Felsa
Felsa was a Swiss watch movement manufacturer founded in Grenchen in 1918 and becoming part of Ebauches SA in 1928.
History
The Fabrique d'Ebauches et de Finissage Felsa SA was founded in Lengnau on September 16, 1918. A public limited company with share capital of 100,000 francs, Felsa was dedicated to "Manufacture of ebauches and finissage and trade with such." The Board of Directors consisted of businessman Arnold Tschudin-Zemp of Waldenburg, and technician Hermann Mügli-Haudenschild of Welschenrohr. The company raised an additional 50,000 francs of capital in March 1921.
Seeking to expand, the company relocated to Grenchen on June 17 1924 and simplified its name to Felsa SA. The company took over the former Obrecht & Cie factory close to the huge A. Schild factory there.
Felsa company joined A. Schild, Adolphe Michel, FHF, and others under the Ebauches SA banner in 1928.
Felsa became an innovator in the 1930s with designer Friedrich Meyer, who patented an automatic winding mechanism in 1942. A bi-directional winding mechanism was patented in 1947 by Meyer. This was used in the well-known Bidynator movement which was used by Breitling, among other brands. Because of Felsa's successful bi-directional automatic winding system, they were allowed to specialize in automatic movements by the cartel of Swiss movement makers, Ebauches SA, along with ETA and A. Schild.
Timeline
- 1918, September 16 - Fabrique d'Ebauches et de Finissage Felsa SA is founded in Lengnau as a public limited company for "Manufacture of ebauches and finissage and trade with such"; share capital is 100,000 francs; the Board of Directors consists of businessman Arnold Tschudin-Zemp of Waldenburg, and technician Hermann Mügli-Haudenschild of Welschenrohr
- 1921, March 18 - The joint-stock company Fabrique d'Ebauches et de Finissages Felsa SA increases share capital from 100,000 to 150,000 francs
- 1924, June 17 - Fabrique d'Ebauches et de Finissages Felsa SA is moved to Grenchen and changes its name to Felsa SA