Swiss Watch Brand Summary

A. Lange & Sohne The German watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded A Lange and Sohne in Glashutte, German, in 1845 after apprenticing with master watchmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes in Dresden. This first Glashutte workshop was staffed by stonemasons, farmers, and others with little to no technical skill but, under Lange's leadership, the company still produced precision pocket watches and helped start the Glashutte watchmaking industry. The company's main facility was destroyed in the final days of World War II and Soviet expropriation removed the name of A Lange and Sohne from the dials of watches in 1948. Walter Lange, great-grandson of the company's found, was forced to wait until 1990 and the fall of the Berlin Wall to restore his ancestor's company to its former glory. He, along with watch industry executive Gunter Blumlein, has now recreated one of the great German watch brands, carrying its illustrious lineage into the 21st century. The watch lines carried by A Lange and Sohne -- the Zeitwerk, the Richard Lange family, the 1815 line, Saxonia, and Lange 1 --are made from gold and platinum, with rare exception, and the movement of each watch is developed, produced, and assembled by the company. In addition, each movement is made from "German silver," an alloy of copper and nickel that gives the piece a very particular sheen and color.
Founded: 1845
Owned by: Richemont Group
Official Site: www.alange-soehne.com
Audemars Piguet Founded in 1875 in LeBrassus, Switzerland and still owned by its founding family, Audemars Piguet is world-renowned for their commitment to quality manufacturing methods and innovative designs. Elegance and luxury are synonymous with this brand, both qualities ingrained in their designs with a focus on tradition. This company is perhaps single-handedly responsible for the resurgence in popularity of the mechanical watch in the late 1980s.
Founded: 1875
Owned by: Independent
Official Site: www.audemarspiguet.com
Stocked Styles: Royal Oak
Bell Ross

Bell & Ross was launched in 1992 by designer Bruno Belamich and businessman Carlos A. Rosillo and immediately became a brand focused on four guiding principles: readability, performance, precision, and water-resistance. Catering to those working in extreme environments, the designers and engineers behind their watches study the rigorous jobs of astronauts, military pilots, underwater bomb-disposal experts, and racecar drivers, among others.

Bell & Ross instruments are created with a strong acknowledgement of their rugged and efficient heritage. Taking aesthetic cues from aircraft cockpit panels, these watches are designed to be utilitarian and effective, ideally suited to the needs of the professional on the job in intense conditions.

Founded: 1992
Official Site: www.bellross.com
Stocked Styles: BR 03 42 MM : BR 05
BlancPain Blancpain was founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret. As a company that has never made a quartz watch or a piece with a digital display, Blancpain considers itself a steward of traditional watchmaking. Among their watches are the Fifty Fathoms watch, a piece worn by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and the Blancpain 1735, the most complicated piece of its time with a tourbillon, minute repeater, perpetual date, moon phase calendar, and flyback chronograph. It took a single watchmaker an entire year to produce one of these grand complications. The brand developed its first automatic wristwatch in 1926, using it in their 1930 "Rolls" series, their first automatic watch for ladies. Blancpain was acquired by the SSIH in 1970, but was bought by Jacques Piguet and Jean-Claude Biver 12 years later, after which it was traded under the traditional name Blancpain SA. Lines from Blancpain include Le Brassus, Villeret, Leman, Fifty Fathoms, L-Evolution, and their Women line.
Founded: 1735
Owned by: SWATCH Group
Official Site: www.blancpain.com
Stocked Styles: L-Evolution
Breguet The storied history of the Breguet watch begins in 1775 at 51 Qaui de l'Horloge in the center of Paris. From his shop on the Ile de la Cite, Abraham-Louis Breguet catered to a long list of famous names -- including several French kings and noblemen, Queen Marie Antoinette, and Napoleon Bonaparte -- and introduced the tact watch, the first carriage clock, and invented the tourbillon. The Breguet line is also to thank for the design of the first wristwatch, created in 1810 for Caroline Murat, the queen of Naples. Today, watches produced by Breguet maintain a tradition of classic design and elegant features, but are complemented with water resistance and advancements of the innovations made by the company's founder.
Founded: 1775
Owned by: SWATCH Group
Official Site: www.breguet.com
Stocked Styles: Type XX
Breitling

The Breitling name is almost synonymous with quality chronograph watches, for good reason. Breitling develops and finishes its own chronograph modules for its automatic watches to obtain the highest accuracy and all quartz watches feature a thermo compensated movement.

