Favre-Leuba 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
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...
of luxury
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 headquartered in
Zug
, neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri
, twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina)
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...
, Switzerland, and formerly a pioneer in watch design, manufacturing and distribution. The foundation of the brand was laid in 1737 when Abraham Favre was registered as a watchmaker, so it has been reported as the second-oldest watch
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
in Switzerland, after
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, Switze ...
(1735).
History
An archival document states that Abraham Favre was a watchmaker with his own workshop on 13 March 1737. It was his son, also by the name of Abraham Favre, who turned his father's passion into a business. In 1792 Abraham Favre, along with his two sons, Frederic & Henry-Louis, founded the company ''A.Favre & Fils'' in
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 ...
. From the very beginning Abraham Favre concentrated on improving the technology of his watches, their properties at different temperatures as well as the materials used in watchmaking, thus making more reliable and accurate
movements
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
.
Henry-Augustus, Frederic Favre's son and Abraham Favre's grandson, expanded this family business into distant
markets
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
* Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
* Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, a ...
. This fourth generation Favre member collaborated with Auguste Leuba, a member of a family of watchmakers & merchants, to create the brand name Favre-Leuba in 1815. They traveled together across various countries, from Germany to Russia, from Cuba to the United States, from Brazil to Chile and many more. The 19-year-old Henry-Augustus broadened this
family business
A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...
to the world market.
Fritz Favre, who married Adele-Fanny Leuba in 1855, took the business into many more countries across Europe, the Americas & Asia. He participated in various national and international exhibitions, such as the Universal Exhibition in London in 1851, the New York Fair in 1853, and also won many accolades for the brand. It was his children, part of the sixth generation of Favres, who worked towards strengthening the brand across various markets, especially when Europe was facing challenging times. India became a very important market for Favre-Leuba and this was the first Swiss company from the industry to have established itself in that country.
Henry A Favre, born in 1908, part of the seventh generation, continued to grow and develop the business by setting up offices and employing representatives across South America, Africa, the Middle-East, Far-East and European markets. He, along with his father & other predecessors from the sixth generation, was responsible for the launch of many iconic pieces as we know of today.
Around the year 1925, Favre-Leuba produced a single button
chronograph
A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand and a minute sub-dial; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive ...
and created the Reverso mechanism in 1940. It is under this team that the company made many distinguishing innovations, noteworthy being the FL101 movement manufactured in 1955. In 1957, they designed their
automatic calibers, FL103 & 104. The new FL251 caliber, an extra-flat, twin-barrel with a central second hand and a
power reserve
A power reserve indicator (originally called ) is a complication of the watch, which is designed to show the amount of remaining stored energy. The power reserve indicator indicates the tension on the mainspring at any particular moment.
Overvi ...
of 50 hours was launched in 1962.
In 1962, the hand winding wristwatch, Bivouac, which was the first ever
mechanical watch
A mechanical watch is a watch that uses a clockwork mechanism to measure the passage of time, as opposed to quartz watches which function using the vibration modes of a piezoelectric quartz tuning fork, or radio watches, which are quartz watches ...
with
altimeter
An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...
& aneroid barometer was launched. Paul-Emile Victor was one of the first to wear this piece during his
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
expedition while Michel Vaucher & Walter Bonatti used it while summiting the
Grandes Jorasses
The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy.
The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by Hor ...
in the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
.
1964 experienced another grand launch, one of the first ever
dive 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 resis ...
es, Deep Blue, water resistant up to 200m. It was this same distinguished team which was also responsible for the launch of the famous Bathy in 1968, the first mechanical watch that not only indicated the dive time and duration but also accurately measured the dive depth.
In 1968, Favre-Leuba added an
automatic winding
An automatic watch, also known as a self-winding watch or simply an automatic, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to wind the mainspring, making manual winding unnecessary if worn enough. It is distingui ...
to its innovative double-barrel calibers, making it one of the first brands to use this combination in series production. The new movements were available with or without calendar function.
Florian A Favre & Eric A Favre, sons of Henry A Favre along with Frederic A Favre, grandson of Fritz-Augustus Favre, represented the eight generation. They were the Board of Directors of Favre-Leuba, until the management of the company passed out of the hands of the family.
The
challenge brought about by the relatively inexpensive
quartz movement
Quartz clocks and quartz watches are timepieces that use an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks and watches are at least a ...
introduced in 1969 greatly increased competition for the company's comparatively expensive mechanical watches.
As a result, the family sold the company, which passed through different hands such as Benedom SA and
LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...
.
On 16 November 2011,
Titan Company Limited, the watch manufacturing company of the
Tata Group
The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
, acquired the brand Favre-Leuba.
In 2007, Favre-Leuba returned to the watch industry with the launch of three new models: The Mercury Collection.
After the subsequent sale to the Titan Group in 2011, they then released new collections of watches in 2016, their Raider and Chief Collections, led by their flagship model, the Raider Harpoon.
At
BaselWorld
Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show is a global trade show of the international watch, jewellery and gem industry, organized each spring in the city of Basel, Switzerland, at the Messeplatz.
The last Baselworld was held March 21–26, 2019. In ...
