Angelus

 By Bruce Shawkey

For better or worse, many watch companies are known for a single watch, even though they produced many other models. For Breitling, it's the Navitimer. For Vulcain, the Cricket. For Doxa, the Sub 300T. And for Angelus, it's the Chronodato, the world's first serially produced chronograph with calendar function.

But collectors forget there is much more to the brand's history and products. Certainly, chronographs dominated their production and reputation, but they produced other kinds of watches as well, including complicated watches. In fact, some say Angelus was one of the most influential horological manufactures of the last century. Collectors also forget about Angelus because the brand lay dormant for 30 years when the quartz crisis put them out of business in the mid-1980s. It's only been since 2015 that the brand has been resurrected and introduced to a new generation of watch enthusiasts who may not be aware of the brand's rich heritage.

So let's take a closer look at this most interesting company.

Angelus was founded in Le Locle in 1891 by the Stolz brothers Gustav and Albert in Le Locle. They had studied under the well celebrated Henri Sandoz. who was director of the Tavannes Watch Company. After qualifying as a watchmaker, the third brother, Charles, joined Angelus in 1898 (left).

The brand name Angelus was reportedfy named for the Angelus ring of Catholic church bells, and can be seen in early Angelus adverts, in which church bells and towers are depicted.

By 1904, the brothers employed 15 skilled artisans, with more and more work being carried out in cottages and homes by freelancers. The brothers started building their own movements, including repeaters and chronographs. Their superb craftsmanship was recognized by prestigious awards at international fairs and expositions.

In 1914, Gustave Stolz in addition to his function in the Angelus firm, became director of the Le Phare watch company, which would supply many movements to early Angelus wrist and pocket watches.

World War I saw difficult times for Angelus. though they did come out with a pocket watch for blind and visually impaired people (many of whom lost their sight in the war). It featured a hinged lid which when opened revealed a dial with no crystal so that the hands could be felt, thereby revealing the time to the user.

An early Angelus wrist watch (1920s) featured an alarm function (right), beating Vulcain's claim to the first alarm watch, the Cricket, by several decades. Although to be fair, it was a large watch (at 46mm diameter) and used the same movement found in Angelus’ table and travel clocks of the same period.

In 1930, Angelus, in cooperation with Zodiac, came out with the world's smallest 8-day movement (above). The caliber SF-N 9, with reported accuracy of +/- 1 minute per week, found its way into several prestigious watch brands, including Tiffany.

But Angelus soon returned focus to chronographs, as evidenced by this early ad (right) showing a design with hinged case and single button. Other designs soon followed, with single and dual buttons with 30- and 45-minute timing capability.

To keep its business going during the Great Depression, Angelus produced several models of alarm and travel clocks including a model (below left) with time, barometer, and thermometer that resembled a ship’s wheel.

The 1940s and '50s were golden times for Angelus. In 1940, the Hungarian Air Force chose Angelus as its supplier of chronographs. As mentioned earlier, Angelus came out with its famous Chronodate in 1942 (Chronodato from 1943 onwards). This remarkable chronograph is equipped with the 14 ligne caliber SF217, and features 17 or 19 jewels and a 45-minute counter. The Chronodato rapidly becomes Angelus’ top selling watch. Angelus

movements also found their way into military watches by the prestigious brand Panerai. An example is shown below right with the tell-tale crown guard.

We'll take a break now and look at some Angelus watch from catalogs and adverts of the 1940s and '50s. The text continues after the illustrations.

The 1950s continued to see innovation from Angelus, including the Datalarm (1956), the first wristwatch featuring both alarm and date function. Also, the Tinkler intoduced in 1958,  (left) which was both the first automatic repeater wristwatch (quarter hour) and also the first repeater wristwatch which claimed to be waterproof. A cult classic (only 100 pieces were reportedly produced), one sold on eBay in 2013 for $10,355!

                 In 1960, Angelus made its final chronograph of the 20th century – a monopusher for doctors featuring scales around the periphery of the dial between 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock for measuring breathing and pulse rate, with the displays magnified by special optics integrated into the glass.

The ‘60s and ‘70s were not kind to Angelus, what with the advent of cheap American (Timex) and imported brands. But they did have one more trick up their sleeve with the introduction in 1978 of a 5-minute repeater (right). The movement was built in cooperation with Dubois Dépraz, the same company that helped Heuer and Buren/Hamilton develop the automatic chronograph. I’ve seen a couple for sale in the $11K area.

