Cyma SA is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

manufacturer of

luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...

wristwatch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

es, founded by brothers Joseph and Theodore Schwob in 1862. By 1908, Cyma was advertising the resilience of their timepieces when exposed to electricity, magnetism and varying temperatures. The company is currently owned by Stelux International, Ltd. a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

-based holdings firm which invests primarily in fine jewellery and watches, and is overseen by fellow '' Fédération de L'industrie Horlogère Suisse'' member

Universal Genève Universal Genève SA is a Swiss Made, Swiss Luxury goods, luxury watch company, founded in 1894 as Universal Watch. Since its beginnings, the company has produced complete watches with in-house movements, and throughout the 20th century, distribut ...

History

The Schwob brothers named the company ''

cyma Cyma may refer to either: * An S-shaped decorative molding, used in the cymatium of Greek architecture * CYMA – Canadian Youth Mission to Armenia, a Canadian-run humanitarian program * CYMA (software), accounting packages * Cyma Watches, a Swiss ...

'', a Latin word meaning "sprout", and the origin of the French "cime" or

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

. In early years, the company had a staff of 40 people and 55 machines that together produced about 40 watches a day. However, it was not until 1892 in which the brothers partnered with Frédéric Henri Sandoz, the owner of the watch wholesale company, ''Henri Sandoz et Cie'', that the business expanded. Under Sandoz's leadership, the company became the Cyma Watch Company and built the Cyma factory in

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...

, Switzerland in the

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...

, near

Le Locle Le Locle (; german: Luggli) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is the third smallest city in Switz ...

. Both towns had been the center of the Swiss watchmaking industry during the 19th century. The company is currently located in Le Locle and is provincially managed by Claude and Françoise Guilgot. On 9 September 2010, Cyma SA and E-Watch organised an event in Yverdon to launch their new brand collection: Myriad.

Price and value

Cyma watches from the 1950s retailed between approximately $400 and $25,000 (figures adjusted to 2010 inflation).

References

{{Reflist Manufacturing companies established in 1862 Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland Swiss watch brands Luxury brands High fashion brands Swiss companies established in 1862