View source for Fabrique Nationale de Spiraux

Fabrique Nationale de Spiraux was a [[dissident]] maker of [[balance spring]]s in [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]] operating from [[1905]] through [[1929]]. The company was officially registered as La Nationale-Spiraux SA in November [[1905]] (though even then it used the name "Fabrique Nationale"), briefly represented [[Paul Perret]]'s [[Invar]] springs, and merged with the defunct competitor [[G.-A. Ulrich]] (formerly [[Bucher-Moser]]) in [[1914]]. The company was purchased by the [[FSR]] cartel and merged with [[Stella]] and [[W. Ruch & Cie]].

==La Nationale-Spiraux==

La Nationale-Spiraux was officially formed on November 7, [[1905]] at Rue de la Charrière 37 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The company was founded by [[Alphonse Gogler]] ([[1866]]-[[1945]]), a well-known watchmaker who took over the [[Indicateur Davoine]] directory in [[1902]], styling himself a publisher and industry leader. Gogler was a founding member of the [[Société Suisse des Spiraux]] in [[1898]], which was formed by watchmakers to resist the control of the [[Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies]] cartel, which had been formed a few years earlier. The creation of La Nationale-Spiraux reflected Gogler's impatience with the growth of SSS and his desire to break the cartel's control.

La Nationale-Spiraux was a [[Société Anonyme]] funded with 30,000 francs, enough to come up to speed quickly but not nearly the 125,000 francs used to set up SSS. The workshop was located at Rue de la Charrière 37, the same building used by SSS since [[1902]]. The industry group closed that shop in [[1908]], moving all manufacturing to Geneva, and it is likely that Gogler's operation was a continuation of production, perhaps using the same suite and machinery. This location was previously used by [[Eugene Cattin]] and would later be used by [[Eugène Couleru]]'s [[Montres Octo]] and by [[Fritz Jetter]] to produce watch cases under the [[Diala]] name in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Annuaire shows the balance spring operation at Charrière 37 as [[Société Suisse des Spiraux]] in [[1902]] and [[1903]] but as "Fabrique Nationale des Spiraux" starting in [[1904]]. This suggests a de facto change for the operation, which was certainly transitioned from the industry group to Gogler's company by the end of the following year. It also lists the operation (and many other spring factories) under the "Réglages" category, suggesting that these workshops provided regulation as well as manufacturing services.

==Paul Perret's Invar Springs==

In [[1898]], [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]] regulator and inventor [[Paul Perret]] announced that he would exclusively manufacture balance springs using the [[Invar]] nickel-steel alloy invented by [[Charles-Edouard Guillaume]] and himself. He set up a factory in [[Fleurier]] to produce these springs, which promised to upset the entire balance spring industry. Although Perret actively advertised them for sale that year, it is likely that it took a few more years to perfect the material and manufacturing process, and his company was bankrupt in [[1902]]. But production continued despite stiff resistance from the [[FSR]] cartel, which took over the operation in [[1906]], two years after Perret's death.

It is surprising, therefore, that Annuaire lists "Spiraux compensateurs Paul Perret" under [[FSR|Société des Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies]] in [[1903]]. Perhaps this is an error, since this listing falls under Fabrique Nationale des Spiraux from [[1904]] through [[1907]]. It is more likely that Perret's factory, which was reorganized as an SA on December 23, [[1902]], was re-capitalized with an investment from the [[Société Suisse des Spiraux]] or Gogler himself. The Fleurier factory remained in operation after Perret's death under Albert Welter with a board made up of respected businessmen and national councillors Henri Wittwer and Edouard Ledermann.

It is likely that Gogler's Fabrique Nationale served as a depot and distributor for Paul Perret's Invar balance springs until the firm was purchased by the FSR cartel in September of [[1906]]. Starting in [[1908]], Perret's springs were advertised under [[Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies]].

==Fabrique Nationale de Spiraux==

[[Fritz Bucher-Moser]] began manufacturing balance springs in [[Saint-Imier]] by [[1902]] but soon moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds. He formed a company there called [[Bucher-Moser & Cie]] with funding from brewer Charles-Auguste Girardet. His factory was located at Rue de l'Industrie 16 but soon relocated to Rue de la Chapelle 3. The company used a fox as its logo. The firm failed by [[1914]] and was closed.

In [[1916]], Gogler's company, now commonly called Fabrique Nationale, purchased the assets of Bucher-Moser & Cie. At the same time, the company brought in [[Gustave Ulrich]] to manage operations, and Gogler and Ulrich would work together in many businesses afterwards. Around this time the company moved to Rue du Pont 8 and 10.

Ulrich proved to be a shrewd businessman and developed this business into a success over the following decade. He impressed Gogler enough to be brought in as a board member for a new graphic design and printing business called Artographic in [[1917]]. The third board member was none other than Saint-Imier balance spring maker [[Emile Schweingruber]]. Although the company failed in [[1923]], it brought together these "dissident" balance spring makers.

When Fabrique Nationale de Spiraux was reorganized in [[1926]], Ulrich was the sole owner. The factory was now located at Serre 106. He soon brought in his brother [[Arthur Ulrich]], who assisted him for decades.

==Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies==

The hairspring operation of Fabrique Nationale merged with [[Ernest Dubois]]' [[Stella]] in La Chaux-de-Fonds and [[W. Ruch & Cie]] in Saint-Imier in [[1929]] under the overall ownership of [[Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies]], with Dubois and Ulrich joining the board of the cartel. Ulrich resigned in [[1932]], however, to focus on other types of springs. Fabrique Nationale thus became a leading producer of non-balance springs, with Ulrich managing the company. He brought in [[Louis Huguenin]] and [[Albert Perret]] in [[1946]] and renamed the company [[Fabrique Nationale de Ressorts]] in [[1952]].

Ulrich also served on the board for [[W. Ruch & Cie]] after [[Nivarox]] was split off, joining in [[1944]] along with [[Ernest Dubois]] and [[Louis Huguenin]]. The trio continued to run the company after the sudden death of [[Werner Ruch]] in an automobile accident in [[1952]], though all three left and handed the company to a new generation in [[1959]] following Ulrich's death.

Ulrich remained involved in balance spring production, however. He was part of the management committee for [[FSR]] and was specifically the commercial director for the La Chaux-de-Fonds branch of the cartel from [[1953]].

Ulrich's La Chaux-de-Fonds factory soon became the Jardinière branch of the Fabrique Nationale de Spiraux and [[Fabrique Nationale de Ressorts]]. Ulrich himself was director of the new cartel while remaining managing director and commercial director of his own factory.

[[Category:La Chaux-de-Fonds]]