FAST TRACK

 In July 2011, Titan launched the HTSE (High Technology Self Energizer) collection of watches which run on light. According to Titan, these watches can be charged with as low as 200 lux of light, which makes them chargeable with light even from a candle.[6] On 16 November 2011, Titan Industries acquired Swiss watch maker Favre-Leuba for Euro 2 million.

HISTORY

Titan Company Ltd. Indian designer and manufacturer of watches, jeweler, precision engineering components and other accessories including sunglasses, wallets, bags, belts, fragrances and helmets. It is a joint venture between the Tata Group, and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Titan is the world's fifth largest wrist watch manufacturer and exports watches to nearly 32 countries around the world. Some of the well known brands of Titan include Fastrack, Sonata, Raga, Edge, and Octane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

TITAN has now become Titan Company Ltd., it is owned and managed by TATA. The company is divided into four divisions - Watches & Accessories, Jewellery, Eyewear and Precision Engineering.

FOLLI FOLLIE

FOLLI FOLLIE

Folli Follie is a Greek-based international company which designs, manufactures and distributes jeweler, watches and fashion accessories. Through its subsidiaries it also operates duty-free shops and sporting goods retail outlets.

HISTORY

The company was founded in 1986 in Greece by Dimitris Koutsolioutsos the first shop was in the commercial district of Athens. Folli Follie started by manufacturing jeweler and in 1994 launched their watch line. In 1995 the first overseas store opened, in Japan. It is now ranked amongst the top 10 brands in luxury goods in Japan with 80 points of sale. Folli Follie fully acquired its affiliate in Japan in 2008.

In 1997, Folli Follie was listed in the Athens Stock Exchange. Capital was used to fund growth and geographic expansion. Folli Follie is currently active in 25 countries, including the UK (London; Bond Street, New Bond street) Cardiff & Glasgow; (St Enoch Centre), Switzerland (Geneva), Japan (Tokyo; Ginza area), France (Paris), the US (New York; Madison Avenue), China (more than 120 shops) and Russia (Moscow; Red Square); it has over 380 points.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The company's design team consists of Italian, Swiss and Greek top designers who work together to present two collections per year: Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer. The collection's highlight is the "Premium K" collection which includes limited edition jeweler and accessories pieces. Folli Follie 's philosophy is to offer a "full fashion concept" of branded, modern jeweler, watches and accessories at affordable prices

FENDI

FENDI

Fendi (Italian pronunciation:  is an Italian luxury fashion house whose specialities include fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in 1925 in Rome, Fendi is renowned for its exquisite creations on fur and fur accessories. Fendi is also well known for its leather goods such as "Baguette", 2jours, Peekaboo or Pequin handbags

HISTORY

The house of Fendi was launched in 1925 by Edoardo and Adele Fendi,[2] as a fur and leather shop in Via del Plebiscito, Rome. Since 1946, the five sisters of second generation (Paola, Anna, Franca, and Carla & Alda) started entering the company and bought new wave of enthusiasm. Karl Lagerfeld joined Fendi in 1965 and becomes the Creative Director for Fur and also for Women Ready-to-Wear (launched in 1977). Silvia Venturini Fendi, daughter of Anna, joined in 1994 and is the Creative Director for Accessories and Men's lines. Since 2001, Fendi becomes a multinational luxury fashion brand and member of LVMH group.

In 2014, Fendi started making plans to use drones to show its catwalk fashions.

Fendi invested more than 2 million euros (approximately $2.7 million) to help restore the Trevi Fountain in Rome designed by Nicola Salvi in 18th century. The restoration works started June 2014. “It’s about tying us with a city that makes millions of people dream,” Fendi CEO Pietro Beccari said.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ü   Leather Goods

ü  Ready to Wear

ü  Accessories & Shoes

ü  Fendi Men's

ü  Fragrances

ü  Eyewear

ü  Timepieces

ü  Furniture

FESTINA

FESTINA

Festina is also known for its sponsorship of the Festina cycling team from 1989 to 2001. During the 1998 Tour de France the team was at the center of the doping scandal which became known as the Festina affair. In reaction to this, the cycling team reorganized itself and Festina set up the Foundation

 D’entreprise Festina whose mission was to promote the fight against doping

HISTORY

Festina is a watch company. It was founded in 1902 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The manufacture's motto was Festina Lente (Latin for 'Hasten slowly'). In 1984, Spanish industrialist Miguel Rodríguez, already owner of Lotus watches, bought Festina and created the group Festina Lotus S.A.. Since this takeover, the company headquarters have been located in Barcelona, Spain. Their watches are exclusively assembled on Citizen Watch Company Japanese movements, in their most popular watches, while its high-end watches are crafted entirely from its factories in Barcelona and Toledo. Festina owns now Candino Watch Company in Bienne, Switzerland, the seat of their Swiss distribution.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ü  Lotus

ü  Festina

ü  Calypso

ü  Candino

ü  Jaguar

ü  Perrelet

ü  Soprod - produces Swiss-made mechanical and quartz watch movements

ELITE

ELITE

Elite Model's Fashion is one of the most famous French companies, making the women's clothes and accessories.

