Charles Bonny

Charles Bonny (1876-1935) was a prominent businessman in Bienne and served as director of watchmaking firm La Générale.

Obituary

With Charles Bonny, one of the first industrialists of the city of Biel and one of the most friendly figures in our watchmaking world has passed away. Born in La Brévine in 1876, he came to La Chaux-de-Fonds at the age of nine, where he continued his schooling. Then he went to Schiers to learn German. From there, he joined the Neuchâtel Cantonal Bank in La Chaux-de-Fonds as an apprentice.

After two years, before the end of his apprenticeship, the director of the bank, seeing the young man's abilities, employed him at the firm Julien Gallet et Cie, where he stayed for five years. He then went to Louis Brandt et Frère, Fabrique Omega, in Biel, and did a training period in England for them, and then climbed the ladder to become director of the "La Générale" watchmaking company in 1904.

Charles Bonny was director of this factory for more than thirty years and from 1924 he was also the managing director. He also served on the boards of Robert Cart, Concord, and Cortland.

He had rare talents as a salesman, and his clients, especially those in England, treated him as a friend. He also demonstrated his great skills as a manager. No detail of the factory's life escaped him. Alongside business, Charles Bonny loved to engage in charity work. Charles Bonny knew how to cultivate friendship. His devotion, his helpfulness, his pleasant and cheerful character made him a precious friend. Many people in Biel and in the watchmaking world in general will cherish a lasting memory of him.