Daniel Hirsch

Emmanuel-Daniel Hirsch (1853-1928) was an Alsatian watchmaker and businessman active in La Chaux-de-Fonds around the turn of the 20th century. He is best known for Braunschweig & Hirsch, the firm that produced Janus and Levrette watches.

Ancestry and Early Life

Feiss Hirschel (1773-1832) was the common ancestor of the Hirsch family of watchmakers, including Daniel Hirsch, his brother Achille, and their cousin and fellow watchmaker, Salomon Hirsch. Hirschel lived in Hattstatt, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, and married Léah Leyé Rueff (1777-1849) in 1794. Among Herschel's many children were Moïse Hirsch (April 8, 1801-1876) and Cerf Hirtzel Hirsch (April 6, 1813-October 30, 1888). Moïse's son Salomon-Léopold (1847-1908) would partner with Cerf's sons Achille and Daniel in a variety of watchmaking enterprises and his daughter Rachel Léa (1851-1941) would become Achille's wife in 1875.

Emmanuel Daniel (commonly called Daniel) was born on May 19, 1853. He was the youngest child of Cerf Hirtzel Hirsch and his second wife, Caroline Dreyfus (1822-1874) whom he married in 1843. Most of the Hirsch family emigrated to La Chaux-de-Fonds around 1874 to become involved in watchmaking there.

Daniel Hirsch married Lucie Bloch of Alsace in March 1884 and the couple had a son, Fernand, in April 1885. She is likely the sister of Adrienne and Emma Bloch, who married Alvi and Isaac Braunschweig, also La Chaux-de-Fonds watchmakers from Alsace.

Braunschweig & Hirsch

Daniel Hirsch established a watchmaking business at Rue des Arts 5 around 1880. Simply called "D. Hirsch", it was merged with the firms of his father Achille and uncle Salomon to become A. & S. Hirsch in June 1885. A new company called "E. Daniel Hirsch" was created in May 1889 and located at Rue Léopold-Robert 26 in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Hirsch next went into business with Isaac Braunschweig, his brother-in-law. The firm of Braunschweig & Hirsch was founded around 1892 and was located at Avenue Léopold-Robert 30 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It incorporated the former business of I. Braunschweig at Serre 25 and E. Daniel Hirsch at L-R 26. In 1893, the company registered a patent on a watch movement design, and this continued for the next few years. After the death of Isaac Braunschweig in 1903, Hirsch continued the business with his son Gustave Braunschweig.

In 1902, the Levrette brand was registered by the Braunschweig & Hirsch Company, which in 1911 was renamed Manufacture des Montres Levrette. Gustave Braunschweig, the grandson of the founder, headed the company until 1932.