But the company lay dormant for the next 33 years until it was bought in 2011 by Manufacture La Joux-Perret. La Joux-Perret (formerly Jaquet SA or Jaquet-Baume) is a Swiss movement manufacturer, now owned by Citizen of Japan. They spent the next four years developing the next generation of Angelus watches, starting with the U10 Tourbillon Lumière (below, left), introduced  at

Baselworld in 2015. At around $110,000, it’s the most expensive watch Angelus ever built. But if you ask me, it looks like a cheap fashion watch of the ‘70s. Different strokes for different folks.

Current model offerings include three versions of a revamped Chronodate (Gold, below, left), Blue Titanium, and White Titanium. Gone are the day and month windows of the old Chronodate. All that remains is the pointer date. There is a gold and carbon flying tourbillon, limited to 18 pieces, and reported to cost CHF 68,950, or about $71,600. An

“Urban Collection” consists of 14 variations on a theme. Basic models feature a flying tourbillon movement with hours and minutes. Deluxe models feature a flying tourbillon movement with 30-minute chronograph. Prices start at about $34,000 for a basic time-only model, and go up to $72,000 for a chronograph model. There are no Internet sales (except grey market), only sales through authorized dealers. All of which makes vintage Chronodatos going for around $2K on the secondary market seem like a pretty good bargain!

 

Here is another article I wrote on Angelus:

The brand was founded in 1891 by brothers Albert and Gustav Stolz in LeLocle Switzerland. From 1912, the company specialized more on complex watch movements with repetition and on chronographs, which were exported to Germany, Italy and Russia.

There is very little information or visual documentation concerning the first Angelus chronographs. We know that they emerged in the decade between 1925 and 1935. They were single-push-button chronographs with 30- and 45-minute counters. The calibres used in the 30-minute counter watches were Valjoux ébauches and those of the 45-minute counter watches were manufactured in-house. In the image below (perhaps the only known advertisement), we can see one of the first examples from the late 1920s.

In 1933, Breitling brought out its first dual-push-button chronograph. Not to be left behind, in 1935, Angelus completed the development of the SF 210 caliber, used in both single- and dual-push-button versions, and brought out its first chronograph with dual push buttons. In the right-hand-side image (or below if viewed on a mobile), we show the version of the watch issued to Hungarian Air Force pilots.

The success and reliability of its watches resulted in another golden era of economic expansion for Anfelus. In 1940, the well-known SF 215 caliber came out, adual-push-button chronographs, and was at the forefront of Angelus’s development in the 1940s. It was also the base for the SF 217 caliber used in the Chronodato. This 14-line, manual winding, 40-hour power reserve caliber, was used in a wide range of watches with various faces and case types. 

In the 30s and 40s of the 20th century, Angelus earned a reputation mainly because of its chronographs. These were equipped with self-produced manufacture movements. Well known became, among others, the 1942 presented model “Chronodate” (since 1943 “Chronodato”), the world's first serially produced chronograph with calendar function.

However, it was not until 1942 that the Chronodato, possibly the most famous Angelus chronograph, emerged. The image below is perhaps the first known advertisement for the Chronodato:

In 1948 the “Chrono Dato Luxe” was launched, available in two frame sizes - the first chronograph with calendar, day display and moon phase. Approximately 1960 as last chronograph the the “Medical," a model for physicians, was brought on the market.

In 1967, Europa Star ran this article on the 36th anniversary of Angelus' eight day wristwatch:

The quartz crisis then meant the end for the brand. Its models are still desired among collectors and connoisseurs.

After lying dormant for more than 30 years, Angelus in 2015 is revived by Manufacture La Joux-Perret (Citizen Holdings), which has spent four years developing the next generation of visionary timepieces. The Angelus' manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds is just a stone's throw from where the Stolz brothers established their original manufacture.They registered in brand name "Angelus" in 1913. They remain of of the few watch companies to be independently owned and operated.

Every brand has a signature watch For Angelus, that watch is the two-register chronograph with triple date and moonphase, called the "Chronodato. that was introduced in 1948.

But they made many fine time-only watches as well.

Here is picture of a two-register chronograph, no date features:

Here are some pictures of Chronodatos showing the variety of case metals, including base, gold filled, and karat gold.