2017 they unveiled a new addition to Favre-Leuba's Raider Collection, The Raider Bivouac 9000. The only watch to measure altitude to 9000m mechanically, the Raider Bivouac 9000 was awarded the best watch in the New Star category by WatchStars. The 70 member jury comprising watch expert, journalists, collectors chose 35 watches and of this voted for the New Star 2018 winner.
In 2017, Favre-Leuba supported many athletes and explorers who hold true and express the brand claim, Conquering Frontiers. Arctic Mission led by Pen Hadow was one such association, wherein Pen Hadow - the explorer - and the brand, believe the need to show to the world the fragile environment that exists in the Central Arctic Ocean, particularly around the North Pole, so that the adequate measures can be formulated to protect this special geographic habitat.
Favre-Leuba also became a partner of Satyarup Siddhanta who is only the fifth Indian to have climbed the 7 summits, the last of which was with the Bivouac 9000 on his wrist as a valuable tool and guide. After the expedition Paul-Emile Victor completed in 1962 in the
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
with the Bivouac from that year, Favre-Leuba once again demonstrated the technical brilliance and utility of its tool watch in the same region nearly 55 years later with the latest Bivouac 900, a watch even more ingenious than its predecessor.
The brand today has also collaborated with Adrian Ballinger and Emily Harrington who are professional mountaineers and will be using the Raider Bivouac 9000 in their challenging expeditions in the year 2018. Ralph Weber, Nicolas Hojac, and Ricardo Feller are also three Swiss athletes, each a master in their chosen sport, who are partners of the brand for they demonstrate the conquering frontiers spirit with each of their ventures.
In Japan, Favre-Leuba ambassador Sayuri Kinoshita has broken the world record of a constant no fin dive while Taisuke Kusunoki represents the brand in the sport of free ride skiing.
2018 is a year that marks the 50th anniversary of the Bathy launched in 1968. This dive instrument was the first to display dive depth using a central hand. The brand pays homage to this namesake with the Raider Bathy 120 MemoDepth, which measures and displays depth down to 120m, more than double of the original Bathy.
On 20 May 2018, Adrian Ballinger and his team summited
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
with an instrument watch designed for such adventures, the Raider Bivouac 9000.
[{{Cite web, url=https://favre-leuba.com/collection/raider/bivouac-9000/, title=Favre-Leuba Raider Bivouac 9000 Watch, website=favre-leuba.com, language=en, access-date=2018-07-02] On top of the world, it proved to work perfectly, without letting the harsh weather and temperatures of -40 degrees and below affecting it. With this expedition, the Raider Bivouac 9000 created a new record as the only mechanical wrist watch equipped with an aneroid
barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
, to work perfectly on Mount Everest, the roof of the world.
Timeline
![Favre-Leuba alarm clock](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Favre-Leuba_alarm_clock.jpg)
*1925: Developed the single button
Chronograph
A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand and a minute sub-dial; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive ...
wristwatch
*1946: Developed an 18 carat, gold,
manual winding
A mechanical watch is a watch that uses a clockwork mechanism to measure the passage of time, as opposed to quartz watches which function using the vibration modes of a piezoelectric quartz tuning fork, or radio watches, which are quartz watches ...
wristwatch with triple calendar
*1955: Production of a gold
chronograph
A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand and a minute sub-dial; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive ...
watch with calendar, moon phase, 30-minute and 12-hour counters
*1955: Developed the FL 101 movement
*1956: Developed the Sea King and Sea Chief models
*1957: Launch of Datic wristwatches with FL 102 caliber and the Daymatic with
automatic calibers FL103 and FL104
*1960: Developed one of the first
dive 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 resis ...
es, Water Deep
*1962: Developed the FL251, extra thin (2.95mm), twin barrel calibre with 50-hour power reserve
*1962: Developed the Bivouac, first ever
altimeter
An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...
/
barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
wristwatch
*1964: Developed Deep Blue,
water resistant
Waterproofing is the process of making an object or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environme ...
to 200meters
*1965: FL251 twin power calibre developed and launch of Sea King model
*1966: Developed the first diving chronograph wristwatch
*1968: Development of the model Bathy, first ever wristwatch with depth or pressure gauge for divers
*1968: Automatic winding for double-barrel calibers
*1968: Developed the Harpoon watch model
*2016: The all new Raider Harpoon launches: a diver's watch with a patented display of time, 500m water resistant and with a
helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
valve
*2017: The 280th anniversary with the Raider Bivouac 9000, instrument for use at high altitudes
*2018: Raider Bivouac 9000 wins the Watchstars award in the category "New Stars" for being the best new watch in 2018
*2018: Favre-Leuba celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1968 superstar Bathy, with the Raider Bathy 120 MemoDepth, which measures and records depth to 120m
*2018: the Raider Bivouac 9000, reaches the summit of
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
. The Bivouac 9000 is the only mechanical altimeter watch in the world to have successfully reached the altitude of 8848m, fulfilling its design objective
References
External links
*Ariel Adams
Favre-Leuba Raider Harpoon Watch With Slick Way Of Showing The Timeablogtowatch.com FEB 13, 2017
Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland
1737 establishments in Europe
Diving accessory equipment
Swiss watch brands
Titan Company