Yema was founded in 1948 by Henry Louis Belmont in Besançon, France. The French brand has had a focus on motorsports, diving, sailing, and space exploration since its inception. Richard Mille was responsible for international development of the brand in the 1980s and had helped develop two watches associated with North Pole expeditions, before Yema …
Bianchet was founded in 2017 by the husband and wife team of Rodolfo Festa Bianchet and Emmanuelle Festa Bianchet. Based in Switzerland, the brand is known for being the first watchmaking company to base their watch movements on the Fibonacci sequence and golden ratio. The brand’s first prototype was showcased at Baselworld 2019, with their …
Gevril was founded in 1758 by Jacques Gevril in La Chaux-de-Fonds, with records of the watchmaker creating a chronometer as early as 1742. Early highlights include Grevil being one of the first Swiss exporters to the king of Spain and eventually becoming the king’s watchmaker. While the history is hazy, the brand appears to have …
Enicar was founded in 1913 by husband and wife team Ariste Racine and Emma Blatt. The Racine name had already been trademarked during their long family history of watchmaking, which prompted Emma to suggest reversing the name to Enicar. During the 1930s, Enicar was noted for being popular in China. By the 1950s, The brand …
Elmo & Montegrappa S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of luxury goods that was founded in 1912. The company is currently based in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. Montegrappa is mainly known for their fountain pens, as reflected in their original slogan of “Manifattura pennini d’oro e penne stilografiche” (“Manufacturer of gold nibs and fountain pens”). High …
Zannetti was founded in 1982 by Italian watchmaker Riccardo Zannetti. Based in Rome, the Italian brand has a focus on handmade and personalized timepieces. The first boutique opened in 1990, with additional locations and dealers currently in other parts of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and in the US. Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, and …
Cuervo y Sobrinos was founded in 1882 by Spanish immigrant and jewellery store owner Ramón Fernández Cuervo in Havana, Cuba. After Cuervo’s death in 1907, his nephew D. Armando Fernández y Río began running the company. The brand continued to expand over the next several decades, and established facilities in Pforzheim, Germany and Paris, France. …
Lemania was a Swiss watch and movement manufacturer that was founded in 1884 by Alfred Lugrin. Lugrin had trained at Jaeger-LeCoultre, and up until around 1930 the factory was named after him. The brand was then renamed as Lemania Watch Co. and based in L’Orient, Switzerland. SSIH To survive the Great Depression, Lemania joined the …
Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A. was founded in 1860 by Swiss watchmaker Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland. Instead of making movements for other brands, Chopard started off marketing finished watches. The luxury watch and jewelry company was taken over by Chopard’s son Paul-Louis and grandson Paul-André after the founder’s death in 1915. …
Sarpaneva Watches was founded in Helsinki by Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva in 2003. Sarpaneva is a graduate of the Finnish School of Watchmaking, studied at the Swiss Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Education Program (WOSTEP), and has worked for multiple watch brands including Piaget, Parmigiani, Vianney Halter, and Christophe Claret. Sarpaneva is also the founder …