 The company's founders pursued the defined goal – to make the women's dreams about glamorous life come true. The great experience of Elite Company in the sphere of modeling contributes to the realization of this brilliant project. The first Elite talent agency was founded in 1972 in Paris by John Casablancas and  Allan Kitler. Initially, the agency was involved in the selection of models for such fashion houses Chanel, as Dior, Yves

Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Versace, and L’Oral.  Elite company had been establishing itself as a leading choice in modeling business for a long time. Thanks to the company, a lot of celebrities and supermodels have managed to make a brilliant career. Among them are Claudia Shiffer, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Monica Bellucci and others.

 The Elite Company’s founders didn't want to limit themselves to the modeling business only. So, they have created their own brand. At the present time, Elite products are in a great demand and very popular all over the world.

HISTORY

Elite Model Management was founded in Paris, France in 1972 by John Casablancas (1942–2013) and Alain Kittler.Casablancas was inspired by his then-wife Jeanette Chrisjansen, former model and Miss Universe from Denmark, to open a model agency with the best talent. Casablancas founded the model agency with his savings from working for Coca-Cola in Brazil. He and Chrisjansen are the parents of The Strokes frontman, Julian Casablancas.

Elite Model opened with several high profile models including Ingmari Lamy; Ann Schaufuss, Clive Arrowsmith's girlfriend; Barry Lategna's wife Lynn Kohlman; Paula Brenken; and Paris Plannings Emanuelle Dano. Initially, the all-star lineup of well known models made Elite models a well known name in the industry. However, it also signaled the lineup's demise. Following the deaths of Emanuelle Dano and Paula Brenken, [clarification needed] Casablancas realized his business model was all wrong.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Elite today manages over 2000 models from five continents. It offers international coverage with 35 agencies in its network. It holds the annual talent scouting contest, the Elite Model Look, which launched in 1983. With about 400,000 annual contestants in more than 60 countries, Elite Model Look has "discovered" many notable models, including Cindy Crawford, Gisele Bündchen, Stephanie Seymour, Alessandra Ambrosio, Tatjana Patitz and Lara Stone.

Elite represents, or has represented such models as Linda Evangelista, Tyra Banks, Gisele Bündchen, Joanna Krupa, Huggy Ragnarsson, Adriana Lima, Kelly Gale, Naomi Campbell, Cara Delevingne, Karen Elson, Carol Alt, Özge Ulusoy, Monica Bellucci. Liya Kibede, Heidi Klum, Eva Herzigová, Tatiana Sorokko, Angelika Kallio, Paulina Porizkova, Olga Puchkova, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jennifer Flavin, Coco Rocha, Veronica Webb, Crystal Renn, Anna Bayle, Stephanie Seymour and Anna Nicole Smith.

From 2007-2011, the company was the official license holder to select a representative for the United States at the Miss World pageant.

ETERNA

ETERNA

Eterna is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in Grenchen, Canton Solothurn on 7 November 1856 by Josef Girard and Urs Schild.

HISTORY

On 7 November 1856, Dr. Joseph Girard and Urs Schild, a 28-year-old school teacher, founded the ébauche factory "Dr. Girard & Schild“. Eight years later the enterprise set out the mutual rights and obligations of employees and employers in writing. Urs Schild became a National Councilor in 1882. Six years later, he died at the age of 58. After the death of Urs Schild his son Max took over the company and soon made a business trip to the United States. He returned to introduce, to the craftsman, machinery. Max Schild was ahead of his time and his ideas were unpopular. Discouraged he left the company and handed power over to his brother Theodore, with whom Eterna entered a prosperous 20th century.

In the 1900s, wristwatches were just starting to become fashionable. Schild Fréres, as the company was then known, started to produce lady’s wristwatches adapted from small pocket watches. In 1905, the company changed their name to Eterna. The company continued to be at the leading edge of watch development, and in 1908 it patented the first alarm wristwatch. The watch went into production in 1914 and was launched at the Swiss National Exhibition in Berne that year.

By 1932, Eterna had set up a subsidiary company, ETA, to make movements for itself and other Swiss watch companies. This same year, Theodore retired and handed over the control of the company to his nephew Rudolf Schild. Theodore remained on the board of directors after retirement until his death in 1950.

Eterna produced many innovations in their history, the smallest production wristwatch with a Baguette movement in 1930, an eight-day alarm watch in the 1930s and their first automatic watch in 1938.

