West End Watch Company is a manufacturer of watches located at
Leytron (
Switzerland). It was established in 1886 and has been in business for more than 120 years.
The company has produced and distributed more than 15 million watches worldwide since 1886.
History
The West End Watch Company was created in 1886. The
West End
West End most commonly refers to:
* West End of London, an area of central London, England
* West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England
West End may also refer to:
Pl ...
, a district of the centre of London, inspired its name to M. Arnold Charpié who was the Bombay representative of the Alcide Droz & Sons firm, a watch company established at
Saint-Imier
Saint-Imier () is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois'').
The Observatoire Astronomique de Mont-Soleil is located ab ...
(
Canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
) in Switzerland.
In 1886, MM. Amstutz and Droz, the owner of Alcide Droz & Sons firm, began the exploitation of the trademark West End Watch Company in the Indian market and developed the first
waterproof pocket watch ever produced:
"L'Impermeable" (nowadays displayed at the International Watchmaking Museum of
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 ...
).
During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...
, a large force of British and Indian soldiers was sent from Bombay to the Persian Gulf to reach
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
(modern-day
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
). They received some West End Watch Company watches.
In 1917, the West End Watch Company changed its name to Société des Montres West End SA and was registered in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...
. At the same time the sub-brand ''Sowar'' was also registered.
In 1934, the Société des Montres West End SA was the first brand to introduce the
Incabloc
The Incabloc shock protection system is the trade name for a spring-loaded mounting system for the jewel bearings that support the balance wheel in a mechanical watch, to protect the wheel's delicate pivots from damage in the event of physical s ...
anti-shock system invented by Mr. Braunschweig.
In 1973, after several years of development, the company was finally sold, for lack of heirs, to its main supplier, Aubry Brothers Ltd, established in Noirmont (
Jura) to keep open the Bombay West End Watch Company's office.
Since 2000 the workshops and the head office of the company have been moved to
Leytron, in Wallis. At the same time, the company was taken over by new shareholders and the management changed.
In 2005, the West End Watch Company celebrated its 120th anniversary of uninterrupted presence in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
with the introduction of its "Silk Road concept". This concept came from the fact that the
Silk Road crossed most of the regions where the brand possessed, and still possesses, counters.
Nowadays, West End Watch Company is active in Saudi Arabia, in the United Arab Emirates, in the
Himalaya Range
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
(in particular in Tibet, Nepal and in Bhutan), as well as in the western half of China.
In 2011, West End Watch Company celebrated 125 years of uninterrupted activity, so a commemorative book redrawing the history of the brand was published in 2010 in association with the Centre Jurassien d’Archives et de Recherches Economiques.
At the beginning of the 20th century West End Watch Company launched a model called the Sowar -the cavalryman- named after one of the elite troops of the Indian army. This name was selected in honour of Sir Thomas Edward Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) because it is said that he and his soldiers wore West End Watch Company watches during the war. The Sowar model is still manufactured today.
Articles
*
Ella Maillart
Ella Maillart (or Ella K. Maillart; 20 February 1903, Geneva – 27 March 1997, Chandolin) was a Swiss adventurer, travel writer and photographer, as well as a sportswoman.
Early life
Ella Maillart was the second child, born to a wealthy fur ...
mentions the presence of West End Watch Company watches in Western China in the 1930s in her book ''Forbidden Journey - From Peking to Cashmir'' (on page 252) : "He introduces us a robust Turki with blond beard whose 'West End Watch chronometer' features an inscription in which
Aurel Stein
Sir Marc Aurel Stein,
( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...
expresses his thanks to Musa Ahoun, his interpreter."
References
{{Reflist
External links
Federation of the Swiss Watch IndustrySociété des Montres WEST END SA International Watchmaking Museum
Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland
Watch brands