Braunschweig & Hirsch
Braunschweig & Hirsch were a maker of pocket watches in La Chaux-de-Fonds active in the 1890s and 1900s. The company produced watches under the Levrette, Astra, Eden, and La Victoire brands.
Braunschweig & Hirsch
Moïse Braunschsweig settled near La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1832, leaving Haut Rhin, Alsace in France. In 1871 Braunschweig was engaged as a watchmaker rue du Crêt 5. His sons took over, moving successively to avenue Léopold-Robert and rue du Parc. Another Braunschweig family also immigrated to the city from Haut Rhin and founded Election.
Braunschweig & Hirsch is first noted at Leopold-Robert 30 in La Chaux-de-Fonds from 1892 through 1894, then temporarily at Rue de la Serre 27 in 1895 and 1896. The firm registered a patent on a watch movement design in 1893, the first of many. It was operated by Isaac Braunschweig until his death in 1904, when Gustave Braunschweig and Emmanuel-Daniel Hirsch became managers. The company then moves to Rue du Parc 24 from 1898 through 1910. An unrelated firm, Achille Hirsch, also produced watches in the city during this period.
The company used the Astra brand for a line of repeater pocket watches in the early 1900s. In 1897, Braunschweig & Hirsch had purchased an 1889 patent on an advanced repeater mechanism from the famous firm of Barbezat-Baillot. The company also produced 17, 18, 19, and 20 ligne watches with remontoire as well as ladies pocket watches.
In 1902, the Levrette brand was registered by the Braunschweig & Hirsch Company, which in 1911 was renamed Manufacture des Montres Levrette. Gustave Braunschweig, the grandson of the founder, headed the company until 1932.
The Astra brand would later be produced by Astra Watch in Bienne starting in 1922. Eden would reappear in the late 1960s, produced in Selzach.
Braunschweig et Cie.
Braunschweig et Cie. is the successor starting in 1911. The company's new brands were Elli and Janus.
Braunschweig et Cie. was located at Rue du Paix 19, the same street as the massive Election factory operated by Lucien Braunschweig. The company relocated to Rue Leopold-Robert 63 in 1913, then Commerce 17a in 1914, where they remained through 1932.
The Janus brand would be revived in the 1950s by Montres Janus in Tecknau.