: Cyma is a watch brand that has long been associated with accuaracy. Even the name Cyma, derived from the French cime for top or summit indicated the aims of the company, that of reaching the pinnacle of accuracy. Cyma can trace its routes back to the Schwob brothers Joseph and Theodore, who initially established Cyma in 1862 as a watch manufacturer that assembled watches from components derived from multiple Swiss sources. At about the same time 1871, Henri Sandoz established Sandoz & Cie in Le Locle. However Sandoz moved to Tavannes in 1891, just North of Biel where he focused on the manufacture of highly complex repeaters and chronographs. Soon after this move Sandoz formed a developed a business relationship with the Schwob brothers and Cyma was officially registered in 1903. Sandoz used the most modern of manufacturing processes and produced very high quality time-pieces, trademarked as Tavannes, Cyma and Cyma Tavannes. The quality of the product allowed Tavannes/Cyma to develop into one of the largest Swiss watch manufacturers by 1910. Even basic models were very accurate and many were consequently sold as officially tested chronometers. By the 1920s, Cyma had followed a growing trend to standardize watch part manufacture but, typical of the company, it wasn’t enough to just produce parts that were interchangeable, they had to be precision made to ensure long term accuracy. Early watch movements tended to be very susceptible to damage via physical blows. Thus during the 1930s efforts were made to develop shock proofing systems. The very first effective shock proofing system for watches (Incabloc) was invented by Georges Braunschweig and Fritz Marti in 1934. These systems were incorporated into many watches by numerous watch manufacturers. However, by the 1950s, Cyma had developed its own shock proofing system, Cymerflex, which it installed in its high grade watches. By the late 1960s and early 1970s the watch industry was changing, the advances of Hamilton and Bulova in the production of electric watches set the scene for the era of the quartz watch. By 1973 Cyma had produced their first electric watch and they were ready to embrace the new technology whilst other watch manufacturers were decimated by it. The brand is currently owned by Stelux International, Ltd and continues to lead in the production of high quality quartz watches. Having achieved this it seems that Cyma has met the goals set out by its founders, after all Cyma now produces watches that are always absolutely accurate. Titoni is an independent, family run and traditional Swiss watch brand founded in 1919 by Fritz Schluep.It is the one of the few watch making companies in the world to remain in the hands of its founding family. From its very first years in its history Titoni quickly met with acceptance beyond Switzerland‘s borders. It soon became clear that, for long-term success, the international market would be important. With this in mind, shortly after its foundation, Titoni took its first steps towards Europe and the USA. Nowadays, although Titoni is established and represented worldwide, the company‘s roots are and will remain in Grenchen. From this small town of watchmakers at the foot of the Jura mountain range, Titoni builds bridges between Switzerland and the world,between generations and cultures. In 1919 three watchmakers were employed in production in Grenchen. Today around 50 people work for Titoni. The sophisticated assembly of mechanical movements has been carried out at the headquarters by proven experts since the very beginnings. In watch making, precision and reliability are essential values and a precondition for achieving the highest levels of quality. The combination of hand crafting, modern technologies and timeless design reflects the ambition to harmoniously combine the traditional and the modern. Titoni’s traditional family inheritance – stability and sustainable thinking – is also reflected in its collections. Clearly positioned in the market and with a unique spirit, Titoni answers individual needs for classical design with a refined, contemporary touch. To find out more about Titoni watches history click below: Here’s an American brand that once was: Gruen. Unlike Hamilton, Bulova, Elgin, Waltham, etc… they are not as popular or sought after. The history of the brand is very interesting. For a detailed look you may want to review this thoroughly researched on-line book by PaulSchlisser:http://www.pixelp.com/gruen/introduction.html Mr. Schlisser breaks down the story of Gruen from the arrival of Dietrich Gruen in America to the closing of their Ohio plant, Time Hill, in 1958. In the time that Gruen was around, they were a truly an innovative watch brand. They designed and manufactured many of their own movements, some of which had interesting complications, in facilities in Biel, Switzerland called the “Precision Factory” (which are now owned by Rolex, and apparently used as admin facilities). They were a US based company with headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, where they received the movements, and assembled them into American made cases. Their Ohio facilities were also a thing to