In 1948, Eterna advanced self-winding watch technology with the development of the Eterna-matic automatic movement. The use of five strategically placed ball bearings made the movement very efficient and significantly reduced friction and resistance on the oscillating weight that wound the mainspring. This reduced the wear and tear on internal parts, increasing the watch’s accuracy and its useful life. The new watch became popular soon and is probably the most famous Eterna watch and may be one of Eterna's greatest designs. Its popularity was such that in 1948 Eterna adopted the image of five ball bearings as its corporate logo.

After 1982, Eterna was sold several times. By 1995, it was owned by F.A.P. Beteiligungs GmbH. In 1999, Eterna produced a range of watches marketed under the Porsche Design label. Porsche Design sold Eterna to International Volant Ltd, a subsidiary of China Haidian on 30 June 2012.

In the 2000s Eterna resumed manufacturing watches and creating the Calibre 6036 in 2004. The ultra-thin automatic 3030 was produced for the 150th anniversary in 2006. In 2009, half-century after the Eterna-Matic, the "Spherodrive" once again highlighted the significance of tiny ball-bearings in mechanical watch making. The company remains active in wristwatch design

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

·         The 1870s: The first watch built entirely in-house

·         1908: Patent filed for the world’s first wrist alarm clock

·         1910: "Grand Prix" honors at the Brussels World Exhibition

·         1914: The first serially produced wrist alarm clock is introduced

·         1930: Designs of the smallest production wristwatch with a "baguette" movement

·         1948: Birth of the friction-reducing ball-bearing mounted rotor system and production of the Eterna-Matic

·         1947: The "Kon-Tiki", a tribute to the expedition of the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl in 1947

·         The 1950s: Actresses including Gina Lollobrigida and Brigitte Bardot wear the "Golden Heart"

·         1956: The 100th anniversary "Centenaire" automatic.

·         1962: The thinnest men's watch with an automatic movement and a date vindow the "Eterna-Matic 3000 Dato" with a movement height of 3.6 mm.

·         The 1980s: The "Museum" line breaks the thinness record in all categories. The quartz wristwatch has a thickness of only 0.98.

·         1980: Eterna receives the "Grand Prix Triomphe de l'Excellence Européenne".

·         2006: For the company's 150th anniversary the automatic calibre 3030 is released.

·         Adventic

·         Vaughan

·         Madison

·         Heritage

·         Centenaire

·         1948

·         KonTiki

·         Tangaroa

·         Artena

·         Contessa

ESPRIT

ESPRIT

Sprit Holdings Limited is a publicly owned manufacturer of clothing, footwear, accessories, jewellery and housewares under the Esprit label. The company is headquartered in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and Ratingen (near Düsseldorf), Germany. In the 2007–2008 business year, Esprit Holdings Limited generated worldwide sales of around EUR 3.25 billion (as of 30.06.2008). Esprit

operates more than 900 retail stores worldwide and distributes products to more than 8,500 wholesale locations around the globe. Esprit has more than 1.1 million square meters of retail space in 40 countries.

The ESPRIT brand name is licensed to other manufacturers. In addition, the group owns the Red Earth cosmetics brand.

The Esprit flagship stores feature both current Esprit fashion lines and licensee products under one roof. Esprit has an architecture department that is responsible for the worldwide design of its stores.

In September 27, 2011 Esprit Holdings Ltd. was valued at just $1.4 billion, a loss of more than 90 percent from a $20 billion valuation four years ago. According to Credit Suisse, Esprit's brand is valued at $3.4 billion

HISTORY

The first joint fashion line established by Susie and Doug Tompkins was sold from a VW bus and their headquarters was the Tompkins’ apartment in San Francisco. Susie assumed the creative and Doug Tompkins the financial role in the business.

In 1979, the Esprit logo was developed by John Casado.

The 1980s saw the introduction of the “Real People Campaign”, which was shot by photographer Oliviero Toscani, using architects and designers for its projects, starting with Italian Ettore Sottsass, who developed the first Esprit Europe Headquarters in Düsseldorf. He established the overall concept of the stores in the style of the Memphis design movement.[citation needed] Architects and designers included Antonio Citterio and Norman Foster.

In February 2012 Esprit announced that it will close all retail stores in North America because they have not been competitive in this market and have been losing money.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Esprit's products include casual sportswear and "collection" business clothing for both men and women; "de.corp" urban casual clothing for young women; "kids" clothing for children up to 7 years old; sports wear including skiwear, fitness fashion and streetwear; accessories such as bags; shoes; and body wear, day and night underwear and swimwear for men, women and children.

In 1998, the "edc" of young people's clothing was founded

Since 1990, Esprit has grown through licensees. More than 30 license holders include Coty/Lancaster (scents) and Falke (socks and stockings). Under the name “Esprit time wear + jewel”, Egana Holdings Ltd. produces watches and jewellery.[citation needed]

Esprit home sells furniture, carpets, wallpaper, lighting, living accessories, home textiles and bathrooms; Esprit kids’ world sells maternity wear, toys, buggies and nursery furniture

ELGIN

ELGIN

The Elgin National Watch Company, most commonly known as just the Elgin Watch company, was a major US watch maker from 1864 until its closure in 1968. The company sold watches under the names, Elgin, Lord Elgin, and Lady Elgin.

