Election

 Election was founded circa 1850 as A. (for Alphonse) Braunschweig in La Chaux de Fonds. In 1906, Alphonse’s son, Arnold, took over the company at age 22 after the father died in a freak accident while on a trip to Tyrol. A year later, the brand name Election was registered. 

The company took a Grand Prize at the Berne Exhibition in 1914, and that is why the words “Grand Prix” appear on many of their watch dials and in many ads for Election.

Two ads for election, circa 1950s. Ad at left

is courtesy Bill Strickland

Also, the numeral 1914 is engraved on the backs of many Election watches. More than one seller and auction house has confused that number as a reference (model) number, and even a year of production!

The back of a typical Election watch. 

1914 refers to the year the company won a Grand Prize award

In 1920, the company added “Election” to their name, and by 1932 dropped the Braunschweig name and became Nouvelle Fabrique Election, or Election for short. They made many of their own movements, some of which were sold as ebauches (rough movements) to other companies, including Longines. The "Grand Prix" became their most famous signature and is found on many of their dials, though as far as I can tell it's simply a reference to the 1914 award and not necessarily a model line. Election was listed in various directories 1950-1954.

Various Election models. From upper left: Chronograph with Landeron movement;

triple date, triple register, co-branded Cuervos y Sobrino (Havana); bottom: 18kt oversized 

case; fancy lugs stainless steel; waterproof model.

Here are some additional Election images through the decades:

1955

In 1950, Marvin watch company acquired Election and many of the Election branded watches used Marvin movements after that, including the Marvin Cal. 700 and 700C (calendar) which, ironically, are both based on the Election Caliber 875. And Marvin eventually became part of the MSR Group, which at one time included Marvin, Phenix, and Vulcain, among other brands. The brand largely disappeared after the 1960s, but examples do pop up now and again, like the "Saucer" and the mechanical digital pictured:

Saucer "lugless" designed model and Direct Read model, both late '60s or very early '70s

Election is found in directories as late as 1973 (http://www.mikrolisk.de/), but I can find no evidence that the brand was marketed after that, and no evidence that it is currently marketed.

Here are additional articles I've written on Election: 

Election was founded by Alphonse Braunschweig in La Chaux de Fonds in 1848. Alphonse’s sons, Arnold, Lucien, and Georges took over the company after Alphonse died in a freak accident while on a trip to Tyrol. 

Election is another one of those brands that was fairly well known in the '50s and '60s post-war boom, but that faded into obscurity and is known today only by collectors of vintage timepieces.

An early Election man's wrist watch with unsigned dial is seen below:

The company took a Grand Prize at the Berne Exhibition in 1914, by which time Election was one of the largest watch manufacturers in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The prize award is why the words “Grand Prix” appear in many ads for Election, and the numeral 1914 is engraved on the backs of many Election watches. More than one seller and auction house has confused that number as a Reference (model) number, and even as a year of production. But is simply a reference to their 1914 award.

Tragedy would strike the Braunschweig family again when Arnold, born 1884, died in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. In 1920, the company added “Election” to their name and became "Les Fils de L. Braunschweig, Fabrique Election." Another early wristwatch (below left) bears a striking resemblance to a Gruen Quadron of the same name:

The Election contains a small round movement, while the Quadron,, of course featured a formed movements that filled (or nearly filled) the entire case cavity.

A rare '30s tonneau   

The Great Depression hurt Election earlier and harder than other Swiss companies. A rare Election from the ‘30s is seen at left. By mid-1930 the factory was on the brink of bankruptcy. Some patents were reassigned to the banks, and the company and all its assets were put up for sale. With no buyer, the company closed on November 2, 1931 and was ordered to be liquidated.

With the company bankrupt, the Braunschweig family began raising funds to re-start. In 1931 the family created a new company, Nouvelle SA des Montres Election, and dropped the Braunschweig name. The revived company was able to purchase many of the assets (equipment and trademarks) of the old company which had gone unsold and thus they regained some of their previous market share. In the  1940s, Election followed the branding trend of other companies, producing watches under the Electron, Selection, and Grand Prix brands as well as Election. The Grand Prix brand lasted through the 1950s and was almost as well-known as the primary Election brand. They made many of their own movements, some of which were sold as ebauches (rough movements) to other companies, including Longines. The "Grand Prix" became their most famous signature and is found on many of their dials. Though by this time it was a model line in addition to being a sub-signature referring to their 1914 award.

