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Modern watch advertising seems to rely heavily on one of two things: The past, or a featured celebrity. There’s nothing wrong with that. If your watch went to the moon, or it’s worn by a famous athlete or movie star, you’d be crazy not to capitalize on that. Especially in today’s day and age. Some of my favorite vintage watch ads in my collection aren’t even for complete watches, however.
Many of these mid-century ads are for watch movements or even components. Some are just for watch accessories, like aftermarket bracelets. I like these ads because they come from a time when watches were bought to be worn – not sit in a safe or become part of a collection.
These ads were originated before watches were basically superseded by smartphones (and other electronic gadgets). I doubt you’ll see a movement-maker or a bracelet-maker advertise today, so when looking at the vintage ads in this post, I think you can literally say “they don’t make ’em like this anymore”.
Vintage Watch Ads From Ebauches SA And Unitas
Ebauches SA was a holding company created at the end of 1926. It existed all the way into the mid 1980s, until it was eventually consolidated into Swatch Group under ETA. Before its inevitable absorption into ETA, Ebauches SA itself was an amalgamation of many iconic movement-makers that are still familiar today. Peseux and Valjoux are some of the names that likely still ring a bell.
Ebauches SA joined ASUAG (a larger holding company) in 1931, making it one of the founding members. Eterna would join the next year in 1932. This would lead to the splitting up of Eterna and ETA. Eterna would continue to manufacturer whole watches under the General Watch Co, while ETA went under the Ebauches SA part of the company.
Another name you may be familiar with is Unitas, which joined Ebauches SA in 1932. It’s still owned by ETA today, mostly producing its caliber 6497/6498.
After numerous more consolidations and mergers – the modern ETA became part of the Swatch group in 1983 when ASUAG merged with SSIH (a group that was originally created when Omega and Tissot merged with Lemania).
Incabloc Vintage Watch Ads
Another company that produced some really cool “non-watch” watch ads was Incabloc. The Incabloc shock system was invented by Georges Braunschweig and Fritz Marti, a pair of Swiss engineers in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. That was in 1934, and the system is still widely used in modern watches today – even if these watches don’t advertise it on their dials anymore.
You can see the trademark “lyre-shaped” spring worked into the design of the first three ads above, as well as integrated into the actual movement in the ad on the bottom right. This is the spring that’s integral to the Incabloc system that protects a watch’s balance-staff pivots from shocks. There’s a high probability that if you collect Swiss watches, you probably have one with Incabloc in it.
Forstner Ad From 1948
The below ad is actually for an aftermarket bracelet manufactured by Forstner. The company invented its signature “Komfit” band in 1939.
The “Komfit” band was a revolutionary idea at the time, designed “to make a watch strap whereby the buckle and clasp could move along the length of the strap, and then be secured once the proper fit was located”.
The above ad from 1947 is very similar to the 1941 advertisement I featured in my recent post 4 Interesting Watch Ads From the WW2 Era (Part 2).
Leonidas Ad From 1955
Leonidas was founded in 1841, and was a well know manufacturer of chronographs and timers. It merged with Heuer in 1964, and the Leonidas name would only be used sparingly going forward. By the late 1960s, Heuer-Leonidas was the fastest-growing producer of timekeeping instruments, as well as the most dominant.
The above ad shows a watch, but Leonidas was really more of a movement-maker. After Heuer was acquired by the TAG Group (Techniques d’Avant Garde) in 1985, the Leonidas name was dropped.
Wrapping Things Up
Let’s face it, you don’t need a watch nowadays. Back in the 1940s and 1950s when these ads were released, however, it was a different story. If you were timing a horserace, you probably needed a chronograph. A mechanical one, too. Quartz watches weren’t even close to being invented yet, and there wasn’t an internet or website to check the official time.
Accuracy, durability, and functionality – not legendary history and celebrity brand power – were the main selling points during this era. State-of-the-art shock protection was probably more important than heritage. I think that’s what makes these ads so charming.
Know more about Ebauches SA, Unitas, Incabloc, Forstner, And Leonidas and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!