HISTORY

The company was first incorporated in August 1864 as the National Watch Company, in Chicago, Illinois. The founders of the original company were Philo Carpenter, Howard Z. Culver, then-Chicago mayor, Benjamin W. Raymond, George M. Wheeler, Thomas S. Dickerson, Edward H. Williams and W. Robbins. In September of the same year the founders visited the Waltham Watch Company in Waltham, Massachusetts, and successfully convinced seven of Waltham's makers to come to work for their new company.

The growing young city of Elgin, Illinois, some 30 miles to the northwest of Chicago, was chosen as the factory site. Initially, as part of the deal, the city was asked to donate 35 acres (142,000 m²) of land for construction of the factory. A derelict farm was selected for this, however the owners refused to sell the property unless the city purchased their entire 71 acres for $3,550 (roughly $50,000 in 2010). Four Elgin businessmen agreed to purchase the property and then donated the required 35 acres to the new watch company. The company was re-organized in April 1865 and the factory was completed in 1866. The first movement, delivered in 1867, was named the B.W. Raymond in honor of Benjamin W. Raymond. The watch was an 18 size, full plate design. The company officially changed its name to the Elgin National Watch Company in 1874, as the Elgin name had come into common usage for their watches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The company built the Elgin National Watch Company Observatory in 1910 to maintain scientifically precise times in their watches. The company produced many of the self-winding wristwatch movements made in the United States beginning with the 607 and 618 calibers (which were bumper wind) and the calibers 760 and 761 (30 and 27 jewels respectively).

During World War II all civilian manufacturing was halted and the company moved into the defense industry, manufacturing military watches, chronometers, fuses for artillery shells, altimeters and other aircraft instruments and sapphire bearings used for aiming cannons.

Over time a number of additional plants were operated, mostly in Elgin. However, additional plants were located in Aurora, Illinois and Lincoln, Nebraska. The original, obsolete factory in Elgin closed in 1964, after having produced half of the total number of pocket watches manufactured in the United States (dollar-type not included). In 1964 the company relocated most manufacturing operations to a brand new plant in Blaney, South Carolina, a town near Columbia, South Carolina which renamed itself Elgin, South Carolina. A leased building in Elgin that housed offices as well as casing, fitting, shipping, service, and trade material departments was maintained until about 1970.

All US manufacturing was discontinued in 1968, and the rights to the name "Elgin" were sold and subsequently resold multiple times over the years. The rights eventually were purchased by MZ Berger Inc., which company manufactures its watches in China and distributes them outside traditional watch dealerships. Elgin-branded watches produced after 1968 have no connection to the Elgin Watch Company.

EDOX

EDOX

Era Watch Co is a Swiss watch company that operates under the trademark Edox. Christian Ruefli-Flury, a watchmaker originating from Grenchen, Switzerland, founded the company in Biel/Bienne in 1884. The company produces 70,000 to 90,000 watches annually, each retailing at an average price of USD$1,600 to $2,200

HISTORY

Ruefli-Flury used the ancient Greek word Edox as a trademark, and designed the "1900" hourglass to serve as a visual symbol for the company's brand. Robert Kaufman-Hug took over the company when Ruefli-Flury died in 1921. He led the company's transition from pocket watches to become the first wristwatch-exclusive watch maker.

By 1955 the company employed 500 people and moved to a new factory. The Delfin line of watches launched in 1961, with industry-first double case backs for high standards of shock protection, water resistance, and ruggedness. The Hydrosub line was launched in 1963 featuring the first crown system with tension ring allowing waterproofness of 500 meters. In 1965 Victor Flury-Liechti took over the company from his uncle, and invested in new manufacturing technologies. This led to the 1970 Geoscope timepiece, the first watch covering all time-zones. In 1973, the third-generation Delfin was released. It used elements from to the Gerald Genta-designed Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.

With the rise of Japaneses watches and the Quartz Crisis in the 1970s, the company became an affiliate of the General Watch Company, a sub-holding company of ASUAG. As part of the move, Technos and Certina was transferred to the Biel/Bienne Edox location. At the end of the downturn in the Swiss watch industry in 1983, Edox re-gained independence when the company was sold to Victor Strambini Montres Vista SA and moved to Les Geneveys, Jura Mountains. It has since remained a family-owned company. The Edox Les Bémonts Ultra Slim was released in 1998. With a movement thickness of 1.4mm, it still holds the record for the slimmest calendar watch.

