Le Phare

Jean d'Eve is a Swiss watch brand associated with Le Phare. It traces its roots to 1888 and the firm, Barbezat-Baillot. Other brands used include Memory, Lighthouse, Rolnik, Kowal, Temporis, and Elfarc.

Guye & Barbezat

Charles-Ami Barbezat-Baillot (1846-1938) was born in the village of Bayards in Canton Neuchâtel on June 3, 1847. His father was Charles Henri Barbezat and his mother was Aline Eulalie Chédel. At about 15 years of age, Barbezat was hired as an apprentice in the Le Locle watchmaking shop of Henri Victor Jean Guye (1838-1877). This is listed in Indicateur Davoine in 1864 at Grande Rue 66, Marais 159.5 in 1868, and Côte 194 in 1869. Barbezat came from the town of Bayards, as did the Guye, Baillot, and Bôle families, and it is likely that this was how he became acquainted with his wife, his business partner, and the field of watchmaking.

Henri Guye died in 1877 at just 39 years of age, apparently leaving the business in the hands of Charles Barbezat. Some sources suggest that Guye and Barbezat formed a partnership by 1867, which would be logical given the continued use of the Guye name after his death. We can certainly say that the partnership was in place by 1873 when it is listed in Indicateur Davoine at Rue du Pont 334. It is moved to Pont 336 in 1877 then Envers 363 in 1883. The company was officially registered on January 17, 1883 as "Guye & Barbezat". It is unclear to what extent the Guye family remained involved with the business during this time.

Guye & Barbezat moved to Côte 222 by 1886, taking out a large ad. It was a fabricator and seller of complicated high-end watches. The firm found great success in producing complicated and accurate watches and was also said to have specialized in the repair of marine chronometers. A patent for a calendar corrector was registered in the United States on April 12, 1878 (no. 212.882) and the company earned a gold medal at Gröningen in 1880. In 1881, Guye & Barbezat earned a gold medal at the National Watch Exhibition in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The company registered the trademarks Tempora and Viam Temporis Illumino on February 17, 1883. This same year, Charles Barbezat married, taking the alliance name Barbezat-Baillot afterwards. The company soon earned a Grand Honorary Diploma for Swiss exhibitors in Amsterdam alongside Patek Philippe. It was represented by Ed. Barbezat of Neuchâtel in the late 1880s.

Barbezat-Baillot and Le Phare

On November 30th, 1888 Charles Barbezat-Baillot (1846-1938) registered the Barbezat-Baillot watch factory in Le Locle. This was the successor company to Guye & Barbezat, and took over its stock and market. The new company was located on Rue de la Côte 222. Charles Barbezat-Baillot was involved in local business and became President of the Société des Fabricants d'Horlogerie du Locle in the 1890s. He also owned a residential construction company in the town to provide low-cost housing to workers.

Barbezat-Baillot specialized in high-end watches with repetition, and boasted of a centrifugal force mechanism and special mechanism that silenced the noisy mechanics, allowing the alarm to ring clearly. The company also introduced a pushbutton to activate the alarm, a novelty for the time, and reduced the size of the mechanism to fit in a normal watch case. These inventions were created by Georges Pellaton-Steudler, who left the firm around 1910 and would go on to found the Martel Watch Co. in 1914.

Barbezat-Baillot sold the products under the brand name "Le Phare" ("The Lighthouse") by 1896. Le Phare repeaters were more reasonably priced and produced in high volume. Some models also included complications like a chronograph, full calendar with moon phase indicator, and various automata. These were a highlight of the Swiss National Exhibition in Geneva in 1896. The brand name "Tempora" was also used by 1899 and "Memory" was also used beginning in 1925.

Charles added two additional board members in June 1889: Adèle Huguenin-Virchaux and Alfred Perrenoud-Jacot. His son Alfred-Louis Barbezat soon joined the company and became a member of the board on December 30, 1904. On March 3, 1905, the company changed its name officially to Manufacture d'Horlogerie "Le Phare" C. Barbezat-Baillot.

Jämes Favre and Zénith

Charles Barbezat-Baillot retired in 1913 and on April 3, 1914 the company was reorganized and recapitalized as a société anonyme called Fabriques Le Phare in Le Locle. Although Charles' son Alfred-Louis was part of the company management for a decade, control of the company passed to Jämes Favre, nephew and son in law of Georges Favre-Jacot and president of Zénith. This timing coincides curiously with the founding of the Martel Watch Co. there by former Barbezat-Baillot watchmaker Georges Pellaton-Steudler just two months later. Charles did not stay retired long: He founded Fabrique Suisse d'Orfèvrierie in Peseux, a maker of household items including silverware, in February 1915.

During World War I, the Barbezat-Baillot factory produced military trousers. Switching back to watches after the war, the company once again experienced success, tripling the size of its operations at Rue de la Côte 29-33 in 1920. The former seamstresses were now producing new complications, including chronographs, calendars, and moon phase watches.