The '40s and beyond:

Here is a rare 1940s model with regulator dial I found on the Internet:

A rare 1940s regulator dial.  

Here are a couple of war-time Election models from a 1942 issue of Europa Star magazine, including a chronograph. Election continued production during the war, and did not produce Ordnance for either side:

By 1945, René Didisheim became President, with Lucien Braunschweig taking the role of Secretary. Election was listed in various directories 1950-1954. Election was among the companies adopting the ultrasonic cleaning and hermetically sealed case trend of the 1950s.

Election worked closely with Marvin in the post-war period, and the two companies shared some watch movements. For example, Election's Cal. 875 became Marvin's Cal. 700 in the 1960s. This movement was later also used by Longines as Cal. 490. Similarly, Marvin's rectangular Cal. 160 became Election's Cal. 275. The Election brand was well represented in Asia and Latin America, where it was often partnered with Girard-Perregaux.

At this point, we’ll look at some vintage advertisements from Election’s heyday in the 1940s and ‘50s.

 

One advertisement in 1960 (left) called attention to an Election Grand Prix watch that was carried by crew members of the raft Tahiti Nui. This expedition attempted to discover a plausible route from Tahiti to Chile's Easter Island, 2,360 miles off the coast of Chile, and long a source of mystery as to how the island became inhabited. The ad campaign was very probably designed to compete with Eterna's Kon Tiki. 

Other model names Appearing in the 1950s included Tropical Special, Electrovar, Gold Hood (see ad above), Everlast, Timelight, Connoisseur, Evergreen, Ocean King, Everbest, Super-Electron, Carrier, Electrion, and Superdate de Luxe.

Lucien Braunschweig died in July of 1958 at the age of 73. He had guided Election and Nouvelle Election for over 50 years and was greatly involved in La Chaux-de-Fonds commercial activities as well.

In the 1960s, Election emphasized their high-jewel watches. The Supermatic 41 (left) had a 41-jewel movement with date and central seconds. 

Election was unable to compete in the 1970s. Most of the company's trademarks expired during the decade as they fell into disuse, including their most famous trademark, Grand Prix. The company remained in business through the 1980s. I can find no evidence that the brand was marketed after that. The brand is all but forgotten, except to collectors of vintage Election. Below are some examples of vintage Election watches.

L to R: Two chronographs with Valjoux 22 movement; black dial, subsigned Cuervo y Sobrinos, a luxury jeweler based in pre-Castro Cuba; bullseye dial.

L to R: fancy split lugs; saucer bezel circa ‘70s; round 18kt gold.

Here is another article I wrote about Election:

Watch manufacturers would do just about anything to sell a watch, especially during the post-WWII boom where competition was fierce. In the March/April 1954 issue of Swiss Horological Journal, Election ran an advertisement promoting its new "Grand Prix" model, capitalizing on the macho sport of Grand Prix auto racing. Grand Prix racing has its roots in organized automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, but because early races took place on open roads, accidents occurred frequently, resulting in deaths both of drivers and of spectators.

The Election "Grand Prix" was an automatic watch with sweep second hand, and raised markers and logo. The stylized ad featured a backdrop of an airfield, suggesting that the "Grand Prix" would be suitable for aircraft personnel. Election was founded in 1904 by the Braunschweig family of Hamburg, Here is an image of that ad:

here are some additional ads for Election:

 

Here are additional articles I've written on Election:

Helvetia

 By Bruce Shawkey

In April 1892 the Swiss watch company Louis Brandt & Frere registered the name “Helvetia” as one of their brand names. Yes, THAT Louis Brandt, who founded Omega, along with brother Cesar. Helvetia (pronounced hel-VEESH-ah) was the personified female symbol for Switzerland, much the same way Lady Liberty is a symbol for the United States. Helvetia goes way back to when Switzerland was part of Roman empire, and for whatever reason, the symbol stuck. Anyway, two years later in 1894 (Louis) Brandt also registered the name “Omega” and applied it to a new range of higher quality lever movement watches they had developed. Helvetia at the time used cheaper cylinder movements. The Omega brand became so popular that Brandt decided to spin off Helvetia along with several other brands into a new company called "Société d’Horlogerie La Générale" or General Watch Co. in its American translation. Louis’ brother Cesar, was made a principal in the company.

Helvetia soon became the flagship brand of General and the company started putting better quality lever escapement movements inside their cases (circa 1895). Their early history as cylinder watches I think is what gives Helvetia a bad rep among collectors. But as far as I know, Helvetia used lever escapement movements from this point forward.

