Claude Meylan

Claude Meylan is a watchmaker and brand active from 1988.

Watchmaker Claude Meylan began his career as an independent in 1988, acquiring the firm Georges Gay SA, maker of the Desotos brand in Les Bioux. He had previously worked for Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus, and his family had long roots in watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux.

In 1992, Meylan presented a new collection at BaselWorld featuring his name on the dial. The high-end automatic perpetual calendar watch with moon phase indicator was competitive with brands such as Blancpain and Breguet. Each watch was individually numbered and came with a signed lithograph as a certificate of authenticity.

By 1993, Meylan had relocated to Le Sentier and was offering a column wheel chronograph watch. This watch featured a double barrel movement and Breguet hairspring and formed the basis for the "Classic Line". The "Sportster" line was a thin chronograph offering.

The brand continued and by 2011 had been purchased by Philippe Belais, formerly of the Alfred Dunhill France, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Bertolucci brands. The new Claude Meylan brand was offering a skeleton dial model called the Eclipse. It featured an oped movement based on the Unitas 6497 and came in a black case. Another offering named Dentalle ("Lace") featured a skeletonized ETA 2892, and a minute repeater was also offered. A barrel-shaped Tortue skeletonized model was also offered by 2015. These later models were priced in the $5,000 to $10,000 range.