This is the watch brand that is unofficially recognized as the watch for pilots and racetrack pit-crew members due to their incomparable chronograph timing accuracy. About 5% of Breitling's customers are pilots and several Breitlings have been to space including the Cosmonaute and Aerospace.

As of late 2021, Breitling was mostly owned by a pair of private equity firms: Partners Group and CVC Capital Partners.

Founded: 1884
Official Site: www.breitling.com
Bulgari The Italian jewelry giant Bvlgari began making watches in the 1940's but it wasn't until the famous Bvlgari-Bvlgari design of Gerald Genta in 1977 that the watchmaking of this company became a serious collection. With the founding of Bvlgari Time in Neuchatel, Switzerland the company's watchmaking experience has grown by leaps and bounds. In 2000 Bvlgari purchased both Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta, established companies in the manufacture of complicated mechanical watches. In 2004 Bvlgari introduced their first in-house grande complication, followed swiftly by their first tourbillion and minute repeater in 2006.
Founded: 1884
Owned by: LVMH Group
Official Site: www.bulgari.com
Stocked Styles: Octo
Cartier Cartier, as part of the Richemont group, could easily refer to themselves as jewelers first, and watchmakers second. This can be attributed to their large line of rings, necklaces, purses and charms that carry the same characteristics as their watches: elegant and refined without being over-the-top. Don't get the wrong idea, however, because while Cartier watches are stylish, their functionality is akin to the caliber of other leading brands today.
Founded: 1847
Owned by: Richemont Group
Official Site: www.cartier.com
Chopard

Chopard was founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in a workshop in Sonvilier, Switzerland, where the then 24-year-old watchmaker initially focused on developing precision pocket watches and chronometers. The company expanded and moved to Geneva in 1937 after Louis-Ulysse made a tour of eastern Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia, garnering new clientele -- including Tsar Nicolas II of Russia and his court.

After the 1963 acquisition by Karl Scheufele II -- who helped modernize the company and added a jewelry division to the enterprise -- Chopard began making headlines: the introduction of the Happy Diamond family, in 1976; in 1988, the company paired with Mille Miglia and began producing watches to commemorate the Italian racing tradition; and in 1996 the company began producing mechanical L.U.C. movements, their name a memorial to the company's founder. This was the same year the company's calibre 1.96 movement was introduced, a piece of horological technology that is considered one of the finest Swiss automatic movements currently produced. One year later, the movement made its debut inside L.U.C. 1860, which was voted "Watch of the Year" by Montres Passion. Throughout their lines of watches, from the Classic family to Happy Diamonds to their Imperiale line, Chopard strives to uphold its core values: independence, quality and excellence, heritage, respect, and audacity.

