View source for Numa-Augustin Jeannin

[[File:RIH 1944 20-009 Numa Jeannin portrait.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Numa-Augustin Jeannin in 1944]]
Numa-Augustin Jeannin ([[1880]]-[[1958]]) was a watchmaker and industrialist primarily remembered as the founder of the eponymous [[Fleurier]] firm [[Olma|Numa Jeannin SA, maker of Montres Olma]]. His son, [[Numa-Aurèle Jeannin]], took over the firm following his death.

Numa-Augustin Jeannin was born in [[1880]] in [[Les Bayards]]. His father, Paul Jeannin-Bourquin (1838-1927), was a watchmaker there and Numa and his brother learned the craft. The family was large and had modest financial means.

Henri Jeannin-Rosselet, the elder brother of Numa, founded a watchmaking enterprise in [[Buttes]] around 1901, with Numa soon moving to the town to become commercial manager. This operation failed after World War I but was reopened as the [[Buttes Watch]] company in 1923.

In [[1906]] Numa seized the opportunity to start his own watchmaking firm. He selected [[Fleurier]] and registered a company in his own name that year. He built a factory in the town in [[1911]] and brought his wife, Louise Jeannin-Marchand, into the firm in [[1914]]. By that time the Jeannin family included four children. Three sons, [[Numa-Aurèle Jeannin|Numa-Aurèle]], [[André-Paul Jeannin|André-Paul]], and [[Edouard Jeannin|Edouard]], would spend their professional lives in the factory.

Numa Jeannin was a member of the General Council and various commissions. Although he stayed away from political life in later years, Jeannin was committed to the development of the village of Fleurier. An excellent musician, Numa Jeannin was part of the Espérance harmony. In 1926, with some friends animated by the same enthusiasm as him, he re-started the orchestra La Symphonie, which was a favorite pastime for him.

Jeannin underwent surgery at the Cantonal Hospital of Lausanne but did not survive. He died on February 16, [[1958]]. He was survived by his widow, three sons, a daughter, and many grandchildren.

[[Category:Biography J|Jeannin, Numa-Augustin]]