Roamer is a Swiss manufacturer of

luxury watch 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, now based in Wallbach, Switzerland.

History

Roamer was founded by Fritz Meyer in

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...

, Switzerland, in 1888. The company originally concentrated on manufacturing

cylinder escapement An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy to ...

s,. Within only seven years, the company grew to sixty employees and started producing complete watches. In 1895, the company developed its first own calibre and named it "Number 38" to commemorate Meyer's 38th birthday. In 1905, Meyer joined fellow watchmaker Johann Studeli to form the partnership Meyer and Studeli (MST). In the same year, Meyer won a bronze medal at the Liège World Fair. The partnership continued to develop new calibres and enter them into more world fairs, winning silver medals at the Milan Fair in 1906 and Brussels Fair in 1910. The earliest identified watch is an unmarked lady's pocket watch containing an MST 41 cylinder escapement that has London silver hallmarks for 1908. In 1917 they purchased fellow Solothurn watchmaker L Tieche Gammeter (LTG). LTG had previously registered the brand "Roamer" in 1908. In 1918 the partnership incorporated Meyer & Studeli SA into the company. By 1923, production grew to one million units. The jewelled lever-escapement watches were sold under the brand "Roamer". Cylinder, and later pin-lever, watches were sold under the brands Medana and Meda. In 1932 the company started its own dial production line. In 1945, a representative office opened in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and in 1952 Meyer and Studeli officially changed its name to Roamer Watch Co. SA. In 1955, Roamer patented the Anfibio watertight watchcase, which proved to be a commercial success. The company launched its first

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

movement in 1972. In 2003, Roamer returned to manufacturing mechanical watches. In 2013, its 125th year, Roamer launched a limited new edition of the Stingray Chrono Diver watch. Roamer is a member of the

Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) is the Swiss watch industry's leading trade association, headquartered in Bienne, Switzerland. The Federation is a private, professional and non-profit association. The Federation of the Swiss Watc ...

Product lines

*Anfibio. *Classic *Cralinee *Elements *Galaxy *Jubilé *Limelight *Mechaline *Monza *Mustang *Osiris *Popular *Premier *Rockshell *Rotodate *Saturn *Searock *Soleure *Sonata *Stingray *Superior *Superking *Vanguard *Viscount

References

Other Resources

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watchcarefully.com

Vintage Roamer Watch Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roamer (Watchmaker) Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland Swiss watch brands Manufacturing companies established in 1888 Privately held companies of Switzerland Design companies established in 1888 Swiss companies established in 1888