Rolex SA is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered Rolex as the brand name of its watches in 1908 and became Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. in 1915. After World War I, the company moved its base of operations to Geneva because of the unfavorable economy in the United Kingdom. In 1920, Hans Wilsdorf registered Montres Rolex SA in Geneva as the new company name ; it later became Rolex SA. Since 1960, the company has been owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, a private family trust.
Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jewellery, watches, leather goods, pens, firearms, clothing, and accessories. Richemont is publicly traded as CFR on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the JSE.
Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company has been owned by the Stern family in Switzerland and remains the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva. Patek Philippe is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its founding. It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. The company maintains over 400 retail locations globally and over a dozen distribution centers across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. In 2001, it opened the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
Valjoux is a Swiss manufacturer of mechanical watch movements. It is known primarily for chronograph ébauche movements that are used in a number of mid- to high-range mechanical watches. The company is a part of ETA, and is a member of the Swatch Group. They are also the movement providers for early Rolex Daytonas such as 6263.
ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse designs and manufactures quartz watches and both hand-wound and automatic-winding mechanical ébauches and movements. Commonly referred to as ETA, the company is headquartered in Grenchen, Switzerland, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Swatch Group.
Oris SA is a Swiss luxury manufacturer of mechanical watches. The company was founded in 1904 and is based in Hölstein in the canton of Basel-Landschaft.
Zeno-Watch is a Swiss watchmaker established in 1868, though the Zeno name has been in use only since 1922. They are an entry-level Swiss brand, using an ETA movement for their mechanical watches. Specializing in aviation watches, they are one of the few independent Swiss watch manufacturers still in operation. Their factory is based in Basel, Switzerland.
Maurice Lacroix is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in the Canton of Jura and headquartered in Zürich.
Zenith SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker. The company was started in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel and is one of the oldest continuously operating watchmakers. Favre-Jacot invented the concept of "in house movements", believing that only through control of the entire watchmaking process could the highest quality be achieved. Zenith was purchased by LVMH in November 1999, becoming one of several brands in its watch and jewelry division, which includes TAG Heuer and Hublot. Benoit de Clerck is the company's current president and CEO.
Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A., commonly known as Chopard, is a Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories. Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland, Chopard has been owned by the Scheufele family of Germany since 1963.
Montres DOXA S.A. is an independent Swiss watch manufacturer founded in 1889. Doxa is best known for its dive watches. The name Doxa (Δόξα) is the Greek word for "belief" or "opinion", or in Christian contexts, "glory".
A helium release valve, helium escape valve or gas escape valve is a feature found on some diving watches intended for saturation diving using helium based breathing gas.
Officine Panerai is an Italian luxury watch manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A.
Manufacture d'horlogerie is a French language term of horology that has also been adopted in the English language as a loanword. In horology, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form manufacture. This term is used when describing a wrist watch movement or watchworks fabricator which makes all or most of the parts required for its products in its own production facilities, as opposed to simply assembling watches using parts purchased from other firms.
Linde Werdelin is a luxury Swiss-Danish watchmaker founded in 2002 by Morten Linde and Jorn Werdelin. They specialize in crafting limited and numbered series of watches and instruments. Linde Werdelin watches are made in Switzerland by Danish designers. By combining analog and digital technologies, Linde Werdelin produces and manufactures mechanical watches along with instruments for skiing and diving that can be clipped onto the top of the watch. Linde Werdelin creates limited and numbered editions of up to 100 pieces.
Mathey-Tissot is a Swiss watch maker of prestige watches, originally established in 1886 by Edmond Mathey-Tissot at Les Ponts-de-Martel in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
Favre Leuba is a Swiss luxury wristwatch manufacturer headquartered in Grenchen, Switzerland, and formerly a pioneer in watch design, manufacturing and distribution. The brand was established in 1737, following the registration of Abraham Favre as a watchmaker. However, the Favre-Leuba family was forced to sell the company's name in 1985 due to the ongoing quartz crisis, which made manufacturing watches more difficult.
Raymond Weil Genève is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1976 in Geneva by Raymond Weil and Simone Bédat. Simone Bedat and her son left the company in 1996 to form Bedat & Co. Raymond Weil led the company until his retirement in 2002; he died in 2014. The company is now managed by Weil's grandson, Elie Bernheim.
Sellita is a Swiss manufacturer of mechanical watch movements based in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel. Founded in 1950, Sellita was one of ETA's major outsourced assembly partners for their movements until 2003.