Helvetia wrist watches appeared as early as 1909. During the Great War, General produced Helvetia watches of the hunter or half hunter types that included a hinged lid to protect the crystal and hands of the watch from damage.

Helvetia trench watch with hunter case, copyright https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk/history, used with permission,

After WWI, General began pushing the brand name Helvetia to the fore. They introduced some of their first dress watches, and developed a shock protecting mechanism into their movements. From this point forward, almost all General’s watches bore the name Helvetia. Before this, the dials had been mostly left without signature.

In 1929, they produced a waterproof watch in a case with gaskets in the stem and case back. In 1932 they produced a watch with a large, twin-window, twin-wheel, date feature at 12 o’clock, claiming the world’s first "Big Date" watch. 

Helvetia "Big Date" copyright https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk/history, used with permission,

We normally associate this feature with the more expensive brands such as Glashutte and Lange & Sohn, but reportedly Helvetia was the first.

The second world war was another time of expansion for the company. They supplied pocket watches to the British and the German armies. Also, they supplied wristwatches to Germany and, at the end of the war, to Allied forces, as well as special wrist timers to the Royal Navy. After the war, they changed their name to Montres Helvetia Société d'Horlogerie La Générale to emphasize the prominence of the Helvetia brand. From this date forward, they are usually referred to as Montres Helvetia S.A. or Helvetia Watch Co.

The 1950s were probably the last hurrah for Helvetia. They turned their attention more toward dress watches, as evidenced by this pictured ad in a 1953 issue of Swiss Horological Journal.

Swiss Horological Journal Nov./Dec. 1953

They again became quite innovative with some interesting dial and case designs. This was the beginning of the widespread use of automatic movements, and Helvetia followed suit, using some of their own movements, as well as ebauches (rough movements) from ETA and A. Schild. They even produced watches in karat gold cases, something they had not done before,

Dog ear lugs, 14kt gold case

Chronograph with Valjoux 23 movement

The 1960s began a downward spiral for Helvetia, first with having to compete with cheap Japanese imports and then in the ‘70s-'80s with the quartz invasion. In an attempt to modernize, Helvetia adopted a more streamlined logo. 

Automatic, new logo

In 1965, catchy model names were added such as the Waterstar, Cosmotimer, and Depthograph.

"Depthograph" with built-in depth gauge

Despite their still being quality watches, Helvetia struggled. They became part of a consortium (SGT, short for Société des Garde-Temps S.A.) Other companies in the consortium included Avia, Degoumois & Co., Silvana, Eugene Vuilleumier, William Mathez and Fleurier. This was a common practice in those days for watch companies to band together to reduce operating expenses. By the early ‘70s, Helvetia ceased production of all in-house movements.

In 1973 at the annual general meeting of Helvetia S.A., it was decided to dissolve the company. This was not the end for the Helvetia name however. Silvana S.A. held its own annual general meeting on the same day as Helvetia's, and Silvana S.A. changed its name to Helvetia S.A. This is not as unusual as it might sound, as both companies were part of the same SGT consortium and most of the companies’ directors sat on both boards. This appears to be little more than a paper exercise designed to shuffle assets.

In any event, SGT could not hold off the quartz invasion of the 1980s, and began selling off its brands one by one. The Helvetia name was eventually picked up by a jeweler in Vienna, Austria, who still sells some watches with the Helvetia logo. But they are watches in name only, using generic movements and cases.

Vintage examples, meanwhile, seem to draw little interest among today’s collectors. Sellers ask big bucks on eBay, but they bring no action and often sell for a fraction of the asking price. The exception are the WWI era military watches, but they are in a separate collector niche. That is why, in my opinion, Helvetia wristwatches, for the most part, represent a good value.

For more detailed information, please check out this website, devoted to the company’s history and watches. I have based this abbreviated history in large part on the information contained on that website.

Here's another article I wrote on Helvetia:

In April 1892 the Swiss watch company Louis Brandt & Frere registered the name “Helvetia” as one of their brand names. Yes, THAT Louis Brandt, who founded Omega, along with brother Cesar. Helvetia (pronounced hel-VEESH-ah) was the personified female symbol for Switzerland, much the same way Lady Liberty is a symbol for the United States. Helvetia goes way back to when Switzerland was part of Roman empire, and for whatever reason, the symbol stuck. Anyway, two years later in 1894 (Louis) Brandt also registered the name “Omega” and applied it to a new range of higher quality lever movement watches they had developed. Helvetia at the time used cheaper cylinder movements. The Omega brand became so popular that Brandt decided to spin off Helvetia along with several other brands into a new company called "Société d’Horlogerie La Générale" or General Watch Co. in its American translation. Louis’ brother Cesar, was made a principal in the company.