Barbezat-Baillot also produced machines for watchmaking under the Dixi brand, and this would become a successful firm in its own right. Indeed, Dixi would purchase nearly every watchmaking form in Le Locle in the 1970s, saving brands like Zenith and Zodiac from extinction. Dixi was a product of Le Phare until it was spun out as an independent company in 1931.

Georges Perrenoud, Machines Dixi, and Nouvelle Fabrique Le Phare

The Great Depression caused issues for high-end firms like Le Phare, and the company was reorganized in 1933 as Nouvelles Fabrique Le Phare S.A. Le Phare produced complicated pocket watches in the 1930s, including rattrapante and standard chronographs, stop watches, alarm watches, and repeaters.

Charles Barbezat-Baillot died at the age of 92 on January 24, 1938 at his retirement home in Caroline near Les Brenets. He had retired to the town in 1913, though he remained active in the firm. It would move in a new direction after his death.

In 1939, Le Phare relocated to La Chaux-de-Fonds, changing ownership the following year. The company continued to specialize in complicated pocket watches but also added wrist watches by 1940, including pilot's watches. The brand's slogan was "Précision, Qualité Irrérochable" and their products reflected this focus.

Le Phare-Sultana

In 1950, the company changed its name to Le Phare-Sultana SA after merging with Sultana. By 1970 the company was the second-largest manufacturer of chronographs in Switzerland, and it was widely known for masculine watches with modern designs. As early as 1974, Le Phare offered a watch with retrograde hour and minute hands. By 1976, the company also offered LED watches and quartz movements. In 1977, the "Pebble" model embedded a quartz movement in a semi-precious stone as a table clock or pocket or pendant watch. The company continued to produce mechanical watches, however, including an ultra-thin skeleton model in 1980.

Jean d'Eve

In 1981, the brand "Jean d'Eve" was launched, generally being used for higher-end models. One signature piece was the Spinnaker, which included a rope design around the bezel and inspired many copycats. In 1984 the brand launched its "Sectora" models, in which the time was represented in sectors of the dials by retrograde hands. The company also changed its name to Le Phase Jean d'Eve SA in 1984.

The 1988 Samara model is claimed to be the first automatic quartz watch in the world. The Kentron Cal. 861.0 "Generotor system" features a dial-side rotor (between the hands and dial) that winds a generator spring that spins up a multi-polar generator to 15,000 rpm. This charges a condenser which can hold 10 days (240 hours) of power for the quartz movement. It also included an "Energizer" which can re-start the watch once it has stopped.

Le Phare-Sultana was acquired in 1991 by Renley Watch Manufacturing along with Buler Quartz SA of Lengnau. Founded in 1983 by Hong Kong-based Stanley Lau, Renley was a private label producer of Swiss and French watches.

The "Quarta" model was launched in 1993 and included retrograde hands in all four corners of a rectangular dial. The Sectora was updated with a new case in 1999. The 2006 Sectora II Automatic turned this display sideways in a new case. In 2010, Jean d'Eve launched a tourbillon at BaselWorld based on the Progress movement.

The Le Phare brand is no longer active as of 2020, but the Jean d'Eve brand was active at least until 2017.

