Recta

 By Bruce Shawkey

 Found this ad in the Nov./Dec. 1957 issue of Swiss Horological Journal for Recta watches. The company was founded in 1897, and originally manufactured chronographs. They are famous for producing the first compass in a pocket watch housing in 1914..

There isn't much written about Recta. Kathleen Pritchard, in her two-volume encyclopedia of Swiss manufacturers, writes that the history of Recta goes all the way back to 1897, when the company was founded as Muller and Vaucher, Fabrique d'Horlogerie, in Biene. In 1924, the company registered Recta as a trademark for watches, watch parts, and packaging. Recta watches are occasionally seen on Ebay, and sell in $40-$60 range.