Helvetia soon became the flagship brand of General and the company started putting better quality lever escapement movements inside their cases (circa 1895). Their early history as cylinder watches I think is what gives Helvetia a bad rep among collectors. But as far as I know, Helvetia used lever escapement movements from this point forward.

Helvetia wrist watches appeared as early as 1909. During the Great War, General produced Helvetia watches of the hunter or half hunter types that included a hinged lid to protect the crystal and hands of the watch from damage.

Helvetia trench watch with hunter case, copyright https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk/history, used with permission,

After WWI, General began pushing the brand name Helvetia to the fore. They introduced some of their first dress watches, and developed a shock protecting mechanism into their movements. From this point forward, almost all General’s watches bore the name Helvetia. Before this, the dials had been mostly left without signature.

In 1929, they produced a waterproof watch in a case with gaskets in the stem and case back. In 1932 they produced a watch with a large, twin-window, twin-wheel, date feature at 12 o’clock, claiming the world’s first "Big Date" watch. 

Helvetia "Big Date" copyright https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk/history, used with permission,

We normally associate this feature with the more expensive brands such as Glashutte and Lange & Sohn, but reportedly Helvetia was the first.

The second world war was another time of expansion for the company. They supplied pocket watches to the British and the German armies. Also, they supplied wristwatches to Germany and, at the end of the war, to Allied forces, as well as special wrist timers to the Royal Navy. After the war, they changed their name to Montres Helvetia Société d'Horlogerie La Générale to emphasize the prominence of the Helvetia brand. From this date forward, they are usually referred to as Montres Helvetia S.A. or Helvetia Watch Co.

The 1950s were probably the last hurrah for Helvetia. They turned their attention more toward dress watches, as evidenced by this pictured ad in a 1953 issue of Swiss Horological Journal.

Swiss Horological Journal Nov./Dec. 1953

They again became quite innovative with some interesting dial and case designs. This was the beginning of the widespread use of automatic movements, and Helvetia followed suit, using some of their own movements, as well as ebauches (rough movements) from ETA and A. Schild. They even produced watches in karat gold cases, something they had not done before,

Dog ear lugs, 14kt gold case

Chronograph with Valjoux 23 movement

The 1960s began a downward spiral for Helvetia, first with having to compete with cheap Japanese imports and then in the ‘70s-'80s with the quartz invasion. In an attempt to modernize, Helvetia adopted a more streamlined logo. 

Automatic, new logo

In 1965, catchy model names were added such as the Waterstar, Cosmotimer, and Depthograph.

"Depthograph" with built-in depth gauge

Despite their still being quality watches, Helvetia struggled. They became part of a consortium (SGT, short for Société des Garde-Temps S.A.) Other companies in the consortium included Avia, Degoumois & Co., Silvana, Eugene Vuilleumier, William Mathez and Fleurier. This was a common practice in those days for watch companies to band together to reduce operating expenses. By the early ‘70s, Helvetia ceased production of all in-house movements.

In 1973 at the annual general meeting of Helvetia S.A., it was decided to dissolve the company. This was not the end for the Helvetia name however. Silvana S.A. held its own annual general meeting on the same day as Helvetia's, and Silvana S.A. changed its name to Helvetia S.A. This is not as unusual as it might sound, as both companies were part of the same SGT consortium and most of the companies’ directors sat on both boards. This appears to be little more than a paper exercise designed to shuffle assets.

In any event, SGT could not hold off the quartz invasion of the 1980s, and began selling off its brands one by one. The Helvetia name was eventually picked up by a jeweler in Vienna, Austria, who still sells some watches with the Helvetia logo. But they are watches in name only, using generic movements and cases.

Vintage examples, meanwhile, seem to draw little interest among today’s collectors. Sellers ask big bucks on eBay, but they bring no action and often sell for a fraction of the asking price. The exception are the WWI era military watches, but they are in a separate collector niche. That is why, in my opinion, Helvetia wristwatches, for the most part, represent a good value.

