Phenix

Phenix Watch Co was a Swiss watch brand founded in Porrentruy in 1873 as Dubail, Monnin and Frossard. It was named Société Horlogère de Porrentruy in 1899 before being branded Phenix Watch Co. in 1902. Phenix was a manufacture and specialized in anchor watches with compact movements, often with central seconds.

History

Phenix was founded in Porrentruy. The company produced watches under the Phenix, Eros, and Argus brands.

In 1954 Phenix introduced an automatic movement with a rotor that pivoted on a roller bearing: the Rollamatic. Two years later, Phenix released an unusual chronograph called Chronostop. Rather than a pusher, the Chronostop used the crown to control the seconds hand, similar to a Nicolet model released a year earlier. Phenix produced its own movement, the 10.5 ligne Cal. 132 stops the seconds hand when the crown is pulled and resets it to zero when it is pushed back in. This is accomplished without a column wheel or complex mechanism.

The brand was incorporated into the MSR in 1961 with Paul Aeschenbacher serving as Director. It had relocated to La Chaux-de-Fonds by 1966. The brand was retired after 1980.