Yema is a French

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 ...

making company that was founded and based in

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

History

1948 - Founding and Henry Louis Belmont

Henry Louis Belmont, a student of the National Watchmaking School of Besançon and major of his promotion in 1931, created 1948 his own watchmaking company under the name Yema.

1963 - Yema Superman collection

In 1963, the company launched their very first Yema Superman for divers. Many variations were produced by the company for this model of watch. File:Yema Superman.png, Yema Superman 1963 File:Yema Superman newspaper ad 1963 (2).jpg, Yema Superman 1963 File:Yema Superman newspaper ad 1963.jpg, Yema Superman 1963 File:Yema Superman ad 1960.jpg, Yema 1960 collection File:Yema Collection 1963.jpg, Yema collection 1963 File:Yema.jpg, Yema original logo File:Yema Usine 1961 Besançon.jpg, Yema factory, 1961 Besançon (France)

1966 - Yema Yachtingraf collection and Yema RallyGraf collection

In 1966, the first Yema Yachtingraf was launched, a watch especially designed for sailors. At the same time, the first Yema RallyGraf was launched. One Yema RallyGraf was even worn by Formula One Champion

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

. At the start of 1970, Yema became an official supplier of the French Sailing Federation (''Fédération Française de Yachting à Voile'') and equipped the French National team who participated in the 1972 Olympic Games. Six different versions of Yema Yachtingraf model were crafted over the years. File:Yema Yachtingraf 1970.jpg, Yema Yachtingraf 1970 File:Yema Yachtingraf Regate 1970.jpg, Yema Yachtingraf Regate 1970 File:Yema Yachtingraf Croisiere 1966.jpg, Yema Yachtingraf Croisiere 1966 File:Yema Yachtingraf 1967.png, Yema Yachtingraf 1967 File:Yema Yachtingraf patent.jpg, Yema Yachtingraf patent 1969 File:Yema Rallygraf 1966.jpg, Yema Rallygraf 1966 File:Yema Rallygraf ad 1970.jpg, Yema Rallygraf 1970

1982 - First French Watch in Space

On 24 June 1982, for the first time, a French astronaut,

Jean-Loup Chrétien Jean-Loup Jacques Marie Chrétien (born 20 August 1938) is a French retired ''Général de Brigade'' (brigadier general) in the ''Armée de l'Air'' (French air force), and a former CNES spationaut. He flew on two Franco-Soviet space missions a ...

, flew from the Baikonour base for a 10-day trip into space, wearing a Yema Spationaute I. On 17 June 1985, the Discovery shuttle took off with

Patrick Baudry Patrick Pierre Roger Baudry (born March 6, 1946 in Cameroon) is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the French Air Force and a former CNES astronaut. In 1985, he became the second French citizen in space, after Jean-Loup Chrétien, when he flew aboar ...

and his Yema Spationaute II on mission STS-51G (First Franco-American Orbital Flight). On 26 November 1988, Jean Loup Chrétien went on a mission to

MIR Space Station ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

wearing a Yema Spationaute III. Yema_Spacegraf_1982

1986 - North Pole Mission

In May 1986, Yema joined forces with French physician and explorer Jean-Louis Etienne to cross the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

1988 - Yema gets acquired by Seiko

In 1988, Yema was bought by

Seiko , commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced one of the first quartz watches and the ...

Watch Corporation of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

2004 - Yema gets acquired again

Later in 2004, Louis Eric Beckensteiner bought Yema.

2009 - Innovative watch movement and Yema gets acquired yet again

Yema designed a new proprietary watch movement: the MBP 1000. Equipped with a bidirectional oscillating mass mounted on ball bearings, they allowed a fast reassembly and a power reserve of 40 hours. This resulted in a gain of efficiency but also precision, provided by a regulator whose balance beats at a frequency of 28,800 alternations per hour. Stacking a total of 31 rubies including 2 located at the ends of the axis of the barrel, this technical design effectively reduced the friction generally observed at this element following the mechanical movements.Also, Yema was acquired by the French watchmaker group Montres Ambre, which was based in

Morteau Morteau () is a commune, in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, eastern France. 300px, The road of Doubs_(river).html"_;"title="Villers-le-Lac_(D215)_along_the_Doubs_(river)">Villers-le-Lac_(D215)_along_the_Doubs_(river) ...

2017 - Proxima Mission

The mission which the 10th French astronaut went into the space was called Proxima, in tribute to the nearest star from the sun, which continues the French tradition of naming the missions after a star or a constellation. In 2017, Yema and

CNES The (CNES; French: ''Centre national d'études spatiales'') is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is und ...

(the French Space Agency) worked together to create a new model in honour of this space mission, the Yema Spacegraf.

References

External links

Yema official website (English)

* ttp://www.lemonde.fr/vous/article/2008/04/26/a-60-ans-yema-s-offre-une-seconde-jeunesse_1038871_3238.html Press article (Le Monde) commemorating the 60th Yema anniversary (French)
Opinion article on Yema's history and 2017 new collection (French)

Overview of sailing regatta watches: Yema Yachtingraf (English)

Yema Yachtingraf - The Compendium (English)

The history of Yema explained by a vintage watches amateur (French)

Yema's history on Watch-Wiki (German)
__FORCETOC__ Watch brands Watch manufacturing companies of France Design companies established in 1948 French brands Manufacturing companies established in 1948 French companies established in 1948 {{France-company-stub