufacturer and agent to concentrate on its own Wittnauer brand.
2001
Two of world’s most prominent timekeeping names unite when Wittnauer becomes part of the Bulova Corporation. Founded in New York City in 1875, just five years before Wittnauer, Bulova, an early neighbor on New York’s Maiden Lane, had long been a respected competitor in the American watch industry. As a subsidiary of the Loews Corporation, Bulova has the financial strength to revitalize the Wittnauer brand in the face of a difficult economy. Wittnauer continues to function as a separate entity, operating independently from Bulova’s core Bulova, Accutron and Caravelle brands, with the added benefit of Bulova’s established strengths in financial management, distribution and service. Robert M. Mazzone, formerly Wittnauer’s Senior Vice President of Sales, is named Managing Director of Wittnauer International. Former Wittnauer president, John L. Davis, a Bulova Senior Vice President, renews his relationship with Wittnauer as a consultant.
After a 31-year absence, Wittnauer returns to its New York City birthplace, moving corporate operations to Bulova’s New York offices.
2002
Concentrating on the special qualities that had long given it a distinctive profile in the world of American watch companies, Wittnauer launches a new line of high-quality, Swiss watches retailing from $300 to $1,200. Under the new slogan, “Passionate About Elegance,” Wittnauer focuses on its expertise in producing elegant special occasion watches. The new Astor, Biltmore, Marquee, Metropolitan and Savoy Collections debut, joining the popular Krystal and Laureate Collections.
A new Wittnauer cooperative advertising program offers independent jewelers an unprecedented level of support, with ads highlighting regional retailers appearing in over 90 markets in some of the country’s most prominent publications.
2004
With the introduction of the dramatically stylized Montserrat Collection, Wittnauer adds sleek, contemporary design to its more traditionally elegant special occasion watch collections. To mark this exciting expansion, the company selects a new slogan encompassing all the mystery and possibility of evening adventure, whatever one’s preferred style – “Into the Night”. The accompanying marketing campaign includes television commercials, radio spots, billboards, mall duratrans, and both national and regional print advertising.
Wittnauer’s new website, www.wittnauer.com, goes online. Designed to give consumers and retailers instant access to information on Wittnauer’s full range of luxurious styles, the site also features a comprehensive dealer locator, complete with maps, as well as a detailed history of the brand. "
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A Breif History of Invicta Watch Group
This article was found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invicta_Watch_Group:
"Invicta Watch Group is a Florida-based watch company founded in 1837 by Raphael Picard in La Chaux-de-fonds, Switzerland. The Picard family owned and operated the company until 1991, when the company was purchased by a United States-based investment company. The corporate headquarters were relocated to Hollywood, Florida, where the company also operates its service call center and repair facilities. Eyal Lalo, a third-generation watchmaker, is the CEO of the company and frequently appears on televised ShopNBC programs.
The new management took over manufacturing and continued to market watches under the Invicta banner. Apart from the Invicta brand, the Invicta Watch Group is also responsible for the S. Coifman, Potger-Pietri, Activa, Brizo, Cacciato & Joss, Pastorelli and Technica lines.
Upon moving primary operations from Switzerland, Invicta has continued to design watches, but have outsourced manufacturing to third parties in Switzerland and the Far East. Recently the company also began assembling from facilities at the company's Florida headquarters. Any timepieces manufactured in the United States are part of the "Made in the USA" collection. Swiss-made watches are labeled as such, while the Far East watches are labeled with the country of origin of their movement, as Invicta utilizes ETA (Swiss), Sellita (Swiss), RONDA (Swiss) and Citizen/Miyota (Japanese) movements in their product lines. Invicta is developing its own proprietary movements upon the purchase of Technica Swiss Ebauche Microtenique.
Arguably, Invicta's most lauded releases were the Pro Diver and Lupah product lines. The watches in the Invicta Pro Diver series, modeled after the Rolex Submariner and Omega Seamaster, have become widely considered as some of the finest automatic divers for its price point. The Invicta Lupah is available in 196,560 variations and is one of the company's most distinct designs."
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"Invicta Watch Group is a Florida-based watch company founded in 1837 by Raphael Picard in La Chaux-de-fonds, Switzerland. The Picard family owned and operated the company until 1991, when the company was purchased by a United States-based investment company. The corporate headquarters were relocated to Hollywood, Florida, where the company also operates its service call center and repair facilities. Eyal Lalo, a third-generation watchmaker, is the CEO of the company and frequently appears on televised ShopNBC programs.
The new management took over manufacturing and continued to market watches under the Invicta banner. Apart from the Invicta brand, the Invicta Watch Group is also responsible for the S. Coifman, Potger-Pietri, Activa, Brizo, Cacciato & Joss, Pastorelli and Technica lines.
Upon moving primary operations from Switzerland, Invicta has continued to design watches, but have outsourced manufacturing to third parties in Switzerland and the Far East. Recently the company also began assembling from facilities at the company's Florida headquarters. Any timepieces manufactured in the United States are part of the "Made in the USA" collection. Swiss-made watches are labeled as such, while the Far East watches are labeled with the country of origin of their movement, as Invicta utilizes ETA (Swiss), Sellita (Swiss), RONDA (Swiss) and Citizen/Miyota (Japanese) movements in their product lines. Invicta is developing its own proprietary movements upon the purchase of Technica Swiss Ebauche Microtenique.