behold, with architecture that gave it a fairy tale quality. Unfortunately, the brand fell apart in the late 50’s following the departure of the original Gruen family, scandal and financial disarray, which led to the selling of the name and closure of their Ohio offices. Under new ownership, Gruen continued producing watches until the mid 70’s, with offices in NYC. After poor management and financial instability took hold, the second wave of Gruen closed in 1976. Shockingly, the records of the brand pre-1958 were destroyed, which may have affected their collectability as Gruens are difficult to date and price. Gruen is a fascinating brand. Their history is very rich, albeit obscure. Though they produced their movements in Switzerland, they were a major US brand for a long time, one that produced some pretty excellent watches. Had it not been for mismanagement and a loss of records, Gruen would likely be alongside Bulova today. History of Rodania watch brand Rodania is a Swiss watch manufacturer.The company was established in 1930, in Grenchen,a town renowned for its watch- and clock making activities. In 1930 the Rodania brand was created in Grenchen, in the heart of the Swiss watch industry. It was from here that the brand started its conquest, step by step. Grenchen remained the epicenter of the Rodania activities for decades to come. In order to promote its export activities, two new distribution centers were established in the early fifties: one in Montreal and one in Brussels.In the mid seventies it was decided to organize the worldwide Rodania watch distribution from the Brussels sales office. Thus being in the heart of Europe, the distribution centre found its home in Wemmel, near Brussels. From here the Rodania watches find their way to every corner of the world.The growing success of the brand made continuous expansion of the Brussels sales and distribution center necessary. Moreover, in order to support its successful presence in France, a Lyon office was added to the Rodania company structure in 2001. Today, Rodania remains one of few independent Swiss brands. The brand has a retail presence in some 1000 outlets around the globe with a focus on the Low Countries and France, yet present in some 25 other countries,selling some 200000 watches annually. A Swiss Watch Brand with Belgium Heart Beat Switzerland and Belgium share two passions with the rest of the world: chocolate and Rodania watches. Despite the abundance of watchmakers on today’s market, Belgians are still very attached to this company which chose their small country as its second home. Rodania settled in Belgium over half a century ago in order to send off its watches throughout Europe and to other continents. A love story is behind Rodania’s ‘dual nationality’. Very attached to its native soil and its Swiss expertise, the brand which was founded in the canton of Bern in 1930 has had a Belgian heart since the 1950s. In this period, the company set up numerous distribution offices abroad. Its founder, Hans Baumgartner, decided to organise the worldwide distribution of the brand’s watches from the Brussels office! In 1955, he entrusted a young and dynamic manager with this responsibility. His name was Manfred Aebi. This Swiss national had the perfect reason to take on this challenge: he had found love and started a family in Belgium! The subsidiary quickly prospered thanks to his visionary ideas such as the sports advertising and marketing which he pioneered. In 1974, Manfred Aebi took over the ailing parent company and founded his own firm. Rodania’s headquarters and all the logistics business were then relocated to the outskirts of Brussels. The Aebi family ran the company until June 2007. The Belgian watch group which succeeded it took the name of ‘Montebi’: a contraction of the French word ‘montres’ (watches) and ‘Aebi’... Today the company has maintained its Swiss character through the quality and reliability of its products. ‘Concept’ development now takes place in Belgium and ‘technical’ development continues in Switzerland. This organisation brings benefits all round: the company draws adaptability, realism, inventiveness, and a desire for accessibility from its local presence. Using little Belgium as its base, Montebi coaches, develops, distributes and sends the Rodania collections all around the world... with the precision of a Swiss watch.The experience and expertise the company has acquired allow it to have a clear vision: the Canadian subsidiary founded in 1917 joined the group in 2012, while China and South East Asia also opened their huge markets. Rodania’s key figures: 1.500 points of sale including 600 in Belgium, 850 in France, 180 in Russia. The name ‘Montebi’ also stands for ‘montres et bijoux’ (watches and jewellery): the Belgian company is very active in these two areas. As well as holding a licence for Olivier Strelli and Kipling watches, it also distributes the watch brands Maurice Lacroix, Michel Herbelin and Timberland. In the jewellery department, Montebi designs and markets the ‘Nona’ silver and gold collections, the ‘Innocence’ jewellery line and ‘Bruce’ men’s collection with the same spirit of quality and accessibility. The Rodania brand has always been positioned as a watch that respects the essence of watch making. Nevertheless through the years, the brand proved to be contemporary and creative without following every volatile fashion trend. Striving for the best price for quality has always been a prime issue for the company. Timeline
