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Most luxury watch producers are really old. That’s part of the prestige. There are four brands specifically, though, that are so old, they’re older than the country I’m currently writing this in. Gallet, Blancpain, Favre-Leuba, and Vacheron Constantin are four watch brands older than the USA.
Gallet (Established 1826, But With Roots Dating To 1466)
So this one is kind of a technicality. The Gallet name wasn’t officially registered until 1826, but the company can trace its roots all the way back to clock-maker Humbertus Gallet – way back in 1466. That makes it the world’s oldest watch and clock making house.
The Gallet family was originally located in Geneva, but relocated in 1826 to La Chaux-de-Fonds. When it made the move, and also officially registered as The Gallet & Cie, it was already operating for 350 years! It wouldn’t open its first US location in Chicago until 1864, however. It soon opened another location in New York as well. Lucien Gallet, with additional help from a cousin by the name of Jules Racine, oversaw expansion into the US markets. Jules Racine was living in the US at that time.
Gallet has military provenance as well, developing the first wristwatch that displayed a full-sized, constant seconds hand that originates from the center of the dial. It’s also mass-produced and were issued to military nurses and medics during World War 1. It also supplied wrist-worn timers to the British armed forces during WW1.
The company also produced a lot of watches for the Allies in WW2. Production surpassed 100,000 watches just at the start of WW2 in 1935.
The Excel-O-Graph shown in the above ad was introduced in 1965 (although the ad is from 1977). It was a chronograph with an integrated slide rule, complete with rotating bezel, that allowed pilot’s to make navigational calculations while in flight.
Blancpain (Established 1735)
If we consider that Gallet’s “brand” wasn’t founded until 1826, despite a history that dates back centuries before that, it would make Blancpain the oldest brand still in operation. Blancpain dates back to 1735. If you’re wondering why in the hell the below ad from 1960 has a Blancpain watch sandwiched in-between two pieces of bread, it’s apparently because the name means “white bread” in French.
The company did stop operations for a time due to financial difficulties, but was resurrected by none other than Jean-Claude Biver in 1982. Today, it’s a part of the Swatch Group.
Favre-Leuba (Established 1737)
Another ancient brand is Favre-Leuba, which is only two years younger than Blancpain. That makes it the second oldest Swiss brand, technically.
It was also one of the earlier producers of dive watches, releasing its first model in 1960. The “Deep Blue” dive watch would be released 3 years later, with water resistance of 200m.
Battered by the Quartz Crisis, it changed ownership many times after initially selling the brand in the 1980s. The Tata Group acquired the brand in 2011, which owns it today.
Vacheron Constantin (Established 1755)
Although founded roughly two decades after Blancpain, Vacheron Constantin is the oldest continuous watchmaker. It didn’t suffer from the Quartz Crisis like Blancpain and Favre-Leuba, keeping its doors open from its founding all the way up until today. It also remains a member of the “Holy Trinity” which also consists of Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.
Four Watch Brands Older Than The USA
To quote from a past post:
Here’s some perspective. By the time the French invaded Switzerland, Vacheron Constantin was already about 43 years old. That makes Blancpain roughly 63 years old. By the time the United States of America was founded, Vacheron et Constantin was already a little over two decades old, and Blancpain was striding into its forties.
Favre-Leuba, of course, is almost as old as Blancpain. It had to sell itself in 1985 (mostly due to the Quartz Crisis). It suffered “a temporary knock-out” in 1985, as Monochrome puts it. Despite all the subsequent changes in ownership, however, you can still buy a watch from the Favre-Leuba brand today.
Gallet survived the quartz crisis, and purchased the Racine Company in 1975. Almost a decade later, it received a contract by a Canadian distributor ran by Wein Brothers. Gallet was to manufacture wristwatches which would inevitably be for the US Government, and most of the dials were marked “Marathon”. Marathon is still around today, and remains the only supplier of watches to the United States Armed Forces. Gallet is still around today as well.
Know more about Gallet, Blancpain, Favre-Leuba and Vacheron Constantin and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!