CHP

Communauté d'Horlogerie de Précision (CHP) was a federation of Swiss watch manufacturers active from 1958 through the 1986.

History

The Communauté d'Horlogerie de Précision ("Precision Watchmaking Community" or CHP) was formed in Le Locle on May 12, 1958. It was not a holding company or profit-making venture but rather a marketing and promotion organization. According to the incorporation papers, the aim was "without pursuing its own gainful activity, to promote and promote the activity and development of its members as manufacturers of precision watches. To this end, it may in particular, within the framework of the watchmaking regulations in force: a) conclude agreements reserving to its members the exclusive construction and delivery of certain calibres of ebauches, etc.; b) create or finance a technical office for watchmaking research and studies; c) conclude global advertising contracts; d) acquire patents, licenses or exploitation rights; e) file a collective trademark or symbol; f) organize order groups, as well as the sale or commissioning of all or part of the articles manufactured by its members; g) promote exchanges of information, technical and commercial; h) generally conclude all contracts and carry out any operations of interest to its members in terms of the manufacture and sale of watches, as well as finishing"

Each partner company was required to invest 1,000 francs in the organization. The original board of directors was composed of: René Calame, president, Charles Blum, vice-president, Emile Jauslin, secretary, Charles Virchaux, treasurer. The official company address was the home of René Calame, Bellevue 25 in Geneva, though the organization was registered in Le Locle.

The organization was modified in 1967 with Jean-Louis Borel becoming president, Henry Auguste Favre becoming 1st vice president, Pierre Calame becoming 2nd vice-president, and Charles Blum remaining merely a member. René Calame, president, and Charles Virchaux, treasurer, resigned, and Emile Jauslin, deceased, was removed.

In 1969 Charles Blum resigned, Henry-Auguste Favre became president, Pierre Calame becoming 1st vice president, Eric Perrenoud becoming 2nd vice-president, and Jean-Louis Borel merely a member. Maurice-Edmond Jacot-Guillarmod became a director. The new company address was Avenue Léopold-Robert 73a in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The primary purpose as of 1969 was "promotion of global purchasing and technical research."

In 1972 Pierre Calame and Erwin Schnegg resigned while Charles Blum became president, Francis Prétôt became 1st vice-president, and André Theurillat became 2nd vice-president.

The group was strengthened in 1974 with the addition of famed manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre, which was at that time owned by Favre-Leuba. In 1974 Jean-Louis Borel and Henri-Auguste Favre were removed (the latter had died), Charles Blum became merely a member, Francis Prétôt became president, André Theurillat became 1st vice-president, Eric Favre became 2nd vice-president, and Pierre Calame became a member.

In 1978 André Theurillat and Pierre Calame resigned along with director Maurice Aeschlimann. Eric Favre became president, Pierre-Alain Blum became vice-president, and Francis Prétôt and Charles Blum became mere members.

The organization was liquidated in 1986.

Membership

• Synchron SA
  • Ernest Borel & Co SA, Neuchátel
  • Cyma, La Chaux-de-Fonds
  • Doxa SA, Le Locle
• Ebel SA, La Chaux-de-Fonds
• Eberhard & Co., La Chaux-de-Fonds
• Saphir
  • Favre-Leuba SA, Genève
  • Jaeger-LeCoultre (as of 1974)
• Juvenia, La Chaux-de-Fonds
• Zodiac SA, Le Locle

Note: A 1969 Europa Star article includes Heuer-Leonidas as a member, but this was corrected the following year.