The Delfin line was restarted in 2013 with a new model based on the 1973 edition. In 2014, the company celebrated their 130th anniversary by releasing updated, limited-edition versions of their Geoscope, Les Bémonts, and Hydrosub timepieces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

·         Era

·         Erano

·         Edox

·         Delfin

·         Hydro-sub

·         Geoscope

DIESEL

DIESEL

Diesel Spa. is an Italian clothing company. It sells high-priced denim jeans and other clothing and accessories aimed at a young adult market. The company is owned by its founder Renzo Rosso, President of OTB Group, the holding group of Maison Martin Margiela, Marni, Viktor & Rolf, and is based in the former Laverda building area in Breganze, northern Italy.

HISTORY

In 1978 Rosso was working for a clothing manufacturer called Moltex, which was owned by Adriano Goldschmied. He used a loan from his father to buy a 40% holding in the company, which changed its name to Diesel, and marketed jeans under the Diesel brand and many others. Rosso bought out Goldschmied's interest in the Diesel brand name in 1985 for US$500,000. Rosso has said that he learned marketing from the US, creativity from Italy, and systems from Germany.Turnover was over €1.3 billion in 2009

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

According to Chevalier, the stores’ merchandise is presented in a confusing way in order to force customers to interact with the sales staff. [clarification needed]

 "Dieselwall" in Berlin

In 2007 Diesel sponsored a music contest, Diesel-U-Music.

From January to September 2008, Diesel spent $5.8 million on U.S. advertising, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

In 2009 the head of Diesel's US division, Steve Birkhold, left the company shortly after agreeing a deal to sell cut-priced jeans through Macy's.

DAKOTA

DAKOTA

In 1999 the company was again renamed, this time as Dakota Watch Company. This move was an attempt to move the Dakota brand into the forefront of the watch industry and identify it with the store name [citation needed]. Around the same time, Dakota began to design their own watches. This new venture into design also allowed the company to break into the watch world as an innovator in the Clip Watch movement.

HISTORY

The Dakota Watch Company is retail and service company that specializes in watches and watch accessories. The company was founded in 1945 by Albert Cooper under the name Cooper's Fixery in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the time, the company's products consisted mostly of a variety of services ranging from scissor sharpening to watch repair. In the early 1980s the company changed its focus to watches (both sales and repair) and was accordingly renamed Cooper's Watch works

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Ø  Dakota

Ø  Berenger

Ø  Fusion

Ø  Jean Paul

Ø  Moxie

CONCORD

CONCORD

Concord Watch is part of the Movado group that owns Movado, Ebel, ESQ, Coach, Hugo Boss, Juicy Couture Watches, Lacoste, and Tommy Hilfiger watches.

HISTORY

Founded in 1908 in Biel, Switzerland the brand was created to design watches with the American market in mind. Concord has made several innovations in its history such as being one of the first “private label” luxury watches to incorporate precious metals and gems in its watches. It was also the first company to make a wristwatch made of coins.

In 1979 it had a major breakthrough with the invention of the Delirium Watch which was the thinnest watch ever made at the time at 1.98 mm thick. Subsequently a Delirium 2 was released which was even thinner at 1.5 mm.

In 2007 the company made a drastic change in its vision. It closed most of its existing dealerships as sluggish sales and lack of a specific market created a huge grey market that hurt the company’s reputation. The launch of the C1 was highly touted and targeted the ever popular luxury sport market. The style and pricing were designed to compete with watches such as Panerai, Audemars Piguet and Hublot. With only a couple hundred dealers worldwide Concord was hoping for a grand relaunch into the Luxury sector. In 2008 Concord created two new C1 pieces. The C1 worldtimer and the C1 Gravity Tourbillion. The later won the prestigious “Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve” as “Best design of the year 2008”. Whether this success will lead to ultimate success remains to be seen.

In 2009, Alex Grinberg was appointed as the worldwide CEO of Concord

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Concord just happens to be one of the top watch designers of 2012. Today we will take a look through this luxurious brand’s history to discover what makes Concord one of the best designers in the world.

Most fine watch makers manufacture right out of Switzerland, even still today. It’s no wonder than that Concord was established in Biel, Switzerland in 1908. When Concord first started making watches they had American customers in mind and one can still notice that through the brand’s designs even today. Concord is known as being the first “private label” luxurious watch brand to add gems and precious metals to its watches. The Concord brand has also earned the title of being the first watch designer to make a wrist watch made entirely of coins.