Here are some images of other Angelus watches through the decades:

Here are some Angelus ads and catalog pages through the decades:

Here are additional articles I've written on Angelus

Found this ad in the March/April 1958 issue of Swiss Horological Journal announcing an alarm watch, also featuring a date, called the "Datalarm," Angelus is probably best known for its multi-date chronograph model (the Chronodato), but they made time-only models as well.

Angelus was founded in 1891 by brothers brothers Gustav and Albert Stolz in Le Locle, Switzerland.  After lying dormant for more than 30 years, Angelus was revived in 2015 by Manufacture La Joux-Perret, and they manufacture only chronographs.

Nivada/Croton

By Bruce Shawkey

Chronomaster

 Mention Nivada to the average wristwatch collector, and it may not ring a bell. Mention Nivada to chronograph collectors, and most will instantly recognize the name. The Nivada Chronomaster, and all its variations, are some of the hottest selling watches on the vintage market today. They are so coveted and hard to find, that many collectors are buying the current-day re-issues of the Chronomaster on the company's website at https://nivadagrenchenofficial.com/. They are true to the originals and have modern movements, and cost less than the vintage originals to boot.

What many do not know is that Nivada has a long history, going back decades before the '60s, before most of their famous chronographs were introduced. They also enjoyed success in America with their Croton counterpart starting in about 1940. Back then, Nivada and Croton-Nivada watches were simply time only, which are overlooked by many Nivada collectors in their quest to collect only chronographs. So let's take a closer look at this Swiss company and its watches, chronographs and all.

The roots of Nivada are a mystery. Kathleen Pritchard, in her two-volume encyclopedia of Swiss watch manufacturers, states the company was founded in 1878 in Grenchen, Switzerland. However, we know almost nothing about the company's early activities. It's not uncommon to find Swiss watch companies that lay dormant for years or even decades after their founding. Often, it's the result of bad economic times, or family squabbles about who gets to run the company, or lack of sufficient funds.

Whatever the reason, the company didn't really come alive until 48 years later in 1926 when Jacob Schneider began operating the company under the name Wülliman Schneider Nivada S.A. The story goes that Swiss officials mandated that the word "Grenchen" be added on their watch dials after the signature "Nivada" so that the brand would not be confused with the similar-sounding "Movado," which had been started some years back by Achille Ditesheim. The Ditesheims were a prominent watchmaking family in Switzerland in those days and no doubt exerted influence in assuring no one would confuse Nivada with Movado. It’s apparent that enforcement of this “rule” was not consistent, as many early Nivada watches can be found without the “Grenchen” suffix, as seen below.

From the start, Schneider (or perhaps Wülliman) decided their company did not want to build its own movements, but rely on ebauches (rough movements) from ETA, Phénix, A. Schild, and others and finish them inhouse. We know little of Mr. Wülliman; it appears Schneider was the senior partner in the venture, as his son, Jacob, eventually took over the company and was running it as late as 1976.

Pritchard reports that Nivada exhibited at the 1939 Swiss National Exhibition, around the same time as it began its affiliation with Croton. Again, there are conflicting reports as to how this affiliation came about. Some say that Croton, based in New York, was already an established company. Others sources say Nivada created Croton expressly to distribute their product in America. Either way, Croton-Nivada did very well in America, right up until the quartz crisis of the '70s, especially the chronographs of the '60s. Nivada and American counterpoint Croton watches had almost identical movements, with the exception of movement markings. Watches sold in the U.S. were branded as Croton Nivada, Croton Nivada Grenchen, or simply Croton.

 

The Watches

Early Nivada wristwatches, though not especially rare, are not especially plentiful either. A couple of examples are shown at left.  The absence of “Grenchen” on the dials illustrates the inconsistency of early dial signatures. While priced reasonably, early watches from the brand nevertheless exuded class and elegance, thanks to svelte design and art deco styling cues.

Other notable models included the manual wind Buccaneer (below right ), the Alerta (also below right), an alarm watch featuring the newly developed A. Schild Caliber 1475, the Discus (marketed for its “flat, thin elegance”) and the Cape Horn.

And then there was the "Reglavit" (below) that had a screw head on the back connected to the regulator so that minor timing adjustments could be made without opening the case. I don't think it sold very well, because most people didn't understand that the screwhead was only for minor adjustments and was no substitute for cleaning when timing started going off by more than a few seconds per day.

