The history of The General Watch Company is quite complicated, but it begins with Omega. This is where we will start. Louis Brandt, the founder of Omega, formed a sole proprietorship as a comptoir d’établissage, or an assembly workshop, in 1848 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Brandt worked as a watchmaker assembling key-wound pocket watches made from parts supplied by local craftsmen. In 1877, Brandt’s sons, Louis-Paul and César, joined the business, which was renamed Louis Brandt & Fils (Sons). Louis Brandt died in 1879, and his sons took over the family business (Omega at Watch Wiki).
Omega
In 1880, the brothers relocated the factory to the town of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. In 1891, the business was renamed Louis Brandt & Frere (Brothers). In 1885, Louis-Paul and César began producing their own movements. In 1894, the company produced a new movement, the 19 ligne calibre. It was produced using revolutionary new methods and set new standards for watchmaking. It was incredibly accurate and very successful. The brothers branded this high-end movement ‘Omega’. At this point, the Brandt brothers looked to create another entity to focus on the lower end of the market. According to Mikrolisk, Louis Brandt & Frere registered the name La Generale in 1895. The focus of this new business was to produce watches using the cheaper cylinder movements. After the ongoing success of the 19 ligne calibre, Louis Brandt & Frere officially adopted the brand name Omega in 1903.
‘Société d’Horlogerie La Générale’
In 1895, a new company, Société d’Horlogerie La Générale, was formed in La Chaux-de-Fonds as a partnership between Louis Paul Brandt of Omega and Edouard Boillat of the ébauche company Ed. Boillat & Cie. This company was known as La Générale in French or The General Watch Company in English. It is believed that the purpose of this company was to produce lower-mid range watches, so that Louis Brandt & Frere could focus on their new brand, Omega. The most famous “brand” produced by Société d’Horlogerie La Générale was Helvetia. The name Helvetia was and still is the female representation of Switzerland. The female figure is still in use today (Helvetia at Grail Watch Wiki).
Interestingly, the name Helvetia appeared earlier than 1895. Mikrolisk reports that the trade name Helvetia was registered in Switzerland to both Louis Brandt & Frere in 1892. This was unusual, but not totally unexpected, as many companies used tradenames before they were actually registered. The interesting link is Louis Brandt & Frere. It suggests that the company had been considering representing different layers of the market for some time.
In 1906, the General Watch Company built a new factory in Bienne and turned the company’s focus to producing better quality lever movement watches as opposed to the earlier cylinder movements. The standard improved to such a degree that the General Watch Company began supplying movements for a sub-brand of Rolex called Marconi. In 1911, Omega finally withdrew from The General Watch Co., which continued under the control of Edouard Boillat. The company continued to produce watches under the trade name Helvetia.
In the late 1920s, it appears that The General Watch Company adopted ‘The Helvetia Watch Company’ as its primary trading name. They began to manufacture movements and watches branded Helvetia at a factory in Bienne. Helvetia continued to produce good-quality watches for many decades to come. However, they succumbed to the quartz crisis in the 1970s and 80s, just like many other Swiss brands. Other brands registered by The General Watch Company included Sackville, General, Adonis and Orta.
Related content
The History of The Helvetia Watch Company.
