 | |
| Industry | Watchmaking |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland |
Number of locations | La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Patrick Pruniaux |
| Products | Watches |
| Brands | Girard-Perregaux Ulysse Nardin |
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The Sowind Group SA is an independent parent company of the Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin Swiss watch brands. [1] [2] [3] The brands were acquired in 2011 and 2014, respectively. [4]
Based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Group incorporates the Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin brands, that develops and produces a complete portfolio of high-end movements (more than 100 variations of existing movements) and collections of top-of-the-range watches.
In horology, a tourbillon is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement to increase accuracy, it was developed by the Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet and patented by Breguet on 26 June 1801. In a tourbillon the escapement and balance wheel are mounted in a rotating cage, with the goal of eliminating errors of poise in the balance giving a uniform weight.
The Hamilton Watch Company is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches based in Bienne, Switzerland. Founded in 1892 as an American firm, the Hamilton Watch Company ended American manufacture in 1969. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the Hamilton Watch Company eventually became integrated into the Swatch Group, the world's largest watch manufacturing and marketing conglomerate.
Kering is a French-based multinational corporation specializing in luxury goods. It owns the brands Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, Creed and Alexander McQueen.
The term designer label refers to clothing, luxury automobile manufacturers and other personal accessory items sold under an often prestigious marque which is commonly named after a designer, founder, or a location-like where the company was founded. The term is most often applied to luxury goods. While members of the upper middle class, or the mass affluent, are perhaps the most commonly targeted customers of these designer labels, some marquees—such as Cartier, Rolex, Montblanc and the haute couture — tend to a wealthier customer base. But almost every designer brand has merchandise that the middle-class wouldn't normally be able to afford, such as exotic skins, furs and hides, limited edition pieces, or things simply priced higher. Designer label companies use their smaller and cheaper merchandise, aimed at the middle class, such as wallets, fashion jewellery, key-rings and small accessories, to make the majority of their income, whilst the more expensive pieces such as haute couture, high jewellery, hand-bags, shoes and even furnishings are usually reserved for the wealthier upper-class clientele.
The "Watch Valley" covers all the Swiss Jura Arc, from Geneva to Basel, and is the primary location of the Swiss watch-making industry.
François-Henri Pinault is a French businessman, the chairman and CEO of Kering since 2005, and president of Groupe Artémis since 2003. Under his leadership, the retail conglomerate PPR was transformed into the luxury fashion group Kering.
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.
An observatory chronometer is a timepiece that has passed stringent testing and a slate of accuracy tests. Thus, the "observatory trial" developed as the standard process for determining accuracy of timepiece movements. If the chronometer passed the stringent testing, it would be certified.
Constant Girard was a Swiss watchmaker from the 19th century, who marked his time by his developments in the escapement systems, in particular that of the tourbillon. His most famous watch, the Tourbillon with three gold bridges, is still fabricated today in modern versions by the Swiss watch manufacturer, Girard-Perregaux.
Jean-François Bautte was a Swiss watchmaker and jeweller famous for several reasons: he founded the most complete watch manufacture of his time in Geneva. He also created watches and jewellery for famous people and was one of the inventors of the extra-thin watch.
Luigi Macaluso, also known as Gino was an Italian rally navigator and manager. Together with Raffaele Pinto, he won the European Rally Championship in 1972 and the Italian Rally Championship with Maurizio Verini in 1974. He was then the chairman and CEO of the Sowind group, under whose roof Girard-Perregaux, the watchmaker GP Manufacture and JeanRichard were united.
Stefano Macaluso is an Italian businessman. He attended high school and went to university in Turin, graduating with a degree in Architecture from the Politecnico in 2002. While completing his university course, he also devoted some time to his passion for motorsports, competing first in the Italian Rally Championship before going on to compete in the European Rally Championship and World Rally Championship.
Rolf W. Schnyder was a Swiss businessman known for his role as the owner and CEO of watchmaker Ulysse Nardin.
Aaron Sigmond is an American author, editor and publisher with a focus on luxury heritage brands.
François Perregaux was a Swiss watchmaker and businessman.
Albert Favre Zanuti was a Swiss-Italian watchmaker and entrepreneur, instrumental in the development of the watchmaking industry in Japan in the 1880s as a O-yatoi Gaikokujin.
Bucherer AG is a multibrand watch and jewellery retailer based in Switzerland with over 100 stores worldwide. It was founded in 1888 by Carl F. Bucherer, who also became the namesake of a luxury Swiss watch brand. Bucherer retails brand including Rolex, Carl F. Bucherer, Baume & Mercier, Blancpain, Breguet, Cartier, Chopard, Girard-Perregaux, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Oris, Panerai, Piaget, Rado, Roger Dubuis, TAG Heuer, Tissot, Tudor, Ulysse Nardin and Vacheron Constantin.