COBRA

COBRA

Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II. American Lieutenant General Omar Bradley's intention was to take advantage of the German preoccupation with British and Canadian activity around the town of Caen, in Operation

Goodwood, and immediately punch through the German defenses that were penning in his troops while the Germans were distracted and unbalanced. Once a corridor had been created, the First Army would then be able to advance into Brittany, rolling up the German flanks and freeing itself of the constraints imposed by operating in the Norman bocage countryside. After a slow start the offensive gathered momentum, and German resistance collapsed as scattered remnants of broken units fought to escape to the Seine. Lacking the resources to cope with the situation, the German response was ineffectual, and the entire Normandy front soon collapsed. Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the Second British and First Canadian Armies, was decisive in securing an Allied victory in the Normandy Campaign

HISTORY

Following the successful Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, progress inland was slow. To facilitate the Allied build-up in France and to secure room for further expansion, the deep water port of Cherbourg on the western flank of the American sector and the historic town of Caen in the British and Canadian sector to the east represented early objectives.The original plan for the Normandy campaign envisioned strong offensive efforts in both sectors, in which Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey's British Second Army would secure Caen and the area south of it,[11] and Lieutenant General Omar Bradley's U.S. First Army would "wheel round" to the Loire.

General Bernard Montgomery—commanding all Allied ground forces in Normandy—intended Caen to be taken on D-Day, while Cherbourg was expected to fall 15 days later. Second Army was to seize Caen and then form a front to the south-east, extending to, to acquire airfields and protect First Army's left flank while it moved on Cherbourg.Possession of Caen and its surroundings—desirable for open terrain that would permit maneuver warfare—would also give Second Army a suitable staging area for a push south to capture which could be used as the pivot for a swing right to advance on Argentan and then towards the Touques River.Caen's capture has been described by historian L. F. Ellis as the most important D-Day objective assigned to Lieutenant-General Crocker's I Corps. However, both Ellis and Chester Wilmot characterize the Allied plan as "ambitious"; the Caen sector contained the strongest defences in Normandy

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

After the one-day postponement, Cobra got underway at 09:38 on 25 July, when around 600 Allied fighter-bombers attacked strongpoint’s and enemy artillery along a 300 yd (270 m)-wide strip of ground located in the St. Lô area. For the next hour, 1,800 heavy bombers of the U.S. Eighth Air Force saturated a 6,000 yd × 2,200 yd (5,500 m × 2,000 m) area on the Saint-Lô–Periers road, succeeded by a third and final wave of medium bombers.[77] Approximately 3,000 U.S. aircraft had carpet-bombed a narrow section of the front, with the Panzer-Lehr-Division taking the brunt of the attack. However, once again not all the casualties were German; Bradley had specifically requested that the bombers approach the target from the east, out of the sun and parallel to the Saint-Lô–Periers road, in order to minimize the risk of friendly losses, but most of the airmen instead came in from the north, perpendicular to the front line. Bradley, however, had apparently misunderstood explanations from the heavy bomber commanders that a parallel approach was impossible because of the time and space constraints Bradley had set. Additionally, a parallel approach would not in any event have assured that all bombs would fall behind German lines because of deflection errors or obscured aim points due to dust and smoke. Despite efforts by U.S. units to identify their positions, inaccurate bombing by the Eighth Air Force killed 111 men and wounded 490. The dead included Bradley's friend and fellow West Pointer Lieutenant General Lesley McNair—the highest-ranking U.S. soldier to be killed in action in the European Theater of Operations

ZENO

ZENO

Zeno-Watch is a Swiss watchmaker established 1868, but the Zeno name has been in use only since 1922. Specializing in aviation watches, they are one of the few independent Swiss watch manufacturers still in operation. Their factory is in Basel, Switzerland.

HISTORY

Eno's history begins in 1868 with watchmaker Jules Godat, the founder of a small pocket watch manufacturing company (Godat & Co.) in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the heart of the Swiss watch making industry. He produced, in very small quantities, fine pocket watches featuring solid silver cases and lady pendant watches. He built a small factory, which was taken over in 1920 by A. Eigeldinger & Fils.

Eigeldinger specialized in wrist watches for the army. They produced watches in stainless steel, silver, gold and platinum, with mechanical movements up to 43mm. Their registered brands were Zeno, Strand and Solvex. The son of the owner, Andre-Charles Eigeldinger, introduced Zeno. In Greek, the name means "graceful"

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The best known watches produced by Zeno are in the "Pilot Classic" collection. Today's model compares very favorably with the vintage Zeno Pilot Basic 1965 original. The range of products extends from mechanical to quartz technology wrist watches with analogue displays, collectors' wristwatches, pocket watches and sport chronographs in every combination of materials. Zeno has enlarged their successful Pilot watch family of products. Since 1999 they have produced a huge range of pilot watches in new sizes, and many COSC certificated chronometers

CORUM

CORUM

Corum is a Swiss watchmaker based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Canton of Neuchâtel. Founded in 1955, it makes high-quality and high-price watches, many of which are limited editions. The benchmark watch series for Corum is its "Admiral's Cup" series.

Corum has also been the maker of the World Series of Poker watches that accompanied World Series of Poker bracelet in 2007, and became the maker of the bracelets themselves in 2007.

HISTORY

Corum was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland by Gaston Ries and his nephew, Renee Bannwart in 1955, one year later the first Corum watches were being produced.

