Adria and Adriatica are parent Swiss watch brands manufacturing for Eastern European markets.

Origin

The name originates from the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

city of Atria (or

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

) that also gave its name at a much earlier period to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. It is believed that the name dates from 1931 or earlier.

History

The history of Adria and Adriatica as watch

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

s is closely associated with the Belle Époque period through the Montilier Watch Co, established in 1852 in Montilier, close to Morat/

Murten Murten (German) or Morat (French, ; frp, Morât ) is a bilingual municipality and a city in the See district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is located on the southern shores of Lake Morat (also known as Lake Murten). Morat is si ...

, at the foot of the

Watch Valley The "Watch Valley" covers all the Swiss Jura Arc, from Geneva to Basel, and is the primary location of the Swiss watch-making industry. Beginning initially in 15th century Geneva, the cradle of the European time keeping industry, and spreading nor ...

, Switzerland. The brands were dormant from the start of

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 opposing ...

until 1949. From 1962 two associated watch companies, established in

Biel/Bienne , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) ...

and

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, took over the manufacturing and marketing of Adria and Adriatica watches in partnership, designing mainly classical round pink gold-plated ladies’ and some gentlemen's models, and a special model called "Adriatica World Champion". Both brands, especially Adriatica, flourished in the

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n countries, and also, especially, in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Adriatica watches started being increasingly imported discreetly into

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

by seafaring people and being distributed there and in many of the non-communist countries, becoming established in the Eastern part of Europe. In 1989, foreseeing the opening of trade, a family which owned the company {{As of, 2013, lc=on—took over the brands and developed them as manufacturers and distributors. Adriatica watches have always been Swiss made. Since 1998 they were manufactured by their own company, PR & A Watch Sagl, in

Dongio Dongio is a village and former municipality in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It was first recorded in year 1188 as ''Deuci''. The municipality also contained the villages Marogno and Motto. It had 532 inhabitants in 1682, which decreased t ...

, in the watchmaking area of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Adriatica is a full 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 ...

External links

Adriatica Swiss Watches Official WebsiteLuxury Watch Reviews, News, Blogs & GuidesКаталог наручных часов Adriatica
Manufacturing companies established in 1852 Swiss companies established in 1852 Swiss watch brands Belle Époque