Arguably, Invicta's most lauded releases were the Pro Diver and Lupah product lines. The watches in the Invicta Pro Diver series, modeled after the Rolex Submariner and Omega Seamaster, have become widely considered as some of the finest automatic divers for its price point. The Invicta Lupah is available in 196,560 variations and is one of the company's most distinct designs."
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Hamilton Watch Company's History
This Article was found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Watch_Company
"The Hamilton Watch Company was established when the Keystone Standard Watch Company was forced into bankruptcy and sold at a sheriff's sale to a group of Lancaster, Pennsylvania entrepreneurs whose "objective was to build only watches of the highest quality." During this same year, a merger took place between the newly established Lancaster based watchmaking concern and the Aurora Watch Company of Illinois. A decision was made to name the new company after James Hamilton, owner of a large tract of land which was granted to him from William Penn and included what is now the city of Lancaster. The new company would be known as The Hamilton Watch Company.
Hamilton Watch Company was housed on a thirteen acre complex in Lancaster. Hamilton eventually took possession of 'Aurora's' machinery shortly after incorporation. With quality being Hamilton's primary goal, the company set out to manufacture "America’s Finest Watch." The first watch made under the Hamilton name was an 18-size 17-jewel pocket watch in 1893. Within the next six years, Hamilton had developed a reputation for creating pocket watches of the highest caliber of quality. During Hamilton's first fifteen years, only two size movements were produced - the 18-size and the smaller 16-size.
Its first series of pocket watches, the Broadway Limited, was known as the "Watch of Railroad Accuracy," and Hamilton became popular by making accurate railroad watches. Hamilton introduced its first wristwatch in 1917. This watch was designed to appeal to men entering World War I and contained the 0-sized 17-jewel 983 movement originally designed for women's pendent watches. The introduction of the 0-sized wristwatch was the start of a line of wristwatches that included some of the finest American wristwatches made. In 1928 Hamilton purchased the Illinois Watch Company. Some of the most collectible early Hamilton wristwatches include: The Oval, The Tonneau, The Rectangular, The Square Enamel, The Coronado, The Piping Rock, The Spur, The Glendale, The Pinehurst, The Langley, The Byrd, The Cambridge, and The Flintridge. Many models came in solid gold and gold filled cases.
During World War II, production of consumer watches was stopped, with all watches manufactured being shipped to troops. More than one-million watches were sent overseas. The company was extremely successful in producing marine chronometers and deck watches in large numbers to fill the needs of the US Navy. This achievement was a milestone in industrial history and represents the only time a true precision timekeeper was produced on a mass production scale.
In 1951, Hamilton rebuffed a hostile takeover bid by the Benrus watch company. The fallout from the failed takeover action culminated in Hamilton Watch Co. v. Benrus Watch Co (206 F.2d 738, 740 (2d Cir. 1953), a Federal proceeding that is considered to be landmark in the realm of Federal anti-trust case law.
In 1957, Hamilton introduced the world's first battery-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500.
In 1962, Hamilton entered into a joint venture (60% owned by Hamilton) with the Japanese watchmaking firm Ricoh to produce electric watches meant primarily for the Japanese market. The electronic components were produced at Hamilton's Lancaster factory while production of the mechanical works and final assembly was undertaken in Japan. Although production levels of Hamilton-Ricoh watches was high (over 1000 per month), demand was low and consequently, the Hamilton-Ricoh partnership was unable to compete with the substantial market presence of Seiko. The partnership was dissolved in 1965, with the remaining Hamilton-Ricoh electronic movements (marked "Ricoh 555E") re-cased as "Vantage" and sold in the US."
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"The Hamilton Watch Company was established when the Keystone Standard Watch Company was forced into bankruptcy and sold at a sheriff's sale to a group of Lancaster, Pennsylvania entrepreneurs whose "objective was to build only watches of the highest quality." During this same year, a merger took place between the newly established Lancaster based watchmaking concern and the Aurora Watch Company of Illinois. A decision was made to name the new company after James Hamilton, owner of a large tract of land which was granted to him from William Penn and included what is now the city of Lancaster. The new company would be known as The Hamilton Watch Company.
Hamilton Watch Company was housed on a thirteen acre complex in Lancaster. Hamilton eventually took possession of 'Aurora's' machinery shortly after incorporation. With quality being Hamilton's primary goal, the company set out to manufacture "America’s Finest Watch." The first watch made under the Hamilton name was an 18-size 17-jewel pocket watch in 1893. Within the next six years, Hamilton had developed a reputation for creating pocket watches of the highest caliber of quality. During Hamilton's first fifteen years, only two size movements were produced - the 18-size and the smaller 16-size.