Corium’s claim to fame came early on when the company introduced a watch made out of a $20 gold piece which was an instant best-seller. Corum is also known for its "World Premiers". Each year, it's produced a limited number of limited edition pieces.

In January 2000, Corum was purchased by its current owner, Severin Wunderman, and was soon under the guidance of his son Michael, Corum was sold to China Haidian Group who also the owner of eterna.

The team was completed in 2007 with the arrival of a man with a rich professional background, Antoine Calce, to the CEO position, who oversees overall operations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Ø Admiral's Cup

Ø Romulus

Ø Golden Bridge

Ø Tourbillon and Classical

Ø Coin Watch

Ø Artisan Timepieces

CITIZEN

CITIZEN

Citizen Holdings   the core company of a Japanese global corporate group based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was originally founded as Shokosha Watch Research Institute in 1918 and is currently known as the manufacturer of Cincom precision lathe machine tools as well as Citizen Watches. The trade name originated from a pocket watch Citizen sold in 1924. It is one of the world's largest producers of watches.

HISTORY

the early part of 1950’s, Citizen completed Cal. 960(M), its first 6 beat caliber with 17 jewels, and Cal. C, Japan’s first men’s wrist watch fitted with date display known as "Citizen Calendar". In 1953, Citizen acquired a clock manufacturer, The Rhythm Clock Co. , as an affiliated company.

 1956 was a momentous year for the brand. The company produced the first shock-proof Japanese watch, known as the Parashock.

 In 1958, the company produced its first automatic-winding wrist watch “Auto” fitted with Cal.3KA, and Japan's first manual winding alarm caliber with 19 jewels, Cal.980. Also the introduction of “Citizen Deluxe” fitted with Cal.920, Citizen's first caliber with central seconds, proves a hit with the watch buying public, with sales of over 100 million pieces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Apart from watches, Citizen also manufactures calculators and small electronic organizers. Some non-watch devices such as handheld televisions and computer printers, have been marketed under the Citizen brand name.

In the 1980s, a number of handheld electronic games were sold under the Q&Q brand.

In the early-mid 1990s, Citizen partnered with Compaq Computer Corporation to build notebook computers in Japan for the Japan and Far Eastern market to be sold under the Compaq name.

CHOPARD

CHOPARD

Chopard is a Swiss-based luxury watch, jewellery and accessories company founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard, from whom the company takes its name.

HISTORY

1860 : 24 years-old Louis-Ulysse Chopard founded a high-precision watch manufacture specialising in pocket-watches and chronometers, in Sonvilier, Switzerland.[3]

1937 : Chopard relocates to Geneva (150 employees) and launched into the production of quality watches.[4][5]

1963 : Paul-André Chopard, the grandson of the founder, sells Chopard to Karl Scheufele III, a young goldsmith and watchmaker, since his sons decided to follow other careers.[6]

As the new head of the company, Karl Scheufele III, quickly gained significant experience with watch making, contributed to the modernization of the company and added the jewellery segment into the Chopard watch production.

1974: The Chopard factory moved from the center of Geneva to Meyrin-Geneva. It marked a new stage for the company as it started producing ladies' and jewellery timepieces.

1976: Introduction of the Happy Diamonds collection and the creation of the first Happy Diamonds watch. Watches from the collection featured mobile diamonds that floated freely between two sapphire crystals.

1980: The Chopard Company debuted with sports watches on leather straps. The range of Happy Diamonds watches was enlarged by jewellery pieces. The first Chopard boutiques were opened in Hong Kong, Geneva and Vienna in the 1980-s

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

o    Watches

o    Jewelry

o    Accessories

o    Classic Racing

o    L.U.C

o    Happy Diamonds

o    Classic  Racing

o    La Strada

o    Leather

o    Writing instruments

o    Clocks

o    Eyewear

o    Silk & More

o    Gifts

o    Fragrances.

CERTINA

CERTINA

Certina Kurth Frères SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker company founded in Grenchen, 1888, by Adolf and Alfred Kurth, and currently an affiliate company of the Swatch Group.

HISTORY

Certina Kurth Frères SA was founded in 1888 when Adolf and Alfred Kurth opened in Grenchen their first movement and supplies factory for the watch making industry. At the start Certina's staff consisted of three employees working in a workshop that was connected to the family home. Certina did not begin producing complete watches and timepieces for a few years which they then did alongside their work producing movements for other companies. By 1938 the company had expanded and 250 employees celebrated the 50th anniversary of the company. At that time Certina were already known as pioneers.

Certina continued to expand and by 1955 the company had 500 employees working between the factory and offices, producing 1'000 timepieces every day. Certina worked up a new business plan that expanded its operations and was at the time considered the most modern and best equipped watchmakers in the world.

