Halda Watch Company is a Swedish manufacturer of high-end watches. It was founded in 1887 by Henning Hammarlund in Svängsta.

History

Halda was founded in 1887 by the factory owner Henning Hammarlund (1857-1922) in order to primarily produce

pocket watch A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a watch, wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wr ...

es. Its name is formed by a contraction of the founder's surname -Hammarlund( a). The first pocket watches, called ''Haldauren,'' were sold in 1889. In 1893, they were rewarded two medals at the World Exhibition in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. In 1890, Halda also began to produce

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

s and

taximeter A taximeter or fare meter is a mechanical or electronic device installed in taxicabs and auto rickshaws that calculates passenger fares based on a combination of distance travelled and waiting time. Its shortened form, "taxi", is also a metony ...

s. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Hammarlund developed new techniques for the manufacturing of typewriters and taxi meters due to the decrease in demand for pocket watches. After financial problems, the pocket watch production was closed in 1917. From opening until closing, about 8,000 pocket watches were manufactured. In 1920 the company was split into AB Halda Fabriker, which manufactured the typewriters, and Fabriks AB Halda taximeter, which manufactured the meters for London cabs. Fabriks AB Halda is now called Haldex AB. Using their knowledge of taximeters the company created a series of trip computers for use in rallying. The Halda Speedpilot was called "a considerable advance upon anything of the kind previously marketed, as regards usefulness, compactness, mechanical simplicity (and hence reliability), simplicity of operation and price" by Autosport in 1956.Autosport: A Most Accurate Average Speed Computer
March 9, 1956 Production of pocket watches moved under the watchmaker Carl Borgström's housing, an employee of the Halda Fickursfabrik since 1904. He founded the company ''AB'' Urfabriken (ABU), and produced pocket watches until 1926 and then added in fishing equipment. ABU, now ABU-Garcia AB, is located in Svängsta. In 2009, Halda Watch Company was restarted by the watch entrepreneur and engineer Mikael Sandström who developed a new watch with an innovative concept of a time-platform and two interchangeable time-modules. Halda now produces around 300 watches per year. The first modern Halda Watch was developed with the Swedish astronaut

Christer Fuglesang Arne Christer Fuglesang (born 18 March 1957) is a Swedish physicist and an ESA astronaut. He was first launched aboard the STS-116 Space Shuttle mission on 10 December 2006, making him the first Swedish citizen in space. Married with three child ...

who tested the watch on his space mission,

STS-128 STS-128 ( ISS assembly flight 17A) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) that launched on August 28, 2009. carried the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module ''Leonardo'' as its primary payload. ''Leonardo'' contained ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.haldasweden.com/ Manufacturing companies of Sweden Watch manufacturing companies Manufacturing companies established in 1887 Typewriters Swedish brands Watch brands Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1993 Re-established companies Manufacturing companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in Sweden Swedish companies established in 1887 Swedish companies disestablished in 1993 Swedish companies established in 2009