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ETA SA
ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse (ETA SA Swiss Watch Manufacturer) designs and manufactures quartz watches and both hand-wound and automatic-winding mechanical and movements. Commonly referred to as ETA, the company is headquartered in Grenchen, Switzerland, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Swatch Group. Though ETA was founded by Eterna in 1856 some part of its production line can be traced back to the 1793 founding of Fabriques d’Horlogerie de Fontainemelon (FHF) by David Benguerel, Isaac Benguerel, François Humbert-Droz and Julien Humbert-Droz. Through a series of mergers, ETA has become the largest manufacturer of Swiss watch movements and controls a virtual monopoly over their production and supply. ETA has undergone several Swiss government investigations due to its market position. To resolve the concerns of Swiss government regulators, ETA has entered into an agreement that governs certain business practices. Description ETA designs and manufactures mecha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Privately Held Company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equity, company's stock is offered, owned, traded or exchanged privately, also known as "over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter". Related terms are unlisted organisation, unquoted company and private equity. Private companies are often less well-known than their public company, publicly traded counterparts but still have major importance in the world's economy. For example, in 2008, the 441 list of largest private non-governmental companies by revenue, largest private companies in the United States accounted for $1.8 trillion in revenues and employed 6.2 million people, according to ''Forbes''. In general, all companies that are not owned by the government are classified as private enterprises. This definition encompasses both publ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronograph
A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has hour and minute hands on the main dial to tell the time, a small seconds hand to tell that the watch is running, and a seconds hand on the main dial usually equipped with a sweeping movement for precision accompanied by a minutes sub dial for the stopwatch. Another sub dial to measure the hours of the stopwatch may also be included on a chronograph. The stopwatch can be started, stopped, and reset to zero at any time by the user by operating pushers usually placed adjacent to the crown. More complex chronographs often use additional complications and can have multiple sub-dials to measure more aspects of the stopwatch such as fractions of a second as well as other helpful things such as the moon phase and the local 24-hour time. In addition, many modern chronographs include tachymeters on the bezels for rapid calculations of speed or distance. Louis M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breitling SA
Breitling SA () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1884 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, by Léon Breitling. The company is known for its precision-made chronometers designed for aviators and is based in Grenchen, Switzerland. The company is currently owned by Partners Group. History Breitling SA was founded in Saint-Imier by Léon Breitling in 1884. When Breitling died in 1914, the business passed to his son, Gaston, and then to his grandson, Willy, in 1935. Willy's children, however, were not interested in pursuing the family business, so the Breitling factory in La Chaux de Fonds closed in December 1978. Willy, already in poor health, died in May 1979. Ernst Schneider bought the Breitling name from the founding family in 1979. Schneider was owner of the Sicura Company in Grenchen. Production of Breitling watches moved to the Sicura factory, which later changed its name to ''Montres Breitling AG'' and then to ''Breitling AG'' in 1994. The Schneider family retained own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
COSC
The Contrôle officiel suisse des Chronomètres (COSC), the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, is the institute responsible for certifying the accuracy and precision of Swiss watches. Background Founded in its current form in 1973, the COSC is a Swiss non-profit organization that tests chronometers that are Swiss Made. ''COSC'' is an acronym for the organization's French language name, Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres. COSC testing generally applies to watches manufactured or assembled in Switzerland. Notwithstanding, the normative standards are set by international agreement and are the same whether they are nominally labeled ISO or DIN standards. Some German, Japanese, and even non-certified Swiss movements can surpass the normative requirements. The Japanese have largely abandoned the accolade, replacing it with in-house testing to a slightly more strict standard as with, for example, the Grand Seiko. On the other hand, the Germans have set up their ow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Société De Microélectronique Et D'Horlogerie
Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie was the name of the holding company created by the merger enforced by the Swiss Banks in 1983 of the SSIH and ASUAG, renamed The Swatch Group in 1998. Ernst Thomke, previously CEO of Ebauches SA and ETA SA, was appointed to head the newly established conglomerate as its first CEO. He held his position until 1991. When he resigned, the newly elected President of the Board, Nicolas G. Hayek, had already managed to become the only person of reference. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Societe de Microelectronique et d'Horlogerie Defunct watchmaking companies Companies established in 1983 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernst Thomke
Ernst Thomke (born 21 April 1939) is a Swiss physicist and watchmaker. Training first as a mechanic, he later acquired the Swiss federal maturity degree and pursued academic studies whilst in employment. Early life and education Thomke was born in Biel/Bienne in the canton of Bern, on the Franco-German linguistic border. He completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic at the factory of ETA SA in Grenchen, canton of Solothurn. Between 1961 and 1967, he studied natural sciences, mainly chemistry at the University of Bern and University of Lausanne. He then pursued medical studies in Bern while working full-time. He was promoted to doctor in 1975. He completed his education with management studies and marketing at the INSEAD, Fontainebleau. He worked in research from 1970 to 1977 for the British pharmaceutical group Beecham Group, Beecham, mainly at their Swiss laboratories, but also at the pharmacological institute of Gothenburg, Sweden. He was appointed head of marketing and region ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Watch Co
General Watch Co. (GWC) was the watch companies holding of ASUAG. History ASUAG had been founded in 1931, with the assistance of the Swiss government and the Swiss banks, to combat the severe economic crisis and ensuing unemployment by means of refinancing (thus eliminate the deadly "dumping for survival" murderous competition within the still somewhat "cottage industry"-like status of a majority of the movements and parts thereof supplying companies) and complementary research and development programs in their respective companies. Its mandate was to maintain, improve and develop the Swiss watch industry. ASUAG also expanded gradually through the purchase of ebauches manufactures (movement blanks), movement parts manufactures (e.g. balance wheels, assortments, rubies) and a number of assemblers and manufacturers of complete watches, that were subsequently brought together under the subsidiary “GWC General Watch Co. Ltd.” (This company was formed in 1971 and should not b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ASUAG
Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG; French: ''Société Générale de l'Horlogerie Suisse SA'') was the former biggest Swiss Watch Industry Group that had been created with the assistance of the Swiss Government and the Swiss Banks, as an answer to the crisis caused by the Great Depression, in 1931. In 1983, ASUAG and SSIH were forced by the Swiss Banks to merge into Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie was the name of the holding company created by the merger enforced by the Swiss Banks in 1983 of the SSIH and ASUAG, renamed The Swatch Group in 1998. Ernst Thomke, previously CEO of Ebauches SA and ... (SMH), which now has been renamed Swatch Group. ASUAG grouped most of the movement parts & Ebauches manufacturers on one side, and through its sub-holding General Watch Co (GWC); many watch brands on the other side. Most of those companies are still active, integrated into the new conglomerate. During ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tissot
Tissot SA () is a Swiss luxury watch brand owned by the Swatch Group. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. Tissot is not associated with Mathey-Tissot, another Swiss watchmaking firm. History Independent company Tissot was founded in 1853 by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son Charles-Émile Tissot in the Swiss city of Le Locle, in the Neuchâtel canton of the Jura Mountains area. The father and son team worked as a casemaker (Charles-Félicien Tissot) and watchmaker (Charles-Emile). His son having expressed an interest in watchmaking from a young age. The two turned their house at the time into a small 'factory'. Charles-Emile Tissot left for Russia in 1858 and succeeded in selling their savonnette pocket watches across the Russian Empire. Russia became Tissot's greatest market, with the brand gaining popularity even in the Tsar's court; so Charles Tissot, Charles-Émile's son, moved to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
