Armin Strom AG was founded in 2006 by master watchmaker Armin Strom and his son and former Omega director Daniel Strom. The elder Strom’s watchmaking career began much earlier in 1967 when he first opened a workshop in Burgdorf, Switzerland. Strom specialized in skeleton watches, which he first exhibited in the 1980s. By 2001, the …
Oris SA was founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christia in 1904 in the Swiss town of Hölstein, where the company is still based. The company name was named after a nearby brook, and started life as a manufacturer of pocket watches. In response to the growing wristwatch market, Oris began producing leather straps in …
CVSTOS is a Meyrin-based Swiss watch manufacturer founded by Sassoun Sirmakes and Antonio Terranova in 2005. The brand name “Custos” is Latin for “guardian”. If the names of the two founders don’t immediately ring a bell, their pedigree certainly will. Sirmakes is the son of Vartan Sirmakes, co-owner of the Franck Muller Watchland Group, and …
Certina was founded in 1888 by Adolf and Alfred Kurth in Grenchen, Switzerland. Originally a movement and supplies factory, Certina did not start producing complete watches until several years later. Their first brand name was Grana, named after the Latin name of Grenchen. The name Certina first came into use in the 1930s, and was …
Audemars Piguet Holding SA was founded in 1875 by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in the Vallée de Joux. The name Audemars Piguet & Cie was acquired in 1881, and today the company is based in Le Brassus, Switzerland and still owned by the family. Before being known as the company that makes …
Universal Genève SA was founded in 1894 as Universal Watch by horology students Ulysse Perret and Numa-Emile Descombes. Originally based in Le Locle, Universal was relocated to Geneva in 1919 by Perret, where their headquarters resides to this day. World’s First Chronograph and Recent History Universal Genève is credited with creating the world’s first chronograph …
Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A. was founded in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz, and is based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Originally named Raiguel Jeune & Cie, the Longines name was adopted in 1867 after the company established its first factory in Les Longines (“long meadows”). Longines’ flying hourglass logo is the oldest unchanged active trademark registered …
IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer that was founded by American watchmaker and entrepreneur Florentine Ariosto Jones in 1868. Originally known as the International Watch Company, the company was transferred to the Rauschenbach family in 1880. Since 2000, IWC has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group which also owns other high …
The Richard Mille brand was first developed in 1999 by Richard Mille in a partnership with Montres Valgine and Audemars Piguet, with the RM 001 Tourbillon introduced to the world at Baselworld in 2001. The Swiss brand is well known for their nontraditional marketing and is often described as “” racing machine on the wrist,” …
Breitling SA was founded in 1884 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, by watchmaker and businessman Léon Breitling. The business was later run by Bretling’s son Gaston, and grandson Willy, before the Breitling name was purchased by Ernst Schneider of the Sicura Company in 1979 during the midst of the quartz crisis. Breitling is currently based in Grenchen, …