A Short History of Ruhla Watches Germany 1945 – Allied Sectors With the end of the Second World War and the Soviet liberation of eastern Europe, the allied forces took administrative control of Germany. In Eastern Germany, Soviet forces remained and started to rebuild the economy and manufacturing. As a result, manufacturing plants and industries came under the control of the Soviet administration and thus the former clock and engine works of brothers Thiel GmbH Ruhla came under the control of the Soviet state enterprise Avtovelo. Avtovelo controlled several factories one of which was the BMW motorworks in Eisenach which later became the Wartburg Motor Works. The purpose of the Soviet administration was to identify what could be taken back to the USSR as reparations and also to re-establish industries to rebuild Eastern Germany. Avtovelo In 1952, the enterprise was transferred to the new East German State and became the VEB Clock and Engine works Ruhla – VEB, Volkseigener Betrieb (an enterprise owned by the people). This was the legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany. VEBs were publically owned and were routinely combined with other organisational units which were called Kombinaten. Later the works became the Uhren und Maschinenfabrik Ruhla – hence UMF seen on earlier watch dials. The Ruhla works developed clocks and instruments throughout the 1950s and 60s. For example, in cooperation with the Soviet aircraft maker Ilushin in the mid 1950s, VEB Ruhla developed calibres for use in aircraft in East Germany and the Soviet Union (Ilyshin 14) as well as electrical clocks, automatic controllers and such instruments as chess clocks as well as heavier machinery such as milling machines. Some early calibres developed by VEB Ruhla in the late 1940s, early 1950s proved difficult and to manufacture. Some of the parts required could not be made within the East German economy which meant sourcing these components from the west. This resulted in both economic and political difficulties. Firstly, in economic terms the foreign exchange costs involved were not sustainable and politically, East German production was meant to be free from capitalist interference which precluded sourcing materials or components from the west. In the early 1960s, as a response to this, Ruhla developed the caliber 24 design. The caliber 24 proved very successful and many variations were produced. Within a few years, production had reached 5 million units and virtually all materials and components were produced in-house. One of the watches that housed the caliber 24 was the BITUNIA 23. It was in 1967 that the Ruhla works became part of a combine (Kombinaten) along with other clock manufacturing plants in the Erfurt area such as Glaschutte and Weimar although each plant remained economically independent. Together, the kombinaten employed approximately 7,500 people. Around 60% of production at VEB Ruhla was exported to western countries. In the Federal Republic (West Germany) Ruhla watches were sold through department stores and catalogue companies. Ruhla also exported movements to be cased-up in the Far East. Catalogues were also popular in East Germany and the State department stores produced catalogues of goods from the 1950s onwards. Both Ruhla and Glashütte products were sold via this means. The success of these calibres and the high production volumes resulted in the automation of the assembly process at Ruhla in 1967. There were 87 mostly manual processes in the production of the calibre 24 movement and these were replaced by 38 fully automatic processes. Workers controlled the assembly from control panels. The chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic, Walter Ulbricht presented to representatives of the VEB Kombinat Ruhla the honorary plaque of the Central Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution on 27th October 1967. It was after 1967 that UMF was dropped from the dials of Ruhla watches and just Ruhla was used to brand products. In 1978 there was a further restructuring of the East German watch industry and Ruhla then became part of the Kombinat Mikroelektronik Erfurt. An electro-mechanical movement was developed , the caliber 25. This caliber was used not only in watches but also car dashboard clocks and alarm clocks. The technical developments made in the caliber 25 provided the East German watch industry with the prerequisites for developing quartz watches. The first quartz digital watches were put into production as the UMF 28-40 calibre. In this same year, East Germany entered the space race through the Soviet space programme. An electro-mechanical stop watch was tested during the first space mission undertaken by Sigmund Jähn of the East German Airforce aboard Soyuz 31 and 29 to and from the Salyut 6 space station in August/September 1978. Later, during the early 