Founded: 1860
Owned by: Independent
Official Site: www.chopard.com
Stocked Styles: Alpine Eagle
Corum  
Founded: 1955
Owned by: Citychamp Group
Official Site: www.corum.ch
Stocked Styles: Admiral's Cup
Damasko
Stocked Styles: Other
Girard-Perregaux One of the few genuine Swiss 'manufactures', Girard Perregaux has supplied leading Swiss brands such as Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget and Ebel with its thin calibers 3000 and 3100. When making their own watches the company often uses their own calibers though they will also use a painstakingly reworked A. Schild or ETA movement. Girard-Perregaux has proven themselves to be a master of technically demanding pieces. The company holds multiple Tourbillion calibers, including the famed Three Gold Bridges originally created by Constant Girard-Perregaux in 1889. The longstanding relationship between Ferrari and Girard-Perregaux recently came to an end, but the company has channeled its love of racing chronographs to the new Laureato EVO3 and its passion for the race to the America's Cup and the BMW Oracle Team. Sea Hawks featuring the BMW Oracle logo as well as extremely rare Tourbillion models of the Sea Hawk have been produced in celebration of the union.
Founded: 1791
Owned by: Kering Group
Stocked Styles: WW.TC
Glashutte Original The tiny town of Glashutte in Germany saw a revival of their historic watchmaking industry after the reunification of Germany. Glashutte Original is the successor to a number of smaller manufacturers that were forced to conglomerate after World War II. Glashutte Original has an extensive facility, where they produce and finish parts in-house for their manufacture movements. Traditional elements of Glashutte watchmaking include a three-quarter plate, swan-neck fine adjustment, Glashutte ribbing, and double sunburst decoration. These features along with a low production of only a few thousand pieces per year make the watches desirable to collectors of fine timepieces.
Founded: 1994
Owned by: SWATCH Group
Stocked Styles: SeaQ
Grand Seiko
Owned by: Seiko Group
Official Site: www.grand-seiko.com
Stocked Styles: Heritage : Spring Drive : Hi-Beat
Hublot Hublot is an infant brand among the centuries-old Swiss giants with which it competes, yet within years of its founding in 1980 became known as the watch of European royalty. Within months of its introduction the Hublot had caught the eye of the King of Greece, quickly followed by the King of Spain, the King of Sweden and the Prince of Monaco. Few brands can claim such a speedy successful rise as Hublot. Hardly a watch enthusiast can be found today without at least one rubber-strapped watch in their personal collection - they are standard equipment on sport watches, but at the time the Hublot (French for porthole) was introduced, rubber was not to be found on a fine timepiece. The rubber strap is specially made to not crack or stain, it is chemically fused with steel for strength and mixed with a rare and potent vanilla to eliminate the odor associated with rubber.  New elements and materials are being brought together to form pieces such as the Big Bang. We are proud to offer many pieces from the classic Hublot line, luxurious, but not flashy, comfortable, but not dressed-down.  LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) recently added the Hublot brand to its growing portfolio of watch companies which include Zenith, TAG Heuer, Chaumet, Fred, Dior and DeBeers.
-- Read more about The Story of Hublot
Founded: 1980
Owned by: LVMH Group
Official Site: www.hublot.com
Stocked Styles: Classic
IWC

The International Watch Company was established in 1868 by Florentine Ariosto Jones, an American engineer and watchmaker, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, with the assistance of manufacturer and industrialist Johann Heinrich Moser. Its location in Schaffhausen makes the IWC the only major Swiss watchmaker to set up shop in eastern Switzerland.

Their Ingenieur model of watches -- a design based on the classic IWC Pilot Watch, a line made for the British Royal Air Force in the 1940s -- are specifically designed to counter the effects of external magnetic fields, making them ideal for pilots. The company's Portuguese line is designed for the avid boater; the Da Vinci family of watches pays tribute to the Renaissance inventor; the classic lines of the Portofino line recall Hollywood of the 1950s and movie stars' love for the Italian fishing village; and the IWC's Aquatimer series, along with their support of the Charles Darwin Foundation's preservation efforts, shows the company's history and respect for the diving community.

Founded: 1868
Owned by: Richemont Group
Official Site: www.iwc.com
Stocked Styles: Pilot's : Portugieser : Aquatimer : Ingenieur
Jaeger-LeCoultre Part of the Richemont group's Haute Horlogerie division, Jaeger Le Coultre is a fully fledged Manufacture, whose in-house movements grace not only their own prestigious timepieces, but often lend their prestige to other high-end brands. Antoine LeCoultre founded the brand in 1833 but it was not until 1866 that his son would transform the workshop into a manufacture. Paris watchmaker Edmond Jaeger did not join his name to the company until 1903. He brought with him ultra-thin movement calibers as well as a prestigious customer for the movements, Cartier. Today, the company is well known for a number of achievements, including the Reverso, the Memovox automatic alarm watch and the Atmos clock.
Founded: 1833
Owned by: Richemont Group
Stocked Styles: Master : Reverso
Laco
Founded: 1925
Official Site: www.laco-watches.com
Stocked Styles: Vintage
Longines

Auguste Agassiz began working in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, for a Comptoir (a trader of watch parts in 1832, and began the legacy of Longines when he and two associates took over the business the following year. The brand wouldn't be officially registered until the 1880s, after expanding their business, helping to industrialize Swiss watchmaking culture, and producing their first movements.