Arly

 Arly -- This brand was founded in 1947 with offices in Switzerland, (Tramelan) and Germany. The brand appears in various registries beginning in 1950. A regular advertiser during the 1950s in Swiss Horological Journal, but not an attendee at the Basel exhibition in those days. 

Typical ad from the '40s-'50s

The current website www.arlywatch.de is maintained by R. Reuther Mechanical Watches, with headquarters Coburg, Germany.  Various vintage wristwatches are seen for sale or auction on popular websites, including chronographs and multi-date watches.

Typical Vintage Examples

Many of their current watches are a tribute to their heritage, as seen in the chronograph with dial signed "since 1947." 

Current Chronograph

Current offices are in Coberg, Germany, and interested parties are instructed on the website to contact the company directly at mail@arlywatch.de for sales information.

Repco

The 1950s were a fabulous time for novelty items. The post-war economic boom had given rise to a gigantic middle class that had plenty of discretionary income to spend on everything from cars to hula hoops. The watch world was no exception. The '50s gave rise to mystery dial watches, alarm watches, chronographs, multi-timezone watches, and more.

One of the more interesting, and questionably useful, watches to come out of the '50s was the cufflink watch. Here, we have one called the "Cuffette," by the Repco Watch Co.

Little is known about the Repco Watch Co. They were located in Tramelan, Switzerland, and registered their trademark in 1944, although they were possibly in business earlier than this. Their principals are listed as Messrs. Balmer and Gagnebin. It also appears they were affiiliated with the Charles Nicolet Watch Co., also located in Tramelan and probably better known in the watch world. In addition to the Cuffette, Repco's their other models/sub-brands included the Formida, Imperial, Styllux and Telda. A search of Repco watches on Google turns up a variety of styles, including time-only, multi-date, and chronographs. It was not unusual back in the day (and still to this day) for watch companies to form subsidiaries for purposes of market penetration. Repco was listed as a going concern in various industry directories until 2001.

Anyway, back to the Cuffette. I can think of few watches more impractical than one worn on the cuff. For one thing, the French Cuff shirt is sort of a novelty in itself, worn by few men. The shirt style all but disappeared in the more casual 1960s and '70s. It is making somewhat of a comeback in business circles, but I think it's safe to say most men wear button cuff shirts

Secondly, a watch worn on one's cuff is cumbersome to read. It's fine (and fun) to show off, but when it comes to reading the time, it's hard to beat the gold ol' wrist. Plus the watch is small and hard to read under the best of situations.

For these reason, the Cuffette (and other similar cufflink watches by other manufacturerss) didn't do very well. It was a fun idea, but not a practical one. Today, you almost always find find the watch cufflink, but not the matching "normal" one.

Waltham

Here's one of the more interesting wrist watches from Waltham. Rectangle in 14kt white gold double hinging case with articulating lugs. Highly engraved case manufactured by Solidarity Case Co. This is pictured in the 2018 Shugart/Engle ID book (page 656) with an estimated manufacture of 1928. Mine is dated 1931 on the personized engraving. Dial has no doubt been relumed. Has a 7-jewel movement. It's not unusual to find a low jewel movement in solid gold case. Often these gold cased watches were marketed toconsumers who wanted to spend all their money on the case and very little money on the movement because it was of little concern. You find the same thing with pocket watches as well ... a low jewel movement inside a karat gold case. I don't mind the personalized engraving; in fact I like it. It helps date watch and tells a story. I bet this watch was very expensive in its day, hence the reason you don’t see too many of them. Many were probably lost to breakage or melt. I sold most of my watches to cover medical expenses, but this is one I just couldn't part with!

More images of Waltham watches through the decades

From Jewelers' Circular Keystone, August 1968

Skindiver watch makes 'big splash"

The skindiver's watch -- originally intended for sportsmen -- who spend a good deal of time underwater -- is now making a hit with the non-diving public as well, says Harry B. Aronson, president of Waltham Watch Co., Chicago. The Waltham executive estimates that more than 200,000 such timepieces were sold in the United States last year "not only to authentic divers, but also to a great number of people who've never dived any deeper than to the bottom of a martini glass in search of an olive."

 Aronson also figures that as many as half the diver's watches made by Waltham last year were sold to people "who've never gone and never intend to go skindiving.

The watch's popularity "out of water can be attributed to its ruggedness and highly masculine styling," he explained. 

This was/is a great  watch. It was made for Waltham by Blancpain and it was their 50 Fathoms model.  Waltham sold it for $97.50 in 1968.

Photo by Stan Czubernat, LRF Watches