1980s, development work concentrated on quartz wrist watches and clockwork movements such as the UMF M 24 and quartz alarm movements; much of the production of which was destined for the East German domestic market. The East German Goverment took the view that LCD quartz watches would be the future for watch production. During its lifetime, the Ruhla clock works manufactured many hundreds of millions of clock movements of different calibres. Following the re-unification of Germany, the kombinaten was broken up and different enterprises developed. VEB Ruhla was converted to a limited company (GmbH) many staff were layed off or put on temporary contracts and by 1991, the factory ceased production. However, an engineer of the VEB Ruhla plant and two other colleagues bought the clock plant which became Gardé Ruhla and which still successfully manufactures quartz watches today. (c) 2012 https://ostalgieruhla.wordpress.com This limited edition, large sized, 1961 gentleman’s EternaMatic Centenaire Date was created, in relatively small numbers, to celebrate 105 years of the Eterna company. Eterna had originally released the Centenaire in 1956, and the concept proved successful, so further versions were produced in 1961 and 1971. It was an expensive model when new and Eterna used it as a marketing tool to display its remarkable watch making abilities. Interestingly, Eterna, through its movement supply division ETA, provided the base movements for many of the finest luxury watch brands in the world including IWC, Omega, Longines and even Rolex, but ironically, because of the company’s role as a low key wholesale supplier to the prestige houses, its own watches are often relatively unnoticed, making them something of a bargain on the vintage market. ETA eventually was bought out by the "SWATCH Group". Unquestionably, every collector should own an Eterna Automatic, simply as an example of the work of the company that invented the first ball bearing pivoted automatic winding rotor. This was a development that revolutionized the concept of the self winding watch. So significant was this breakthrough that Eterna has used the “five dots” symbol, representing the five ball bearings on which the rotor is pivoted, ever since. Much is made of the development of bearing mounted rotors, and a considerable amount of detail is included that will prove interesting to the collector. Eterna has always produced beautiful watches under its own name and is now, deservedly, coming once again to the forefront, with a new range of models inspired by its 1950s classics and relying heavily upon its involvement with the famous Kon-Tiki expedition of the same era. It has a large ( the watch has a width of 31mm and a length of 41mm) rectangular case body and case back. In common with almost all the top tier Swiss houses, while Eterna had the ability to produce its own movements entirely in-house, it relied on out-sourced cases that it purchased from external suppliers. The quality of this watch's housing is superb. The signature “Eterna-Matic, Centenaire, Swiss” is crisp and perfectly defined. The mechanical hand assembled, automatic movement is the famous 1438U, introduced in 1959. The movement is signed “Eterna-Matic, 21 Rubis, Brevete”, (the French word for “Patented”), which is a reference to the Eterna-U system of shock absorbance that debuted with this calibre. An appealing feature is its rapid running speed of 21600 half beats per minute. The more rapid the rate at which a movement runs, all else being equal, the more inherently accurate it tends to be. The downside of this is that it is technically challenging, and very costly, for a manufacturer to overcome problems with balance wheel inertia to create fast running calibres. This watch has a quality of movement that is the equal of any of those found in high quality vintage pieces, many of which have a much higher value. If assessed clinically and logically, every element that makes up a collectible timepiece is present here in abundance. Its case is exceptionally well built, its movement is a true “manufacture” item, genuinely produced in-house by Eterna with no out-sourced components whatsoever, and it is a rare model, offered originally as a limited edition to mark an anniversary in its maker’s history. The historical significance of this model, representing, as it does, an important landmark for one of the Swiss luxury watch industry’s most respected and highest quality makers, should not be underestimated. Limited edition watches by true “manufactures” ( the term given to those Swiss watch houses that are capable of manufacturing their entire movements in house with no out-sourced parts) are fiercely sought after now and continue to rise rapidly in price on the collector market.
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Old Time WatchesI enjoy collecting mechanical (manual wind and automatic) and early electric and quartz timepieces. I take great pleasure in researching and writing about the companies and people that created these beautiful watches. PF
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September 2018
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