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.