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Horlogerie
(meaning " watchmaking manufacturer") is a French language term of horology that has also been adopted in the English language as a loanword. In horology, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form ''manufacture''. This term is used when describing a wrist watch movement or watchworks fabricator which makes all or most of the parts required for its products in its own production facilities, as opposed to simply assembling watches using parts purchased from other firms. Definition The ''Dictionnaire professionnel illustré de l'horlogerie'' (The Illustrated Professional Dictionary of the Watchmaking Industry) defines ''manufacture'' as follows: In the Swiss watch industry the term ''manufacture'' is used of a factory in which watches are manufactured almost completely, as distinct from an ''atelier de terminage'', which is concerned only with assembling, timing, fitting the hands and casing. The concept of ''manufacture'' in the Swiss watch making industry refers t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breguet (watch)
Breguet () is a Swiss watch, Swiss Luxury good, luxury watch, clock and jewelry manufacturer founded by Abraham-Louis Breguet in Paris in 1775. Headquartered in L'Abbaye, Switzerland, Breguet is one of the oldest surviving watchmaking brands and a pioneer of numerous watchmaking technologies such as the tourbillon, which was developed into a practical solution by Abraham Breguet in 1801. Abraham Breguet also invented and produced the world's first self-winding watch (the ''Perpétuelle'') in 1780, as well as the world's first wristwatch in 1810 (the Breguet No.2639, for Caroline Bonaparte, Kingdom of Naples (Napoleonic), Queen of Naples). Breguet is a highly regarded watch manufacturer. Over the years, notable Breguet patrons and timepiece owners include Emperor of the French Napoléon Bonaparte, King George III, Queen Victoria, Alexander I of Russia, Alexandre I of Russia, Ettore Bugatti, Sir Winston Churchill, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Gioachino Rossini, Arthur Rubinstein and so on. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Girard-Perregaux
Girard-Perregaux SA () is a luxury Swiss watch ''manufacture'' with its origins dating back to 1791. In 2022, then-owner French luxury group Kering sold its stake in Sowind Group SA, the parent company of Girard-Perregaux, via management buyout. Headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the company opened the Girard-Perregaux Museum near its headquarters in Villa Marguerite in 1999. It is best known for the historic Tourbillon with three gold bridges, which was awarded a gold medal at the 1889 International Exposition in Paris soon after the launch of the watch. Other notable models from the company include the collection 1966, Vintage 1945, and models such as Tri-Axial Tourbillon and Laureato, an icon inspired from the 1970s. History Early history In 1791, watchmaker and goldsmith Jean-François Bautte signed his first watches. He created a manufacturing company in Geneva, grouping for the first time ever all the watchmaking facets of that time. This included the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Watch Company
IWC International Watch Co. AG, founded International Watch Company, better known as IWC Schaffhausen, is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Originally founded in Switzerland by American watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones in 1868, the company was transferred to the Rauschenbach family in 1880 after bankruptcy and has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group since 2000. IWC is best known for its luxury pilot/aviation watches and for being a pioneer in the use of ceramic and titanium in watchmaking. In 2018, IWC was recognized by the WWF for its environmental efforts and received an "Ambitious" rating; placing first amongst fifteen other Swiss watchmakers. History Creation In 1868, American engineer and watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones (1841–1916), who had been a director of E. Howard & Co., in Boston founded the International Watch Company.Watches from IWC, at page 9. He planned to assemble watches in Switzerland and import th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet Holding SA () is a Swiss manufacturer of luxury good, luxury watches, headquartered in Le Brassus, Switzerland. The company was founded by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in the Vallée de Joux in 1875, acquiring the name ''Audemars Piguet & Cie'' in 1881. The company has been family-owned since its founding. The company is best known for introducing the Royal Oak wristwatch in 1972, which helped the brand rise to prominence within the watchmaking industry. One of its earlier achievements was creating the first Repeater (horology), minute-repeating Movement (clockwork), movement in 1892. The company developed the first skeleton watch in 1934 and has manufactured some of the thinnest watches, such as the 1986 ultra-thin Automatic watch, automatic tourbillon wristwatch (Calibre 2870). History Early history Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet knew each other in their childhood but were not reconnected until 1874, when they were in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cartier (jeweler)