In 1919, Longines was named the official supplier for the International Aeronautical Federation, a move that would link the company to aviators for decades to come. Four years after Charles Lindbergh's non-stop transatlantic flight of 1927, the company began to produce the watch designed by the aviator for air navigation -- the Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch, which is still produced today.

The company's first digital watch, the 1972 Longines Liquid Crystal Display, was also an industry first, and in 1979, they introduced the Feuille d'Or, a quartz watch just 1.98mm thick. Longines has had a hand in timekeeping for aviation competitions, baseball and basketball, equestrian sports, Formula One racing, tennis, and the Tour de France.

The brand was acquired by the Swatch Group in 1983. Their lines include the DolceVita and PrimaLuna collections, the Longines Master Collection, the diving watches of the HydroConquest line, and the Heritage Collection.

Founded: 1832
Owned by: SWATCH Group
Official Site: www.longines.com
Stocked Styles: Heritage Collection : Spirit
Omega Founded in 1848 by the 23-year-old Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Omega began its existence as "Louis Brandt et Freres" and would eventually become a watch trusted by Olympic officials, favored by the latest incarnations of James Bond, and worn by the first men to step foot on the moon. The company's first self-produced calibres, including the Labrador and Gurzelen, ensured the celebrity of the brand by the 1880s and inspired its renaming after the development of the 1894 Omega calibre. In 1904, the company passed to four young people, including Paul-Emile Brandt, who forged the merger of Omega and Tissot into the Societe Suisse pour L'Industrie Horlogere in 1930. Over the next several decades, the SSIH either absorbed or created around 50 companies and became Switzerland's number one watch producer. Weakened by the influx of quartz watches and economic downturn in the 1970s, the company went through several upsets and acquisitions to emerge as the Swatch Group in 1998.
Founded: 1848
Owned by: SWATCH Group
Official Site: www.omegawatches.com
Stocked Styles: Speedmaster : Seamaster
Panerai

Officine Panerai Firenze started supplying the Italian Navy with precision instruments such as calculators, fuses for torpedoes, depth meters, and compasses in the 19th century. The demand for an extremely waterproof timepiece with luminous hands for legibility, led them into the world of horology. Over the past 145 years, the company has evolved from basic blunt instruments into one of the most sought after brands.

Panerai was very quiet through the second half of the 20th century, until the Richemont Group (then Vendome Luxury Group) bought the company in 1997. Richemont relaunched many of the models and they were an immediate international hit.

Founded: 1860
Owned by: Richemont Group
Official Site: www.panerai.com
Patek Philippe

One of the most exclusive brands of fine timepieces, Patek Phillippe has been in the watchmaking business since 1839 when a pair of Polish entrepreneurs, businessman Antoine Nobert de Patek and watchmaker Francois Czapek, began making pocket watches in Geneva. In 1845, French watchmaker Jean-Adrien Phillippe joined the company, and in 1851, the company's name was changed to Patek Phillippe S.A. The company's 80+ patents are just one of its claims to fame; others include its royal customers -- including Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, Hussein Kamel, and Countess Koscowicz of Hungary, for whom they created the first Swiss wristwatch -- and a long history of experimental innovation, including some of the world's most complicated horological creations.

To celebrate Patek Phillippe's 150th anniversary in 1989, the Calibre 89 pocket watch -- which has 39 complications, including the date of Easter, sunrise, sidereal time, and a 2,800 star chart -- was produced, and became the world's most complicated timepiece. All of their more common pieces incorporate the same fine manufacturing, elegant styling, precision craftsmanship, and precious materials in their production.

Founded: 1839
Owned by: Independent
Official Site: www.patek.com
Stocked Styles: Grand Complications : Calatrava
Roger Dubuis

Roger Dubuis is a growing young Manufacture, begun in 1995 with the partnership of Roger Dubuis and Carlos Dias. Dubuis, a talented watchmaker, founded his own atelier in 1980 after 14 years of developing complications for Patek Philippe. He took commissions to design new complications for major brands for several years before finally drawing designer Carlos Dias away from Franck Muller to launch his own brand. Roger Dubuis was born in Geneva and all of his watches, strongly associated with that culture, are submitted to the quality hallmark of the Poinçon de Genève as well as receiving chronometer certification. Looking at the off-beat models designed by Carlos Dias one can easily lose sight of the watchmaking prowess involved. The limited edition pieces and flamboyant designs are all based on a foundation of solid watchmaking skill and in-house complications.

