Hoeter

Hoeter was a Swiss watch brand founded in 1872. It is associated with La Chaux-de-Fonds and later used the Brémon brand.

Hoeter and Tritona

H. Hoeter was founded in 1872 in Germany as a watch manufacturer. It was located in La Chaux-de-Fonds on Rue Fritz-Courvoisier 2 by 1875 but had relocated to Rue du Parc 14 by 1877 and Rue du Serre 18 in 1879. By 1880 it was listed as Auguste Hoeter, though still at that location. In 1886, Auguste Hoeter had relocated to Rue du Parc 25 and in 1894 it was listed at Rue du Progrès 28 as Aug. Hoeter & Cie. In 1908, Hoeter & Cie. relocated again to Temple Allemand 29.

A 1938 advertisement for Hoeter & Co shows them still located at Rue Temple-Allemand 29 in La Chaux-de-Fonds and producing waterproof watches as well as gold watches for men. The company had registered the Tona and Tritona brands by 1940 and boasts that they are pioneers in slender watches. Throughout the war, Hoeter continued the focus on slim watches under the Tritona brand, advertising it as "La Bonne Montre Étanche" ("the beautiful slim watch") in 1944.

Brémon and Breitling

Hoeter S.A. launched the Brémon brand in 1945 following a relocation after the war to Rue Daniel JeanRichard 44. This would be the primary brand for the company going forward, with the company reorganizing as "Cie. des Montres Brémon (Hoeter S.A.)" later that year. The Hoeter name was no longer used after 1952.

From 1953 through 1959, Brémon was sharing offices at Place du Molard 6 in Geneva with G.-Léon Breitling S.A. and the company would soon relocate their La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacturing operations to Breitling's Montbrillant Watch Manufactory. These watches appear to be Breitling-based, though the company remained nominally independent. Still, Brémon could be seen as a less-expensive sister to Breitling, and their product ranges and even model numbers overlapped.

Other companies sharing the offices at Place du Monard 6 in the 1950s and 1960s include Waltham S.A. (from 1960 through 1962) and gem setters Diarhône (in 1953 through 1959) and Gaston Dubois (in 1956).

Brémon's primary place of business after 1958 was the Montbrillant factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds. As of 1969, the company listed thin watches, chronographs, and men's and ladies watches in their catalog.