Reglavit

But Nivada/Croton really began to hit its stride when it gave the U.S. Navy team lead by Admiral Richard Byrd watches for their "Operation Deep Freeze" expedition to the South Pole from 1955 to 1956. At the time, the watches were named the "Aquamatic" model, but were quickly rebranded the "Antarctic" model to capitalize on the publicity of having survived the cold temps of the South Pole. Today, the Antarctic

Antarctic

is considered one of Nivada Grenchen’s signature models. Nivada hit another success when in the early '60s it rebranded the "Alerta" model to the "Wanderer," marketing it to jet-setting travelers and containing Vulcain's caliber 120 "Cricket" movement.

At this point, we’ll take a break and look at some vintage ads for Nivada and Croton watches. 

From a 1941 newspaper ad. Though never an official Ordnance supplier to the Defense Department, Croton nevertheless advertised its watches as suitable for servicemen. Thanks to fellow collector Jack Wood for sending me this image.

Ad for Depthomatic, circa 1960. 

Various ads for Croton/Nivada

 

Nivada's next big success was its signature Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver, introduced in 1961 (far left). It would become the brand's most iconic model. Suitable for use on land, air, or under sea (water resistant to 200 meters), the model featured a number of movements over the years, including the Venus 210, Valjoux 92, Valjoux 23, Landeron 248, and the Valjoux 7733. It had almost anything a professional would need. The dial featured a tachymeter for measuring speed, and the totalizer dial at three o’clock could be used to count up to 30 minutes of elapsed time, or, with its red highlighter on the minutes counter, could be used to count down the last five minutes before an event, such as a regatta. Buyers, especially divers, appreciated the oversized lumed arrowhead on the hour hand as well (above).

In 1964, Nivada followed with the Depthomatic (above middle). Also water resistant to 200 meters, the Depthomatic was truly a watch for divers, and was one of the first watches on the market (along with the Favre-Leuba Bathy) to feature a depth gauge. The Depthomatic worked by means of a glass tube around the circumference of the dial containing a liquid. Upon a diver’s descent, the liquid would react to increasing pressure by turning red in color and traversing the circumference of the dial where it could by read by numerals on the outer chapter of the dial or on a metal bezel ring. Vintage examples are rare; I've seen specimens go for $3,000 and more.

Nivada completed its trifecta of famous dive watches with the Depthmaster, introduced in 1965 (above right). Water resistant to an astonishing 1,000 meters, the watch was marketed as “probably the world’s most waterproof watch.” By comparison, the Rolex Sea-Dweller would not surpass the Depthmaster’s water resistance capabilities until 13 years later with the 1,220-meter water-resistant Reference 16660. Such depths, of course, are rather superfluous in terms of "free diving," since even experienced SCUBA divers rarely go deeper than 130 feet (about 40 meters). But knowing that your watch can survive depths many times greater than your actual dive gives peace of mind that your timepiece will survive unharmed.

As the infamous quartz crisis began to cripple the Swiss watch industry in the 1970s, Nivada managed to at least make it through the decade on the back of prior hits and a few noteworthy, collectible models. Nivada eventually split off the Croton brand and it was eventually acquired by a Chinese company. Today, the Croton brand is considered substandard by the collecting world. Their watches are sold to department and discount stores, often pre-discounted on the packaging.

Nivada, meanwhile, was spared a similar fate and emerged a prestigious brand, apparently perceived no longer a threat to Movado which, by this time, was drawing heavily on its income from its famous "Museum Watch."

The Travelmaster (left) followed up on the success of past Alert and Wanderer models and featured a mechanical alarm movement, this time the A. Schild caliber 1568. It improved on the functionality of the Wanderer by providing both a date function and a rotating 24-city GMT bezel. The Travelmaster was available in both traditional round cases and a rarer Submarine World Time version (left) with a tonneau-shaped case.  This case style would also be used in other models, such as a 43mm model with “Pepsi” GMT bezel and a manually-wound Valjoux 724 chronograph caliber and a Chronoking diver’s chronograph.

