Sultana

Sultana is a watch brand tracing its roots to 1935 and currently owned by Free Town Watch Products of Hong Kong.

Antoinette Arnould

The Sultana name was registered by Antoinette Arnould of La Chaux-de-Fonds on May 15, 1933. She was previously the wife of watchmaker Alphonse Arnould but the couple divorced that same month, so it appears that Sultana was an emancipated venture for her. The firm was located at Rue du Parc 130 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the same address as her former husband's Arnold & Fils.

Alphonse Arnould is first listed as an engraver of watch cases in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1892, specializing in novelties for the German market. Arnould's business grew in the 1910s and he moved to Rue du Parc 128-130 by 1908. In 1900, Emile Arnould (likely Alphonse's brother) also went into the engraving business in the city, though he is no longer listed in 1908. Emile switched to watch cases later before entering the watchmaking business in 1917 as Maison Mondius.

Alphonse's son René joined the watchmaking firm in 1918, and it was renamed A. Arnould & Fils. The father and son Alson formed a maker of metal and silver dials called Arnould & Cie in 1927, located at Rue Alexis-Marie-Piaget 32. A Saint-Imier dial maker named Jules Arnould (later called Arnould Frères) might have been related. Emile Arnould was also a partner in Arnould & Cie but he left the business just one year later. Both A. Arnould & Fils and Arnould & Cie were bankrupt in 1930, closing in April of the following year. By 1938, it appears that Alphonse had started production of glass crystals for watches at the same address, a business that continued as Arnould SA through the 1960s.

Antoinette Arnould's Montres Sultana was closed on November 26, 1935. This is the same day that Paul Schwarz-Etienne's company was handed over to his sons, becoming Fils de Paul Schwarz-Etienne. Just four days later, Helyette Schwarz and her brother Gaston Schwarz founded Montres Sultana, taking over Antoinette Arnould's brand.

History

The Sultana Watch Company, Ltd. was founded in 1935 in La Chaux-de-Fonds by Gaston Schwarz, part of the Schwarz family also known for Venus watches and movements and Astin brand. The company was merged with Le Phare in 1950 to become Le Phare-Sultana SA, a name that would remain for 70 years. Both firms were based in the same town and both included members of the Schwarz family of watchmakers. Both brands operated independently for decades, but often shared a single booth at major watch fairs, with La Phare on one side and Sultana on the other. In the 1960s, Sultana also used the brand Carsic in certain markets.

The Sultana brand was not widely used by the combined company until it was re-launched after the 1991 acquisition of La Phare-Sultana by Renley Watch Manufacturing of Hong Kong. The Sultana brand continued until at least 2017, again sharing a booth at BaselWorld that year. Renley became Free Town in the 2000s.