Roger Dubuis was recently brought into the Richemont group.  In addition to improving the availability and distribution of Roger Dubuis timepieces for sale, Richemont has opened a Roger Dubuis repair facility in the U.S. reducing the turnaround time for regular service and repair.

Founded: 1955
Owned by: Richemont Group
Official Site: www.rogerdubuis.com
Stocked Styles: Easy Diver
Rolex

Established in London in 1905 by 24-year-old Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex has become one of most recognized brands in fine wristwatches. Among the company's most important achievements: the first watertight watch design, the 1926 Oyster; the world's first self-winding mechanism, the perpetual rotor, in 1931; the 1945 Datejust was the first watch to automatically change its date; and Rolex carries the distinction of having the first chronometer certification for a wristwatch.

Rolex watches have been worn from the peak of Everest to the depths of the Mariana Trench, and constantly make appearances everywhere in between. Designed for strength and reliability but with a refined appearance, Rolex watches are a standard among explorers, connoisseurs, and executives.

Founded: 1905
Owned by: Rolex SA
Official Site: www.rolex.com
Sinn

Sinn established itself as a brand for professionals from its introduction in 1961. The model lines are full of technical innovations and achievements applicable to professional (and amateur) pilots, astronauts, engineers and divers. They would send watches into space in the early 90s aboard Mir and Columbia missions. In the mid 90s the company began introducing magnetic field protection to its watches as well as revolutionary Ar-dehumidifying technology and special oils which resist exposure to extreme temperatures. During this period in the 90s Sinn would partner with Bell & Ross for a number of models including their famed "Bomb Disposal" watch.

The early 2000s saw more material improvements for Sinn, such as a lubrication free movement and specially hardened (tegimented) and sourced (submarine) steel to meet compliance standards for diving equipment. More recently, the TESTAF line was introduced in 2012 to meet the first technical standards for pilot watches.

Founded: 1961
Official Site: www.sinn.de
Stocked Styles: Chronograph : EZM : Diving
TAG Heuer

A legend in sports timing and official timekeeper of the Indy Racing League. While the company was founded in 1860, the legend of Heuer was born during the Olympic Games of the 1920s. The games were measured by the Mikrograph, designed by the son of the company's founder, it was capable of measuring 100ths of a second with its balance beating at 360,000 oscillations per hour. In 1985, Heuer joined Group TAG (Techniques of Avant-garde). Several models honor the company's long history of sponsoring teams and timing the worlds most famous races - The Monaco Grand Prix, the Carrera Pan-Americana and the Formula One Italian Grand Prix.

TAG Heuer continues to move this brand upmarket, introducing Chronometer certified movements in many models including the Link Calibre 6 and the recently announced Calibre 8 movement for the Grand Carrera GMT as well as an upgraded Calibre 17 RS movement for the Grand Carrera Chronograph. A Zenith designed Calibre 36 Chronograph movement, also Chronometer certified, is available in both the Link and Monza model line.

Founded: 1860
Owned by: LVMH Group
Official Site: www.tagheuer.com
Stocked Styles: Link : Autavia : Carrera
Tudor

A subsidiary of the legendary Rolex brand, Tudor watches began making a distinct name for themselves from their inception by Rolex founder Hans Wildorf in the late 1940s. Wildorf had been experimenting for years with the idea of bringing a line of classic watches to a broader audience at more modest prices, without sacrificing the extremely high caliber quality that Rolex had been known for. Tudor accomplished this by using in-house Rolex cases and parts but installing less expensive, but still extremely reputable, ETA and Valjoux watch movements.

