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 to consumers 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

Some images for a handbook for the Waltham Riverside Club, published May 1919:

Tourist

Tourist Everlight made by Adoph Alleman Co., introduced in 1957. Anyone ever seen one of these? Bulb was incandescent, pre-LED. Adolf Allemann was an active watch company in Moutier, Solothurn and Welschenrohr, Switzerland. They supposedly came out with many models, though the Everlight is the first and only I have ever heard of. Anyone else seen Adoph Alleman Co.? Please comment and post pics! There is an excellent article on the Fratello web site on this watch here:

Everlight

It's a great article (2-parter) and covers the topic exaustively.

Here is an ad and also a writeup for the watch from Swiss Horological Journal. This is from my collection of old advertisements:

And here's a photo of one Everlight in the flesh that was painstakingly restoresd :

Image by Tomas Rosputinsky used with permission

Another weird watch from Adolf Allemann was the "Radio Top" dead seconds watch. The seconds hand moves in one-second ticks rather than a sweep. One has to question the usefulness of such a feature, but apparently there was a perceived market for such a watch. Other manufacturers had such a watch including Doxa (the Lunesol model), and Rolex made a dead-seconds called the Tru-Beat. Here is the link to the article on the radio Top:

Radio Top

Anyway, the Alleman watch company went out of business in 1963, having been founded in 1893. Alleman is said to have produced 100,000 Everlights, but many were returned to the factory due to leaking batteries. Hence, they are are to find, and many collectors have specimens where the watch runs, but the light does not light due to a dead battery. And battery replacements are practically non existent. Nevertheless, "tech" collectors like them as showpieces because the watch is a great example of an early solution to a problem -- in this case seeing a watch dial in the dark!

allemann

Adolf Allemann was a quite active watch company in Moutier, Solothurn and Welschenrohr, Switzerland. They supposedly came out with many models, though the Everlight is the first and only I have ever seen.

 

Blancpain

 By Bruce Shawkey

I love old watch advertisements. Here's one for an early Blancpain 50 Fathoms, introduced in 1953. This ad is from the mid '50s. There have been numerous iterations of the 50 Fathoms since then. It remains one of Blancpain's most popular models almost 70 years later. Vintage specimens often go for thousands of dollars.

The mention of Rayville in the ad is an interesting twist on Blancpain's history. Rayville is an anagram for Villeret which is Blancpain's hometown. For a more thorough discussion of this, I invite you to see the following link:

Rayville and Blancpain

The model pictured in this mid '50s ad is billed by Blancpain as the "world's first modern diver's watch" though one could argue the UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) watches by Elgin and others made toward the end of WWII were dive watches. I suppose what makes this a "modern" dive watch is the addition of the turnable ring which gives the diver an independent timer to time the duration he is submerged so as not to run out of oxygen. The UDT watches did not have a bezel ring. Further, the 50 Fathoms has always, to my knowledge, had an automatic movement, which further supports the claim of a "modern" dive watch.

The early military-issue models of the 50 Fathoms also utulized a highly radioactive paint for luminouse dials. For the civilian version, the dials for a time carried a yellow dot with the words "NO RADIATION" to put consumers' minds at ease.  These early models with the yellow dot are especially prized by collectors and command a premium.

If you own an early 50 Fathoms, consider yourself fortunate. They are quite scarce and difficult to find in nice condition because so often they were worn hard by their original owners.

Here's another interesting watch from mid-1960s:

Automatic Watch Winder Blast from the Past

By Bruce Shawkey

You'd think with the hype surrounding automatic watch winders, that they were a fairly recent invention. You see them advertised everywhere, priced from ten bucks, and I've see some as high as $60,000. Here's one priced at $10,999. It holds up to 12 watches and is made of burlwood.

OK, I found a watch winder advertised in a March/April 1957 issue of Swiss Horological Journal. The price wasn't listed, but the interesting thing about it was that it was marketed to the watch trade, NOT watch collectors!

It looks like a beast! It must weigh a good 10 pounds or more, and it holds just four watches! Here's the scoop on it from the Journal:

Machine for winding and testing self-winding watches 

Communicated by Bergeon & Co., Le Lode (Switzerland) 

In recent years the self-winding watch has taken on a great importance in the sales and repair program of the retail watchmaker. In consequence, it has become essential to be able to check the functioning of the self-winding work. The machine developed by Messrs. Bergeon for winding self-winding watches will prove of considerable value to the watchmaker and jeweler. It is possible to mount four watches --with or without their bracelets—on its table, which is inclined at 30°. The table rotates clockwise at 35 revolutions per minute. Tests have shown that a higher speed is not desirable, since the swinging weight might be held in an extreme position by excessive centrifugal force. The uniform speed of rotation of the table makes it possible to wind the watch for a given length of time (for example, 5 minutes) ; after this it can be allowed to run until it stops, and the duration of the run will be an indication of the effectiveness of the self-winding mechanism of a particular caliber.

This machine will simplify considerably the daily winding of self-winding watches which are undergoing test, the watches held in stock, those which have been repaired, and those, again, which are intended for display in the window. Almost all self-winding watches have watertight cases. Owing to the fact that a gland must be provided on the winding stem, the button is somewhat difficult to turn, particularly in the case of small modern watches (this is so because the button should not normally need to be used except for hand setting). Since manual winding is rather slow and tiresome, this new piece of equipment will therefore be found most valuable. An important point to remember is that hand winding would here be to no purpose. The watch is wound, but that does not mean that it is wound automatically. This machine is of simple exterior appearance. The base is of varnished wood, the colour being beige. The rotating table is finished in dull chrome, while the spring clips are of steel, hardened and tempered blue. The synchronous motor which drives the assembly, will operate on either 110 or 220 volts, as required. Whether used for winding or testing, this device will be found most valuable in any organization which handles self-winding watches.

This is from 64 years ago! Just goes to prove that old saying: Everything old is new again!