Philippe Hüther

Philippe Hüther (1868-1925) was a merchant from Baden who is remembered for establishing the Tudor brand.

Early Life

Philippe Hüther was born around 1868 and died in 1925. Many sources list his name as "Huther" or even "Huter" though it appears that it was officially spelled "Hüther" with an umlaut. He married Lina Schlegel. Lina outlived him and was primarily responsible for the registration and establishment of The Tudor brand and the sale of the name to Hans Wilsdorf in 1936.

It is likely that Philippe was the brother of Charles Hüther (1866-1915) and Gustave Hüther, who are mentioned in his death notice. Charles appears to have started a watchmaking business in the village of Colombier near Boudry in 1897, which was taken over by Philippe in 1917. Later advertisements place the founding of the firm to this year. They may have been the children of wheelwright Charles Hüther, who lived in the same town.

Philippe Hüther-Leuba

It is likely that Philippe Hüther of Aigle is unrelated, though there are some coincidences of his location and name. He married Augustine-Henriette Leuba (daughter of Auguste Leuba) before 1899. On March 26, 1883, Hüther registered the name Ph. Hüther at Rue du Centre in Aigle. This was a grocer, haberdasher, and general merchandise store. The business was taken over by his wife, Augustine-Henriette (née Leuba) on June 28, 1899 and it was then known as A. Hüther.

Ph. Huther in Colombier

Philippe Huther established a watchmaking business in Colombier, where he now lived, on July 20, 1917, registering it 3 days later. He was likely registering the previously-small business of Charles Huther et Fils, which had existed in Colombier since 1897 and is no longer listed in 1916, when "Ph Huther" appears. Charles Huther was a smaller watchmaking operation in the already-small town but the profile of the firm grew under Philippe. By 1918 the company lists watches from 13 to 19 linge in silver and steel, including wristwatches.

The home and watchmaking workshop there, at Pontenet 13, was listed for sale in August 1918. Although Philippe was still alive, the listing says that A. Héritier-Hüther of Auvernier handled the sale. Yet the firm of Ph. Huther continued, with a larger listing, for years after. Another firm, Gustave Hüther, appears in 1922, and is perhaps related.

A death announcement made March 18, 1925 does not list a date of death but does show that he was 57 at the time. The name of his wife is listed as Lina Hüther-Schlegel (1878-1965). His supplies were liquidated in May, suggesting that his wife did not continue manufacturing watches after his death. But Lina Hüther did re-register the company (now as "Veuve de Philippe Hüther") on February 24, 1926, so the retail operation continued. One change under Lina Hüther was the addition of cheaper cylinder watches to the previous lineup of anchor watches. The firm appears to have suffered in the 1930s, with a minor listing after 1934.

The Tudor

On March 9, 1926, Veuve de Philippe Hüther registered the brand name "The Tudor" for watches, watch components, and cases. This would be Philippe Hüther's lasting legacy and it occurred nearly a year after his death. There is no indication of official activity for the brand, but many sources say that Tudor-branded watches began appearing soon after. Sources claim specifically that Tudor watches were created for the Australian market in 1932, with the T lengthened across the rest of the letters. It seems that some watches were signed Rolex as well.

On November 14, 1936, the registration (Swiss number 61318) was taken over by Hans Wilsdorf, Rue du Marché, Geneva, home of Rolex. Wilsdorf created Montres Tudor SA in 1946 and the company continues to this day. Master Horologer quotes Wilsdorf on March 6, 1946 as saying "For some years now I have been considering the idea of making a watch that our agents could sell at a more modest price than our Rolex watches, and yet one that would attain the standards of dependability for which Rolex is famous. I decided to form a separate company, with the object of making and marketing this new watch. It is called the Tudor Watch Company."

Huther SA

A Société Anonyme, Huther SA, was created on April 28, 1947 to take over the assets of Veuve de Philippe Hüther. This new firm was established with 50,000 francs and operated by André Ochsner of La Chaux-de-Fonds, president, and Suzanne Huther (1919-2009) of Colombier, vice president. The company was located at Rue de la Côte 12 in Colombier. Ochsner was removed from management on March 21, 1950, leaving Suzanne Hüther solely in control of the firm. A commercial branch was opened in La Chaux-de-Fonds by 1948 at Avenue Léopold-Robert 70, then at number 117 the following year, but the Colombier workshop remained in operation until 1953. Advertisements at this time claim "Maison fondée en 1897," reinforcing the link to Charles Hüther. Interestingly, this era shared offices with Girard & Ochsner, maker of Giroxa watches and likely the family firm of André.

Huther SA was officially moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds by August 18, 1953, following a meeting on July 4 which increased share capital to 200,000 francs. As of April 15, 1954 the company was relocated to Bienne and renamed "Huther SA Montres Brunela", reflecting the brand name the firm then used. Suzanne Hüther was no longer in control, with Hans Balmer of Laupen and Berne becoming the sole director and Daniel Girardet of Prilly and Bienne managing the firm. The new offices were Rue Heilmann 4 in Bienne.

Huther SA moved again by December 28, 1956, this time to Chambrelien in Rochefort. Daniel Girardet resigned and was replaced by Conrad Fehr of St-Gall of Berne. Pierre Loeffel of Rochefort was also added to management, and the location is noted as being at his office. On Devember 12, 1957, management changed again. Conrad Fehr and Pierre Loeffel were removed from management, with newcomers Max Dietrich of Champion in Berne from Herzogenbuchsee as president and Hans-Edouard Meyer of Lommiswil from Soleure to run the firm. Dietrich remained with the company until March 15, 1977, when he retired and was replaced by Heinz Rüfenacht of Röthenbach in Emmental from Selzach as president. Hans Edouard Meyer remained until January 12, 1989 when he retired and was replaced by Andreas Rüfenacht. Andreas renamed the company Rüfenacht Vögeli SA in 2016.