Cartier International SNC, or simply Cartier ( , ), is a French luxury-goods conglomerate that designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells jewelry, watches, leather goods, sunglasses and eyeglasses. Founded by Louis-François Cartier (1819–1904) in Paris in 1847, the company remained under family control until 1964. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and is currently a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group, a global luxury giant. Cartier operates more than 200 stores in 125 countries, with three Temples (Historical Maisons) in Paris, London, and New York City. Cartier is regarded as one of the most prestigious luxury-goods manufacturers. ''Forbes'' ranked Cartier on its Most Valuable Brands list as 56th in 2020, with a brand value of $12.2 B and revenue of $6.2 B. Cartier has a long history of sales to royalty. King Edward VII referred to Cartier as "the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers". For his coronation in 1902, Edward VII ordered 27 tiaras an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply Jaeger-LeCoultre (), is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Richemont. Jaeger-LeCoultre is regarded as a top-tier Richemont brand. It has hundreds of inventions, patents, and more than one thousand Movement (clockwork), movements to its name, including the world's smallest movement, one of the world's most complicated wristwatches (Grande Complication), and a timepiece of Perpetual motion, near-perpetual movement (the ''Atmos clock''). Watch enthusiasts refer to the brand as the watchmaker's watchmaker. History Early history The earliest records of the LeCoultre family in Switzerland date from the 16th century, when Pierre LeCoultre (circa 1530 – circa 1600), a French Huguenot, fled to Geneva from Lizy-sur-Ourcq, France to escape religious persecution. In 1558, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chopard
Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A., commonly known as Chopard (), is a Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories. Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland, Chopard has been owned by the Scheufele family of Germany since 1963. Chopard is best known for making high-quality Swiss watches and jewellery, and its clients have included Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The company is headquartered in Geneva and has a site in Fleurier, Canton of Neuchâtel, that manufactures watch movements. History Early history The company founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard, was a Swiss watchmaker who grew up in Sonvilier, a town in Swiss Jura. In 1860, he established his L.U.C. manufacturing company in Sonvilier, having observed that it was more profitable to market a finished watch than to just make the mechanical movement. After Louis-Ulysse's death in 1915, the company was taken over by his son Paul-Louis and grandson Paul-André. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watchmaker
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] |
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] |
Frédérique Constant
Frédérique Constant SA is a Swiss manufacture d'horlogerie, ''manufacture'' of luxury good, luxury wristwatches based in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva. Originally established in 1988 by Dutch people, Dutch married couple Peter Stas and Aletta Stas-Bax, it was acquired in 2016 by Citizen Holdings of Tokyo, Japan. Before the sale to Citizen, Frédérique Constant S.A. (corporation), SA was owned by Union Horlogère Holding Besloten vennootschap, B.V., which also owned Alpina Watches and Ateliers deMonaco. These companies have together been referred to as the Frederique Constant Group. The brand's logo represents the Stas family crest. History The company was founded in 1988 by Dutch couple Aletta Stas-Bax, Aletta Francoise Frédérique Stas-Bax and Peter Constant Stas. The name originates from its founders great-grandparents, Frédérique Schreiner (1881–1969) and Constant Stas (1880–1967), the latter of whom founded a company producing watch dials in 1904. Later, the company wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bianchet
Bianchet is a Swiss luxury watchmaking company known for creating tonneau-shaped tourbillon watches. Overview Bianchet was founded by husband and wife Rodolfo Festa Bianchet and Emmanuelle Festa Bianchet in 2017 when Rodolfo was a successful entrepreneur in the Fintech sector, and Emmanuelle Festa Bianchet was a journalist and artist. Bianchet is the first watchmaking company to have developed its entire watch movement architecture and watch cases using the golden ratio of 1.618 and the Fibonacci sequence as a design basis. It is also the first company to have developed a tonneau-shaped watch in carbon capable of resisting a pressure of 10ATM or 100 meters of water depth, for which the company uses a proprietary high-density carbon composite infused with titanium dust. Bianchet pioneered the integration of a full-carbon bracelet into a tonneau-shaped watch with the UltraFino Carbon. After founding the company in 2017, Bianchet presented its prototype at Baselworld in 2019. Two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horology
Chronometry or horology () is the science studying the measurement of time and timekeeping. Chronometry enables the establishment of standard measurements of time, which have applications in a broad range of social and scientific areas. ''Horology'' usually refers specifically to the study of mechanical timekeeping devices, while ''chronometry'' is broader in scope, also including biological behaviours with respect to time (biochronometry), as well as the dating of geological material (geochronometry). Horology is commonly used specifically with reference to the mechanical instruments created to keep time: clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, Water clock, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clocks are all examples of Measuring instrument, instruments used to measure time. People interested in horology are called ''horologists''. That term is used both by people who deal professionally with timekeeping apparatuses, as well as enthus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
