Bolsa
Bolsa was a watchmaking company active from 1942 through 1971. It is best remembered for holding the trademark for the Breguet brand in the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the involvement of Bernard Bréguet.
Paul Böhlen of Neuchâtel (originally from Riggisberg) founded an eponymous watch termination workshop in March 1942. It was initially located at Rue des Brandards 33 (perhaps his home) but moved to Chemin des Péreuses 9 in August. By October the company had modified its official focus to be a general watchmaking business.
In October 1945 Böhlen incorporated his business as Bolor SA, a public limited company. Still focused on general watchmaking, Bolor SA took over the assets of Paul Böhlen's operation and was founded with 50,000 francs share capital, which roughly matched the net financials of the business. Paul Böhlen was the only director. The company was now located at Percuses 19 in Neuchâtel.
The company modified its name to Montres Bolsa, Böhlen SA (Bolsa Watch) in February 1946. The company also registered the Bolsa Watch trademark at this time. The growing company moved to Avenue J.-J. Rousseau 5 in February 1947 and then Rue des Parcs 15 in August 1953.
Montres Breguet
- See Also: Bréguet-Bréting and Montres Breguet
In March 1956 Bernard Bréguet joined the firm as a director, bringing the Breguet brand with him. Bréguet had registered the "B. Breguet" brand in 1950, marking the first time in decades that the famed name had been officially used as a watch brand. The company was renamed Bolsa Watch et Montres Bréguet at this time, with the board expanded to include Edith Böhlen as secretary along with Paul Böhlen and Bernard Bréguet.
In July 1957 the company officially received the Montres Breguet trademark, and the script name continues to be used to this day. The company also registered the Coronet brand at this time.
Breguet branded wristwatches were advertised in 1956 and 1957, with the producer named as "Montres Breguet Neuchatel" and using the script Breguet name on the dial. Two models are shown, called "Perles d'Or" ("gold pearl") for the 12 golden balls used to mark the hours around the dial. They were modern dress watches with crosshair or radial inner dials in Calatrava or straight lug cases. The advertisements also featured the image of A.-L. Breguet as "Le plus illustre horloger" and the Neuchâtel Observatory as "centre scientifique de l'horlogerie."
Bernard Bréguet was removed from the board in 1962 and deleted the trademark. They transferred the B. Breguet brand back to Bernard Bréguet in 1962. The company was officially renamed back to Montres Bolsa, Böhlen SA.
On February 1, 1971, Montres Bolsa was liquidated, apparently taken over by another firm.