Reconvilier Watch Company

The Reconvilier Watch Company was founded in 1853 by Dr. Tièche in Reconvilier.

Kuhn et Tièche

Mr. Kuhn took over the Tièche factory in the beginning of 1870. The factory was initially called Tièche, Kuhn & Cie. but was simply called Kuhn et Tièche by 1873. It was listed as a "Fabrique d'ébauches, finissages et remontoirs et tuilerie mécanique" ("factory of ebauches, finishing and reassembly, and mechanical tools").

They expanded production to include the manufacturing of ebauches in addition to cases and complete watches. In 1883 the company received a diploma at the Swiss National Exhibition in Zurich. According to an 1884 article in Journal Suisse d'Horlogerie, the firm exhibited "pendant and key components of a wide variety of calibres and winding systems, with special arrangement for calendar. Their showcase also contained gold watch boxes from their workshop, and an assortment of watches with various decorations, gold, silver and metal. Kuhn & Tièche also works according to the principle of interchangeability of movement components, with ebauches that are completely finished by machine. By a cutting process, the angles of the bridges and thin plates come out as well finished as by hand." In 1885 the company was awarded a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition in Antwerp for the excellence of its products.

The headquarters of the company was moved to Bienne in 1883 though the factory in Reconvilier remained in operation. Initially located at Pasquart 53, it was moved to Rue Haute 35 in 1886, Fontaines 4 in 1893, and Rue Haute 5 by 1900. This was a residential and office building in the old town of Bienne.

Tièche, Kuhn & Cie

The name Tièche, Kuhn & Cie reappeared as the name of a private bank in Bienne in 1895. This was located at Rue Haute 5 alongside the headquarters of Kuhn et Tièche through 1903.

Tièche, Kuhn & Cie. began as Barbier-Moser & Cie. in 1859, founded by Louis Barbier in Biel. After Barbier's death in 1876, the bank passed to his sons-in-law and was renamed Tièche, Kuhn & Cie. It operated until November 1901 when it closed, with Volksbank Biel assuming its assets. The bank's closure marked a shift in Biel's banking landscape, influenced by industrial crises and competition.

Société Horlogère Reconvilier

In 1902 the business was transformed into a Société Anonyme and the additional funding that came was used to expand manufacturing. This is the date referenced throughout the 20th century as the founding date of the firm, despite the fact that it was already 50 years old at the time.

Specializing at first only on higher-quality Roskopf watches, the factory soon began to manufacture anchor pocket watches and wristwatches. The Roskopf System watches produced there included an elegant model only 22 twelfths high, and Reconvilier also manufactured the exact watch envisioned by Louis Roskopf.

The Reconvilier factory in 1935

In the 1930s the company added production of 8-day clocks and other specialties such as automatic switches for radios, illuminated advertisements, and more. The factory was lead up to this point by Georges Ruedin, who died in 1935. By this point it employed nearly two hundred workers, of which more than a third had been with the firm for more than 25 years.

In 1942 the Reconvilier Watch Co. celebrated its 50th anniversary. Contemporary advertisements show a range of watches in various popular styles with the words "Qualite" and "Precision". The company used the brands Reconvilier, Hercules, and Louis Roskopf on various products.

André Ruedin (1902-1947) administered the company during this time but died suddenly in 1947 of a heart attack. He had worked at the firm since February 1926 and took over following the death of his father, Georges Ruedin in 1935.