What followed next is a confusing series of sellouts as the Swiss watch industry reeled from the invasion of quartz and throw-away timepieces. The brand was reportedly sold to the Kim Suk Keun Watch Company of South Korea which couldn't find a niche for the brand and quickly resold it to a Mexican business firm, Industrial Omega SA de CV. Registering the company in Mexico as Nivada Swiss, the firm re-invented the brand for the Mexican market. Still operating to this day, the Mexican version of Nivada produces mostly quartz

watches with model names like Rockefeller, Diplomat, Skymaster, Moonmaster, and Millionaire (right). The brand’s watches range in price from 130 to 935 Euros and are not to be confused with the traditional Nivada watches with Swiss mechanical movements. That is probably why the website for traditional Nivada watches is named nivadagrenchenofficial.com.

In 2018, two entrepreneurs (Guillaume Laidet, a French entrepreneur, and Remi Chabrat, an entrepreneur based in Hong Kong with a successful record of building a number of luxury brands) secured a deal for the return of Nivada-Grenchen to its Swiss roots and cater to the brand's vintage cult following. They quickly revived three of the brand's most iconic models, Chronomaster, Depthmaster, and Antarctic. They remained so true to the originals that even die-hard collectors have trouble distinguishing vintage from re-issued. What I like most about the new Chronomaster is that they remained true to the case diameter of the original (38.3 mm) and resisted the urge to "super-size" the case like so many others have done with their classic revivals to cater to the current trend of "big watches." I personally don't like watches the size of manhole covers, and I believe this trend is (thankfully) reversing itself. About the only thing they altered on the re-issues was the ability to order the watches with a choice of bands/bracelets: leather, rubber, Oyster style, or "beads of rice."

The company also sells a book that looks in depth at a single watch, the Chronomaster. Nivada/Croton made so many distinct varieties of the Chronomaster with a number of different movements from 1963 up until the '70s, a collector could make a career of nothing else but Chronomaster varieties.

here is more info on Croton and Nivada Grenchen:

 Nivada Grenchen has been in the watchmaking industry since 1926, the year when Jacob Schneider founded the brand in Granges (Grenchen). Here are a couple of early ads for their watches:

And here is an image of a watch from a 1942 ad in Europa Star magazine (Latin America edition)

Here are some images from the watch collection of my friend Mario Mardones.

The 1950s saw Nivada Grenchwn shift gears and introduce more sporty watches that could stand up to harsh environments. The results were some of Nivada Grenchen's most iconic watches. One of the first was the Chronomaster, introduced in 1956:

The Chronomaster came in two versions, one with straight stick hands (above) and, my personal favorite, one with a broad arrow hour hand.

I own a copy of  the modern version of this watch, still with the same movement that powered the original: the Valjoux Caliber 92. 

The 1950s saw Nivads Grenchen concentrate on sports watches that could stand up against harsh environments, both above the surface as well as below. One of their most famous watches was the Antarctic, which, as the name suggests, accompanied some of the Byrd's expeditions to the South Pole. An ad for the watch is seen below. 

For those adventurers seeking thrills under water, Nivada created the Depthmaster, the only watch with a built-in depth gauge, a circular tube that turned red as water entered, giving the diver the correct depth as read on the scale printed on the dial. An ad for the watch is seen below:

The 1960s saw Nivada Grenchen continue to cater to the sports market, with such models as the Chronosport and Antarctic  (now with an automatic movement) both are below:

Still, Nivada did not completely abandon the sports market. One of the watches they introduced was an alarm watch, called the Alert:

Alert

But Nivada's emphasis was still on watches that stand up to harsh environments, though were still dressy enough to take out on the town. Some of the models from the 1960s are pictured below:

Other models maintained their popularity, including the Buccaneer and the Discus, marketed for its “flat, thin elegance":

Discus

Although early on, the model mainly featured a manually-wound movement, the industry-wide trend toward automatic movements was not lost on the brand, and the Discus later featured a self-winding caliber with center seconds.

In 1965, Nivada Grenchen introduced the 1965 Depthmaster (seen below), advertising it as “probably the world’s most waterproof watch." The Depthmaster featured a 38mm case, water resistant to an astonishing 1000 meters. The Depthmaster’s 38mm cushion case was fashioned from a single block of Swedish steel, particularly renowned for its hardness and lack of impurities, and the 60-minute rotating bezel featured a “permanent lubricating system” and “indelible markers.” The watch utilized an automatic ETA movement, both with and without date function.

Waterproof" watches were also becoming increasingly important to consumers. Though today, we refer to watches as “water-resistant,” at that time, “waterproof” had a much more powerful marketing punch, and Nivada adopted the terminology in short order while making the brand’s cases more water-tight.

