Consul

Consul is a historic Swiss watch brand established in La Chaux-de-Fonds as early as 1900. The brand was associated with Charles Virchaux since 1926 and was owned by Girard-Perregaux Holding from 1969 through 1979, then by Desco von Schulthess, parent company for Maurice Lacroix, until 1996. Consul is currently located in Neuchâtel and focuses on the Asian market.

Montres Consul

According to company tradition, watchmaker François Huguenin (1864-1940) established a watch workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1900 and registered the Consul brand in 1901 or 1904. Consul claimed to be "since 1901" in advertising in the 1980s, though other sources list 1900 as their start date. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1950, suggesting this earlier date. But there is no record of this in primary sources, with the Huguenin workshop at Concorde 7 in La Chaux-de-Fonds first listed in 1904, with François' son Louis-François Huguenin listed as proprietor. It was a small operation, consisting mainly of family members, until 1923 when it appears for the first time as a true watchmaking factory.

The company's ownership was clarified in 1923, with a notice in the local paper that Louis-François Huguenin was now the "chef de la Maison Huguenin." François Huguenin's wife Bertha (née Aebi) died in 1934, with ownership passing to Charles Virchaux, who had worked in the shop since 1920. Louis-François had married one of Charles' sisters, and sometimes listed his last name as Huguenin-Virchaux. The operation is listed as being run by François Huguenin through 1952, but Charles Virchaux was the owner of Montres Consul. François Huguenin died on July 15, 1940.

Charles Virchaux passed his share of the business to his son Charles-Edouard Virchaux in 1942. The brand received recognition for "50 years at the Basel Fair" in 1991, suggesting that they first exhibited in 1941. The Montres Consul brand appears for the first time in the Davoine directory in 1942. It is listed as a subsidiary of Charles Virchaux, Rue Léopold-Robert 63, La Chaux-de-Fonds. By 1947 Virchaux and Consul had relocated to Rue Numa-Droz 141.

Eglantine and Valory

Louis-François Huguenin-Virchaux registered Eglantine SA on November 24, 1933, with the address shown as Concorde 7. This business passed to the control of Charles Virchaux in 1942 after a brief administratorship following Louis-François death in 1941. Eglantine was taken over by Valory of Geneva in 1944, and Charles Virchaux soon became president of that company as well.

Consul and Girard-Perregaux

Charles-Edouard Virchaux married Paulette Graef, owner of Girard-Perregaux, in 1951.

In 1952, Consul won a chronometer certificate from the Neuchâtel Observatory, and this fact was celebrated for decades to come. The company had been testing all of its watches since 1946 and boasted chronometer status for many watches in the 1950s.

A 1954 advertisement in Europa Star shows Consul as a producer of 21 jewel watches with a 1st prize from the Neuchâtel Observatory chronometer competition in 1953. The company is also listed as the producer of Landi brand watches at that time. Consul was shown at the Basel Fair in 1957, and both Consul and Landi were shown from 1959 through 1962.

Consul listed a 30 jewel automatic calendar wristwatch in 1965, along with a men's fob-style watch with a square or round case. The company was using the Orly brand by this point as well. The company listed ladies pendant watches in the 1960s as well.

Consul became a joint stock corporation in 1962 and was taken over by Girard-Perregaux Holding in 1969. Charles-Edouard Virchaux would become General Director of the Holding company that year.

The company was officially named Montres Consul SA by 1966 with the same address that Virchaux had listed. Consul and Landi again exhibited at Basel that year through 1972. The Consul Alertic, introduced by 1969, was a dual-crown alarm watch.

In 1977, Consul is listed as a subsidiary of Girard-Perregaux, Rue Girardet 1, La Chaux-de-Fonds. The company had adjoining booths with Girard-Perregaux at Basel since 1972, and appears to have specialized in pendant watches by this point.

In 1979, Girard-Perregaux Holding was purchased by Desco von Schulthess of Zurich, owner of Maurice Lacroix. Consul was re-launched in 1980 with an expanded lineup of watches.

Girard-Perregaux was sold by Desco in 1985.

Catamaran and Consul

Consul had launched the Catamaran brand in 1983, with a line of nautical themed watches. A shockproof Catamaran Turbo was shown in 1985. A new design Catamaran followed at Basel in 1987, with a line of complicated quartz calendar models launched the next year. The Consul brand was no longer featured on the watches.

Montres Consul moved from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Bienne in 1986. By 1992, Consul was listed as "operating independently" within Desco Zurich. The Catamaran was still their major product line at this time, and in 1994 this was listed as a separate division of the company, with a new "double hull" design. An Europa Star report suggests that Catamaran had sold 120,000 units in 1993, and present in 52 international markets.

Consul was sold by Desco in 1996, and the company was moved to Neuchâtel in 1998. By the 2000s Consul brand watches were once again on the market. Most were fashionable watches with jewels or mother of pearl.