By 1972 Certina employed 900 people and produced 600,000 watches every year. The company was ranked first in most major jewellery watch fairs, and they obtained both the "International Diamonds Awards" and the "Golden Rose" award. By this time Certina was producing 375,000 watch components per day and used 53,000 rubies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ü  The first wrist-watches: were already produced by the company in 1938: predominately ladies watch, because men still preferred pocket watches. For "exceptional performance" the founders received the Milan Fair's gold medal award.

ü  Digital Watch: 1936 Certina was the first company to produce the digital watch. It was driven by a spring movement. Rotating disks bearing inscribed numbers were used to display the time, instead of hands.

ü  DS (Double Security) Line: In 1959 Hans and Edwin Kurth had set themselves the objective of creating a brand new niche in the marketplace, based on quality through engineering and technical designs. Thus Certina created the concept of suspending the watch movement inside a highly reinforced case, which they named DS for "Double Security". The Certina DS were the first watches to raise the water resistancy and shock protection down to 6 m (previous watches were set at 2.2 meters). The Certina DS watch was taken up the Himalayas by a team who climbed the Dhaulagiri and the watch withstood all changes in pressure and altitude.

ü  Biostar: In 1971 Certina introduced the Biostar, the world's first watch that displayed human biorhythms.

CASIO

CASIO

The Casio Computer Company, Limited is a multinational electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, cameras, musical instruments and watches. It was founded in 1946, and in 1957 released the world's first entirely electric
compact calculator.
HISTORY
Casio was established in April 1946 by Tadao Kashio , an engineer specializing in fabrication technology. Kashio's first major product was the yubiwa pipe, a finger ring that would hold a cigarette, allowing the wearer to smoke the cigarette down to its nub while also leaving the wearer's hands free. Japan was impoverished immediately following World War II, so cigarettes were valuable, and the invention was a success.

After seeing the electric calculators at the first Business Show in Ginza, Tokyo in 1949, Kashio and his younger brothers used their profits from the yubiwa pipe to develop their own calculators. Most of the calculators at that time worked using gears and could be operated by hand using a crank or using a motor (see adding machine). Kashio possessed some knowledge of electronics, and set out to make a calculator using solenoids. The desk-sized calculator was finished in 1954 and was Japan's first electro-mechanical calculator. One of the central innovations of the calculator was its adoption of the 10-key number pad; at that time other calculators were using a "full keypad", which meant that each place in the number (1s, 10s, 100s, etc...) had nine keys. Another innovation was the use of a single display window instead of the three display windows (one for each argument and one for the answer) used in other calculators.

 CASIO 14-A relay formula computer. Exhibit in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo.

In 1957 Casio released the Model 14-A, sold for 485,000 yen,[3] the world's first all-electric compact calculator, which was based on relay technology. 1957 also marked the establishment of Casio Computer.

In the 1980s, its budget electronic instruments and home musical keyboard instruments gained huge popularity. The company also became well known for the wide variety and innovation of its wristwatches. It was one of the earliest manufacturers of quartz watches, both digital and analog. It also began selling calculator watches during this time. It was one of the first manufacturers of watches that could display the time in many different time zones and of watches with temperature, atmospheric-pressure, altitude, and even Global Positioning System displays.

A number of notable digital cameras firsts have been made by Casio, including the first consumer digital camera with an LCD screen, the first consumer 3 megapixel cameras, the first true ultra-compact model, and the first digital camera to incorporate ceramic lens technology.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
 1957 Casio releases the Model 14-A, the world's first all-electric compact calculator.
 1965 The 001 calculator is released.
 1972 The release of Casio's personal calculator. The Casio "Mini" sells for 12,800 yen, going on to sell over 10 million units.
 1974 The Casiotron, a watch that features a fully automatic calendar, including month lengths and leap years, is released.
 1980 Casio releases its Casiotone keyboard instrument.
 1983 The first G-Shock watch, the DW-5000C, is released.
 1985 Casio launches its first professional synthesizer, the CZ-101.
 1985 The FX-7000G, the world's first graphing calculator is released.
 1987 The DG-10/20 and MG-500/510 electronic guitar with multiple tones and functions are released.
 1991 The F-91W digital watch, retro design with alarm and stopwatch, is released.
 1995 The Illuminator/Foxfire backlight is released. The DW-5600E was announced as the first G-Shock watch with a full EL LCD panel.
 1995 The QV-10, the world's first digital camera (0.250 Mpix) that includes a TFT (1.8-inch color) display, is released.
 2000 The WQV-1, the world's first wristwatch with digital camera is released.
 2002 The EX-S1, the first Exilim digital camera is released.
 2007 The OCW-S1000J, dubbed the Oceanus "Manta", is released, being the world's thinnest solar-powered chronograph at approx. 8.9 mm in thickness.
 2011 Casio's CEO DCC Arun N released the Casio Prizm (fx-CG10/fx-CG20), a full-color graphing calculator.