Le Phare Chronology

• 1883 - January 17 - The firm "Guye & Barbezat" of Le Locle is officially registered, with Charles Barbezat listed as head, and the office listed at Rue des Enders 363
• 1888 - November 30 - The company is officially renamed "C. Barbezat-Baillot", with Charles-Ami Barbezat-Baillot listed as head, and the office listed at Rue de la Côte 222
• 1889 - June 26 - Power of attorney is granted to Adèle Huguenin-Virchaux and Alfred Perrenoud-Jacot
• 1897 - The trademarks "Rouage Silencieux" and "Systeme Silencieux" are registered
• 1898 - The trademarks "La Volapük" and "La Locloise" are registered
• 1899 - The trademark "Espéranto" is registered
• 1902 - The trademark "The Pharos" is registered
• 1903
  • March 19 - A new company called "Le Foyer" is established in Le Locle to construct inexpensive homes for workers, Charles Barbezat-Baillot is president, Paul Jaccard is treasurer, Alfred Zhinden is vice president, and Alfred Jeannet is secretary
  • Many new trademarks are registered, including "Tempora", "Viam Temporis Illumino", "Harmonie", "La Perle", "Horophone", "Regulateur Original", "Money", and symbols representing chimes and the cross-shaped regulator
• 1904 - January 2 - Alfred-Louis Barbezat, son of Charles Barbezat-Baillot, is added as a director, with Adèle Huguenin-Virchaux and Alfred Perrenoud-Jacot remaining
• 1905 - March 3 - The name of the firm is officially changed to "Manufacture d'horlogerie Le Phare C. Barbezat-Baillot"
• 1913 - The trademark "Divès" is registered
• 1914
  • March 30 - A Société Anonyme is created called "Fabriques Le Phare" which takes over the operation of the previous firm; share capital is 600,000 francs in 1,200 shares; the managing director is Jämes Favre of Zénith and the headquarters is Rue de la Côte 29
  • April 22 - Gustave Stolz is added as a director
  • December 19 - Charles Barbezat-Baillot becomes Chairman of the Board of Fabrique Suisse d'Orfèverie SA of Bayards
• 1915
  • February 15 - Charles Barbezat-Baillot transfers Fabrique d'Orfèverie to Peseux; he remains chairman of the board, with Auguste Jaccard becoming director and Paul Kramer deputy director
  • The trademarks "Le Phare" and "Dixi!" are officially transferred to Le Phare SA
• 1917 - Charles Barbezat-Baillot is replaced as chairman by Dr. Georges Reutter
• 1922
  • August 11 - The Board of Le Phare is revised, composed of Albert Piguet, Charles Rosat, Jämes Favre, Jämes Perrenoud, Albert Stolz, Albert Huguenin, and lawyer Emile Lambelet
  • December 14 - Le Phare notifies bond-holders that it needs to eliminate the interest and payments from 1922 through 1925
• 1923
  • May 15 - Jämes Favre resigns from the board of Le Phare and is replaced on July 12 with Georges-Alfred Perrenoud
  • August 10 - The board again notifies bond-holders that the company will not be able to pay interest or principal through 1925, but the bond-holders instead approve a plan involving drawing lots for amortization
  • October 22 - At the regular annual meeting the board reduces the value of shares of Le Phare from 600,000 francs to 240,000 francs; Albert Huguenin is replaced by Etienne Bersot, leaving newcomer Gustave Stolz as the only director temporarily
• 1924
  • February 21 - The board increases the value of shares of Le Phare from 240,000 francs to 400,000 francs by increasing the value of preferred shares while leaving ordinary shares de-valued
  • November 7 - Louis Ducommun is nominated to become commercial director as Emile Lambelet and Jämes Perrenoud resign
• 1926
  • January 15 - 100,000 francs of new investment is received in exchange for 500 new shares
  • April 19 - Le Phare receives a reprieve on its debt from the civil court in Le Locle
  • November 8 - The company is reorganized with preferred shares abolished and the value of all shares reduced to just 20 francs while 450 new preferred shares are issued, raising 450,000 francs of new investment; a new board was selected composed of Georges Ducommun, Jacques Nardin, Etienne Bersot, Georges Perrenoud, Alfred Nardin, and Georges Rahm; Albert Piguet, Charles Rosat, and Albert Stolz are removed from the board while administrator Gustave Stolz and commercial director Louis Ducommun are removed and replaced by Louis Hèche; Georges Cart and Charles Perret are added to the board
• 1928
  • September 8 - Louis Hèche is fired
  • October 12 - Machines Dixi SA is created to continue that branch of Le Phare; capitalized at just 80,000 francs initially, though it also paid Le Phare 220,000 francs in cash to take over the inventory and business; it is managed by Georges Perrenoud, Gustave Leroy, and Armand Prêtre and headquartered at Côte 29 in Le Locle
• 1929 - December 23 - The value of existing shares is again reduced, from 500,000 francs to 100,000 francs, with new shares issued to increase it to 400,000 francs; the board of directors is Georges Perrenoud, Alfred Dubois, and Alfred Perrenoud with Etierne Bersot, Georges Ducommun, [[Jacques Nardin], Alfred Nardin, and Georges Rahm removed from the board
• 1932
  • March 5 - Fabriques Le Phare officially declares bankruptcy
  • May 30 - Nouvelles Fabriques Le Phare SA is established; share capital is 50,000 francs; the board of directors are Marc Inäbnit (chairman), Jacques-André Nardin (vice-president), Charles-Marcel Chabloz (secretary), Werner Staub; the office is located at Rue de la Côte 31
  • June 16 - Accountant Charles-Albert Perret joins management
• 1938 - April 23 - Accountant Charles-Albert Perret is removed
• 1939 - January 20 - The company is sold and the headquarters transferred to La Chaux-de-Fonds; administrators are Paul Meyer (president) and Willy Burkhardt; the new office is Rue Leopold-Robert 9a
• 1940 - September 20 - Emile Chédel replaces Paul Meyer as chairman, while Willy Burkhardt remains
• 1941 - December 8 - Gaston-Paul Schwarz takes over the company, removing Willy Burkhardt and Emile Chédel
• 1944 - February 14 - Gaston Schwarz resigns and is replaced by Henri-Louis Schwarz
• 1945 - The offices are currently Rue du Progrès 119

Address

Jean d'Eve\\ av. Leopold-Robert 96\\ CH-2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds

Tel. +41 32 910 92 32\\ Fax +41 32 910 92 35

Weblinks

• Jean d'Eve
• Jean d'Eve Samara: The First Automatic Quartz