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: