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Blancpain
Blancpain SA () is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, headquartered in Paudex/Le Brassus, Switzerland. It designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells prestige and luxury mechanical watches. Founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, Switzerland in 1735, Blancpain is the oldest registered watch brand in the world. Blancpain has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group since 1992, and is regarded as a top-tier watch brand. It is best known for its Fifty Fathoms diving watch introduced in 1953 (disputed claim ), and its 1735 Grand complication wristwatch, introduced in 1991. History Early history Jehan-Jacques Blancpain started making watches in 1735 in Villeret, Switzerland. He founded the Blancpain brand, setting up his first workshop on the upper floor of his house at Villeret, in the present-day Bernese Jura. This part of the history is disputed. According to Perezcope, there is no evidence that Jehan-Jacques Blancpain and the following two generations were wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betty Fiechter
Betty Fiechter, born Berthe-Marie Fiechter (April 29, 1896 – September 14, 1971) was a Swiss businesswoman. She was known for her tenure as director of luxury watch manufacturer Blancpain. Life Early life and career beginnings Fietcher was born to Jacob and Mary Fietcher in Villeret, Switzerland on April 29, 1896. Her father owned a watch movement company, which sparked Fietcher's interest in watches. Fiechter first joined Blancpain as an apprentice in 1912 as part of her trade school curriculum. Two years later, Blancpain purchased her father's company and Fiechter joined full-time. The company had been owned by the same family since its founding in 1735 and Fiechter grew close to the owner, Frédéric-Emile Blancpain. During World War I, Fiechter volunteered as a nurse in Saint-Imier, where she met Andre Léal. Léal would go on to work at Blancpain as a salesman. She continued to work at Blancpain during this time and became assistant to the company's owner in 1915, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swatch Group
The Swatch Group Ltd is a Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewellery. The company was founded in 1983 through the merger of ASUAG and SSIH, moving to manufacturing quartz-crystal watches to resolve the quartz crisis threatening the traditional Swiss watchmaking industry. The Swatch Group is the largest watch company in the world and employs about 31,000 people in 50 countries. The group owns the Swatch product line and other luxury brands, including Blancpain, Breguet, Certina, ETA, Glashütte Original, Hamilton, Harry Winston, Longines, Mido, Omega, Rado, and Tissot. History SSIH SSIH (Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère), originated in 1930 with the merger of the Omega and Tissot companies. Swiss watch quality was high, but new technology, such as the Hamilton Electric watch introduced in 1957 and the Bulova Accutron tuning fork watch in 1961, presaged increasing technological competition. In the late 1970s, SSIH became insolvent due in part to a reces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Swatch Group
The Swatch Group Ltd is a Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewellery. The company was founded in 1983 through the merger of Allgemeine Gesellschaft der Schweizerischen Uhrenindustrie, ASUAG and Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère, SSIH, moving to manufacturing Quartz clock, quartz-crystal watches to resolve the quartz crisis threatening the traditional Swiss watchmaking industry. The Swatch Group is the largest watch company in the world and employs about 31,000 people in 50 countries. The group owns the Swatch product line and other luxury brands, including Blancpain, Breguet (brand), Breguet, Certina, ETA SA, ETA, Glashütte Original, Hamilton Watch Company, Hamilton, Harry Winston, Inc., Harry Winston, Longines, Mido (watch), Mido, Omega SA, Omega, Rado (watchmaker), Rado, and Tissot. History SSIH SSIH (Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère), originated in 1930 with the merger of the Omega SA, Omega and Tissot companies. Swiss watch quality was high, but ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diving Watch
A diving watch, also commonly referred to as a diver's or dive watch, is a watch designed for underwater diving that features, as a minimum, a water resistance greater than , the equivalent of . The typical diver's watch will have a water resistance of around , though modern technology allows the creation of diving watches that can go much deeper. A true contemporary diver's watch is in accordance with the ISO 6425 standard, which defines test standards and features for watches suitable for diving with underwater breathing apparatus in depths of or more. Watches conforming to ISO 6425 are marked with the word DIVER'S to distinguish ISO 6425 conformant diving watches from watches that might not be suitable for actual scuba diving. To a large extent the diver's watch has been superseded by the personal dive computer, which provides an automatically initiated dive timer function along with real-time decompression computation and other (optional) functions. History The history of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jehan-Jacques Blancpain
Jehan-Jacques Blancpain (born 1693) was a Swiss business magnate, industrialist at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Blancpain is a notable figure in the history of watchmaking, who created the Blancpain in 1735 (the oldest registered watch brand in the world), in the town of Villeret, Switzerland, Villeret, of which he was mayor. References Swiss watchmakers (people) 1693 births Year of death missing {{Switzerland-business-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wristwatch
A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of bracelet, including metal bands or leather straps. A pocket watch is carried in a pocket, often attached to a chain. A stopwatch is a type of watch that measures intervals of time. During most of their history, beginning in the 16th century, watches were mechanical devices, driven by clockwork, powered by winding a mainspring, and keeping time with an oscillating balance wheel. These are known as '' mechanical watches''. In the 1960s the electronic ''quartz watch'' was invented, powered by a battery and keeping time with a vibrating quartz crystal. By the 1980s it had taken over most of the watch market, in what became known as the quartz revolution (or the quartz crisis in Switzerland, whose renowned watch industry it decimate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Complication
In horology, a complication is any feature of a timepiece beyond the display of hours, minutes and seconds. A timepiece indicating only hours, minutes and seconds is known as a simple movement. Common complications include date or day-of-the-week indicators, alarms, chronographs (stopwatches), and automatic winding mechanisms. Complications may be found in any clock, but they are most notable in mechanical watches where the small size makes them difficult to design and assemble. A typical date-display chronograph may have up to 250 parts, while a particularly complex watch may have a thousand or more parts. Watches with several complications are referred to as ''grandes complications.'' Types Timing * Chronograph, with a second hand that can be stopped and started to function as a stopwatch. ** Double chronograph or ''rattrapante'', multiple second hands for split-second, lap timing or timing multiple events ** Flyback chronograph, allowing rapid reset of the chronograph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watch
A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of bracelet, including metal bands or leather straps. A pocket watch is carried in a pocket, often attached to a chain. A stopwatch is a type of watch that measures intervals of time. During most of their history, beginning in the 16th century, watches were mechanical devices, driven by clockwork, powered by winding a mainspring, and keeping time with an oscillating balance wheel. These are known as '' mechanical watches''. In the 1960s the electronic ''quartz watch'' was invented, powered by a battery and keeping time with a vibrating quartz crystal. By the 1980s it had taken over most of the watch market, in what became known as the quartz revolution (or the quartz crisis in Switzerland, whose renowned watch industry it decima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omega SA
Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''Louis Brandt et Fils'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ''Louis Brandt et Frère-Omega Watch & Co.'' In 1984, the company officially changed its name to ''Omega SA'' and opened its museum in Biel/Bienne to the public. Omega is a subsidiary of the Swatch Group. Britain's Royal Flying Corps used Omega watches in 1917 for its combat units, followed by the U.S. Army in 1918, and NASA in 1969 for Apollo 11. The Omega Speedmaster, Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is marketed as the first watch worn on the Moon, becoming one of the watchmaker's most iconic models. Omega is the current official timekeeper of the Olympic Games, Olympics, having first done so in 1932 Summer Olympics, 1932, in addition to being the timekeeper of the America's Cup yacht race. History Early history In 1848, Louis Brandt fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watchmaking
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their parts, by hand. Modern watchmakers, when required to repair older watches, for which replacement parts may not be available, must have fabrication skills, and can typically manufacture replacements for many of the parts found in a watch. The term clockmaker refers to an equivalent occupation specializing in clocks. Most practising professional watchmakers service current or recent production watches. They seldom fabricate replacement parts. Instead they obtain and fit factory spare parts applicable to the watch brand being serviced. The majority of modern watchmakers, particularly in Switzerland and other countries in Europe, work directly for the watchmaking industry and may have completed a formal watchmaking degree at a technical school ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