In its early days, the parallels to Rolex models were immediately apparent in their original Tudor Oyster Prince and its utilitarian diver watch alternative, the Tudor Submariner, introduced in 1958. However, Tudor began distinguishing itself with small touches to their designs, such as implementing the ‘Snowflake’ and ‘Lollipop’ hour hands, both unique choices that gave Tudor their own design separate from their Rolex siblings. This trend continued through the turn of the century and into current models, as Tudor continued to establish its own voice and style in its timepieces, operating independently of the choices of Rolex. Some more recent Tudor pieces have introduced complications and ideas never implemented by its parent company, such as stylized second hands in their women’s watch designs or alarm functions not seen in any Rolex models. Tudor’s recently unveiled designs offer even more substantial innovations, including unique and decidedly non-Rolex bracelet options and Tudor “Manufacture” movements.

Though the Rolex influence is still evident in Tudor’s timepieces, they have developed into a distinct and noteworthy brand worthy of any watch enthusiast’s attention.

Founded: 1946
Owned by: Rolex SA
Official Site: www.tudorwatch.com
Stocked Styles: Black Bay : Pelagos : Prince : Heritage
Ulysse Nardin

In 1846, a 23-year-old watchmaker named Ulysse Nardin settled in Le Locle with the knowledge imparted on him by his father, Leonard-Frederic Nardin, and master watchmaker Frederic-William Dubois to create marine chronometers. For decades, the Ulysse Nardin company created chronometers for navies that set a high standard and were used by more than 50 armadas around the world.

Now, the company produces intricate mechanical watches, though their Marine line harkens back to the company's early days. After the 1983 acquisition by businessman Rolf Schnyder (in collaboration with watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin), Ulysse Nardin released their Trilogy of Time set -- the Astrolabium Galileo Galilei, the Planetarium Copernicus, and the Tellurium Johannes Kepler -- over the course of several years. The Astrolabium Galileo Galilei was named the world's most functional watch in 1989 by the Guinness Book of World Records, adding to the more than 4,000 awards won by the company. Other award-winning pieces by the company include the Freak Blue Phantom, a tourbillon watch with no real case, crown or hands, and the GMT +- Perpetual, which combines a perpetual calendar with the ability to move the hour back or forth with one-press buttons.

Founded: 1846
Owned by: Kering Group
Official Site: www.ulysse-nardin.ch
Stocked Styles: Marine : Executive : Diver
Universal Geneve  
Stocked Styles: Other
Vacheron Constantin Another very old and respected watchmaker, Vacheron & Constantin have been creating fine timepieces since their inception in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron. The watchmaking business stayed in the Vacheron family exclusively for several generations, until 1819; as the company began exporting its watches to other European countries, and continuing to gain the attention of the watch community, current owner Jacques-Barthelemy Vacheron partnered with Francois Constantin, and the pairing was complete. Constantin began travelling abroad, further increasing visibility and notoriety of their brand. Vacheron & Constantin have been behind some notable moments in watchmaking history. The company was instrumental in the development and creation of timepieces that resisted magnetic fields, or were even entirely nonmagnetic themselves. They are also the brand behind one of the most expensive wristwatch ever made, the Kallista, as well as the world’s most complicated mechanical watch, the Reference 57260; this privately commissioned piece hosts 57 complications in total and took 8 years to complete. Today, Vacheron & Constantin is a member of the Richemont Group, standing with many other proud and storied names in watchmaking including Panerai, A. Lange & Söhne, and Jaeger-LeCoultre among others.
Founded: 1755
Owned by: Richemont Group
Stocked Styles: Overseas
Zenith Originally established in 1865 by watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot, Zenith has been crafting fine timepieces of all kinds in the small Swiss city of Neuchâtel for over 150 years. Since their inception, Zenith produces its works entirely in-house, from design and creation to finalized and tested products. In more recent years, Zenith become known for its incredibly precise in-house movement, the El Primero. This caliber is widely recognized as one of the most sophisticated and accurate mechanical chronograph movements in the industry and is seen in many different models of Zenith chronographs. It was the El Primero caliber that helped Zenith come out of the quartz movement crisis at full speed, ready once again to produce fine mechanical watches. Today, Zenith watches are appreciated both for their functionality as well as their fine craftsmanship and elegant designs.
Founded: 1865
Owned by: LVMH Group
Official Site: www.zenith-watches.com
Stocked Styles: Elite : Chronomaster : Pilot