Another model is worthy of mention, the Datomaster, a 36mm bi-compax chronograph featuring a manually-wound Landeron Caliber 187 movement. It screams “1970s!” with its gray and white color scheme, orange chronograph seconds hand, and orange 5-minute countdown scale and orange 45 on the minute totalizer. It is shown below:

Today, Nivada Grenchen offers a variety of sport watches, emphasis on chronographs of course, but offers other sporty model as well. Some examples are shown below:

——-end

 

I would like to thank my good friend, Jack Wood, for helping me with this article. You can read about Jack's adventures with his watches by checking out his blog at https://sometimetospare.wordpress.com/

  

Luxor

By Bruce Shawkey

When I think of the name Luxor, I tend to think of the big casino just off the Las Vegas Strip. But of course being a horologist for the last 40 years or so, I also think of clocks, specifically table clocks from the '40s and '50s. I did not know that several companies tried to make a go of Luxor wristwatches over the decades, including Omega and Zenith.

None of them were particularly successful at it. First place would probably go to J. Harold Brunner (1907-1984) who registered the Luxor trademark (left) in 1940. We know almost nothing of Mr. Brunner. A search of Google turns up a lot of Brunner names (a common Swiss surname) but nothing on J.H. Brunner. The company, located in LeLocle, was most known for small clocks, pendulettes (small table clocks with fast-moving pendulums), alarm clocks. One of their novelty table clocks was not much larger (height and width) than an American quarter. They exhibited at Basel in 1940, 1950 and 1959.

For a brief time, they tried their hand at wrist watches. An ad from a 1950s Swiss Horological Journal (right)shows a "Brilux," model: A novelty watch with visible balance. I don't think the watch was a commercial success, because I have seen only a couple for sale or auction on the secondary market. The company more or less disappeared after the '60s.

Other Luxor trademark registrations appear on Mikrolisk.com, an online database of horological trademarks. Included are:

PW Ellis & Co. Import name; Toronto, Canada; founded in 1872;

Omega Watch Co. SA / Louis Brand & Frere Clockworks, cases, dials; Biel, Geneva and La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland; registered in January of 1893;

Selza Watch Co. SA / Victor Gisiger. Clocks, clock parts; Biel, Switzerland; registered in October of 1926;

Schramberg, Germany; registered in March of 1927 by a co-watch factories in Hamburg and America;

Zenith International SA Le Locle, Switzerland; registered in September of 1981; and

Candino Watch Co. SA Biel and Herbetswil, Switzerland; registered in  September of 1986. (The company currently owns five watch brands: Festina, Lotus, Jaguar, Candino and Calypso.)

Of interest to me are the "Zenith years" when several models of chronograph and dive watch of good quality appeared on the market and fetch good money on today's vintage market. A few of those are seen below.

Today, Luxor watches are sold online via a website called getluxor.co (no "m"). The company bills itself as a “disruptive” supplier of “originally designed watches at radically fair prices” (typically under $100). Curiously, the name "Luxor" does not appear on any of its watch dials. Movements are exclusively quartz. I’ll let you decide how “originally designed” they are. (Personally, I think they are copycat designs of other more famous makers.) And though the watches look nice on their website, they have mostly been dismissed as "Chinese junk" by the online watch community.

So thus hangs the tale of Luxor watches. Though the name has a nice ring to it, it has never caught on in the world of watches. It is one of many “also-rans” in the watch world.

 

L to R: visible balance watch; multi-calendar model; world time watch modeled after a Luxor table clock, automatic w/date.

L to R: dive watch; dive watch (Look familiar … Doxa Sub 300 look-alike perhaps?); Luxor (by Zenith) chronograph; Luxor (by Zenith) chronograph. 

L to R: All Luxor by getluxor.co: Phantom, $79; Cheetah, $89; Bentley, $79; Excalibur, $79

L to R: All Luxor by getluxor.co: Cadillac, $78; “The Gold Watch,” $79; Lige Classic Leather, $77.

 

EBEL

By Bruce Shawkey

 If you do a Google search for “EBEL watch,” you are certain to see their "Wave" models come up at the top of the search. Introduced in 1977, it's one of few watches that seems to be named for its bracelet (with its signature wavy pattern) rather than the watch itself.