Its first series of pocket watches, the Broadway Limited, was known as the "Watch of Railroad Accuracy," and Hamilton became popular by making accurate railroad watches. Hamilton introduced its first wristwatch in 1917. This watch was designed to appeal to men entering World War I and contained the 0-sized 17-jewel 983 movement originally designed for women's pendent watches. The introduction of the 0-sized wristwatch was the start of a line of wristwatches that included some of the finest American wristwatches made. In 1928 Hamilton purchased the Illinois Watch Company. Some of the most collectible early Hamilton wristwatches include: The Oval, The Tonneau, The Rectangular, The Square Enamel, The Coronado, The Piping Rock, The Spur, The Glendale, The Pinehurst, The Langley, The Byrd, The Cambridge, and The Flintridge. Many models came in solid gold and gold filled cases.
During World War II, production of consumer watches was stopped, with all watches manufactured being shipped to troops. More than one-million watches were sent overseas. The company was extremely successful in producing marine chronometers and deck watches in large numbers to fill the needs of the US Navy. This achievement was a milestone in industrial history and represents the only time a true precision timekeeper was produced on a mass production scale.
In 1951, Hamilton rebuffed a hostile takeover bid by the Benrus watch company. The fallout from the failed takeover action culminated in Hamilton Watch Co. v. Benrus Watch Co (206 F.2d 738, 740 (2d Cir. 1953), a Federal proceeding that is considered to be landmark in the realm of Federal anti-trust case law.
In 1957, Hamilton introduced the world's first battery-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500.
In 1962, Hamilton entered into a joint venture (60% owned by Hamilton) with the Japanese watchmaking firm Ricoh to produce electric watches meant primarily for the Japanese market. The electronic components were produced at Hamilton's Lancaster factory while production of the mechanical works and final assembly was undertaken in Japan. Although production levels of Hamilton-Ricoh watches was high (over 1000 per month), demand was low and consequently, the Hamilton-Ricoh partnership was unable to compete with the substantial market presence of Seiko. The partnership was dissolved in 1965, with the remaining Hamilton-Ricoh electronic movements (marked "Ricoh 555E") re-cased as "Vantage" and sold in the US."
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Bulova and its History
This article is found from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulova"
"Bulova is a New York based corporation making watches and clocks.
Bulova was founded and incorporated as the J. Bulova Company in 1875 by Joseph Bulova (1851-1936), an immigrant from Bohemia. It was reincorporated under the name Bulova Watch Company in 1923, and became part of the Loews Corporation in 1979. His name is possibly related to Bulawa, a Polish word for a type of mace.
Bulova established its operations in Woodside, New York and Flushing, New York, where it made innovations in watchmaking, and developed a number of watchmaking tools. It is famous for a number of horological innovations, perhaps most notably the Accutron watch which used resonating tuning forks as a means of regulating the time keeping function. In July 1941 they paid $9 for the first television commercial, a 10-second spot on WNBT during a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.
The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking was founded in 1945 by Arde Bulova, Chairman of the Board, initially to provide training for disabled veterans after the Second World War.
"Accutron" tuning fork watches, first sold in October 1960 by Bulova, use a 360 hertz tuning fork to drive a mechanical gear train. The inventor, Max Hetzel, was born in Basel, Switzerland, and joined the Bulova Watch Company of Bienne, Switzerland, in 1948. This outstanding engineer was the first one to use an electronic device, a transistor, in a wrist watch. Thus, Max Hetzel developed the first watch in the world that truly deserved the qualification "electronic": the world-famous "Bulova Accutron". More than 4 million were sold until production stopped in 1977.
They also were subjects of the other famous space era rivalry with Omega Watches for being the first watch on the moon. Ultimately, the Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph wristwatch (known as the "Moon watch") was designated by NASA for use by the astronauts in all manned space missions, becoming the first watch on the moon on the wrist of Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin.
However, all instrument panel clocks and time-keeping mechanisms in the spacecraft on those missions were Bulova Accutrons with tuning fork movements, because at the time, NASA did not know how well a mechanical movement would work in zero gravity conditions. The Bulova company currently manufactures a limited edition "Astronaut" model under its Accutron line of watches. The back of the watch case is autographed by Buzz Aldrin. The tuning fork movement has been discontinued by Bulova, and the current Astronaut model features automatic ETA SA movement, making it far more similar to the rival Omega.
On October 5, 2007 Citizens Holding Company announced it would purchase Bulova Corp. for $247 million.
Currently Bulova designs, manufactures, and markets several different brands, including: the signature "Bulova", the affordable "Caravelle", the dressy/formal swiss-made "Wittnauer Swiss", and the sportier swiss-made "Accutron"."
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Collection of Vintage Watches Brand
These are some collection of vintage watches brand:
Swiss
Bulova
Hamilton
Invicta
Wittnauer
Bell & Ross
Longines
Breitling
Girard Perregaux
Omega
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Swiss
Bulova
Hamilton
Invicta
Wittnauer
Bell & Ross
Longines
Breitling
Girard Perregaux
Omega
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Meaning of Vintage Watches
Vintage watches are a piece of history and they represent years of faithful service to someone who wore it every day. Moreover, vintage wrist watches have a sensation of value and exclusivity. This is what attracts collectors to the world of vintage watches.
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