                 But that's kind of the way it's always been for EBEL watches since their founding in 1911 in La Chaux de Fonds. Collectors have long associated EBEL as a fashion or jewelry item more than a utilitarian watch. It's not a completely unfair assessment, since most EBEL watches through the decades have been fashion over technical achievement or substance. But to be fair, EBEL has manufactured everything from chronographs to military watches during its 110-year history. Let's take a look.

Ebel was founded in 1911 by husband and wife Eugene Blum and Alice Levy. As most EBEL-ophiles know, the name EBEL is an acronym of the initials of the couples' names, “Eugene Blum Et Levy." The photo at left, showing them later in life, seems to be the only known photo of the couple.

The company was recognized for outstanding examples of Art Deco-inspired women’s watches at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” in Paris in 1925. A couple of examples are shown at

right. Their designs caught the attention of both Cartier and Tiffany, which sold deco-inspired EBEL watches with their names on the dials.

In 1929, son Charles-Eugene Blum joined the firm, and EBEL exhibited at Basel for the first time. During the Great Depression, to stay financially afloat, EBEL sold movements to other larger watch companies.

In 1935, EBEL became the first company to use a Western Electric system for accuracy testing involving the use of highly specialized equipment.

In the late 1930s, EBEL won a contract to supply an Army Time Piece (ATP) for British army that was used up until the end of WWII. The watch (left) differs from most other military watches supplied to the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) in that it has a white dial (left) instead of the more familiar black dial. The EBEL is not one of the so-called "Dirty Dozen" British military watches, but nevertheless is highly sought by military watch collectors.

In the 1950s, EBEL introduced a purse watch that rivaled Movado’s “Hermeto” (right). It was sold through retailer Dunhill as well. EBEL also during this time tried to break into the mainstream market with such quirky models as the "Epsom" (with hidden crown) and the

"Videomatic" (left) with clearview back exposing the automatic movement.

Alice Levy remained the company’s creative director until 1960 when she retired. She served as chairman of the board of directors until 1968, when she was 88 years old.  Eugene Blum presumably died during this time, but I can find no mention of his passing on the Internet. The third generation of the family, Pierre-Alain Blum, took over the company in the midst of the “quartz crisis” and was one of the few who resisted the conversion to cheap technology and continued to develop the production of mechanical movements.

In 1977, Ebel released the Sport Classic collection with the famous wavy bracelets, which probably instantly identifies an EBEL watch more than any other design feature. In 1983, EBEL introduced a mechanical perpetual calendar, followed two years later by the famous Beluga. The Beluga design was mainly adapted to ladies’ models, but men’s models can be found in chronograph and multicalendar models. A year later in 1986 came its “1911” collection, named after company’s founding year.

In 1995, Pierre-Alain Blum left the business and sold the company to Investcorp, a corporation that had a rather sad reputation. They bought well-known watch companies (including Breguet) to try and flip them for a quick profit at the expense of technical and creative innovation.

In 1999 Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) acquired EBEL and unfortunately didn't do the brand any favors. It introduced weird color combinations, abundant quartz models, and risky case shapes which only diluted the brand. In December of 2003, LVMH sold EBEL to the Movado Group for CHF6.3 million (about $6.2 million), one of the few times the price for a watch company has been publicly revealed. They have done an admirable job of trying to restore EBEL's "look" and reputation with such lines as the Tekton and Brasilia (see below). But they remain, as before, in that "grey area" between watch and jewelry and thus are overlooked by many watch purists who say they are overpriced. Some of their models are shown below. They maintain a website at www.ebel.com.

L to R: Up and down, steel case. SS case, Lemania Cal 27, copyright finertimes.com, used with permission. Square 14kt gold, manual wind. large square 14kt gold, manual wind. Tekton chronograph, automatic, diamond bezel.

L to R: Voyager world time 21J automatic, steel and 18kt bezel, circa 2000. “Sonny Crocket” (Miami Vice) automatic chronograph, Zenith Caliber 400 automatic movement, Wave bracelet. 1950s bumper automatic, chrome case. Gold plated, SS back, manual wind. "Brasilia,” Steel with 18kt trim.

 

 

L to R: Classic Wave. Lady’s Beluga, steel with 18kt trim. Men’s Beluga chronograph, plated over steel. Beluga men’s multidate moonphase, 18kt gold. “1911” steel and 18kt gold.