Fabrique d'Ébauches Vénus
- See also Venus Watch for the various watches branded with this name
Fabrique d'ébauches Vénus was a respected producer of watch movements. It was absorbed into Valjoux, which is today part of ETA in the Swatch Group.
Venus Watches versus Vénus Movements
- See Also: Venus Watch
The Venus brand name was used on watches produced in La-Chaux-de-Fonds as early as 1902 by Paul Arthur Schwarz and Olga Etienne-Schwarz. The Vénus name was also used on radium dials produced in the 1920s.
Earlier models feature a line representation of the Venus de Milo torso and head and were produced under the auspices of the movement maker using third-party components. Some watches are also co-branded with other companies.
In the 1970's, the movement maker produced watches marked "Venus La-Chaux-de-Fonds" which feature a horizontal line extending from the "V" across the rest of the name and a circular logo above which resembles a ring or loupe. This incarnation of the brand ceased production in the late 1970's as Ebauches SA was absorbed into ETA and later Swatch Group.
The brand was re-launched in 2011 in Geneva using quartz movements from Ronda.
History
Fabrique d'ébauches Vénus was established in 1924 in Moutier, Canton Bern, Switzerland by Paul Berret, his brother Jean-Baptiste, and Otto Schmitz. The Berret brothers came from Cornol, but had grown up in Delémont, where their father was a wine merchant. After his technical studies, Paul Berret moved to Granges to work as a technical manager for A. Schild SA, but soon saw an opportunity to establish his own business. On May 1, 1924, Berret and partners purchased the former factory of Victor Spozio in Moutier, establishing Vénus. The factory was officially registered on May 15.
Jean-Baptiste Berret left the company the following year to return to Delémont, where he lived to be over 90. He was replaced by Kurt Henggeler, a watchmaker from Unterägeri who would soon found the Hera brand. Otto Schmitz was likely one of the namesake Schmitz Frères, casemakers of Granges, who also supplied Breitling in later years.
Vénus was quickly absorbed into Ebauches SA in 1928, with Sydney de Coulon added to management alongside Paul Berret, Otto Schmitz, and Kurt Henggeler. But Henggeler was busy with his watchmaking activities, merging Hera with Madewell and Argo in 1929, and Schmitz was likely similarly occupied with his businesses. Schmitz and Henggeler resigned in 1933, with Paul Perret joining de Coulon and Berret in management.
Vénus produced its first chronograph movement, Cal. 103, in 1933. Venus became famous for chronograph movements, many of which were used by high end Swiss brands. The Venus column wheel chronograph calibres are widely regarded today as being the finest ever produced and remain in great demand. Among these are the Cal. 170, Cal. 175, Cal. 178, and Cal. 179, a three-pusher split-seconds chronograph movement. Venus movements are marked with a five-pointed star.
Vénus was further integrated into Ebauches SA in 1947, with a new board of directors composed of Paul Berret, Sydney de Coulon, and Otto Ramseier.
Venus also produced cam switching movements. The Venus 180/190/200 series were all cam-switched. But these low-cost movements did not provide sufficient liquidity and Venus was absorbed by rival Valjoux in 1966. The then-new Venus 188 movement was the basis for the Valjoux 7730 and its technology lived on in the Valjoux 7750, still one of the most popular chronograph movements.
In the 1960s, Ebauches SA built a new modern factory in Moutier for Vénus. The building, at Rue des Fleurs 17, is still in use today by ETA as their "Usine Les Golats", Site 16. The ETA "Usine Graitery" at Rue de la Paix 90 is an older factory that has been expanded and modernized over a century of use. The original Vénus Ebauches factory at Rue du Viaduc 21, is now used by Imhof.
Old stock of Venus movements has been depleted in recent years, leading to a run-up in prices for watches with these movements. Jaquet SA became expert at refinishing Venus calibres and, under new name La Joux-Perret, has built up capability to re-create parts and even entire movements if needed.
Reissue
The popularity and beauty of Venus calibres has led to resurrections of the type in the 2000's. In 2000, a number of Venus 179 and 185 movements were reissued by Panerai, Parmigiani, and others. Similarly, in 2004, Maurice Lacroix reissued a series of 150 classic Venus 175 movements for their Masterpiece series, re-branding them Calibre ML 36.
Calibres
- See also Category:Venus calibres
- Watches
- 5.75 by 8.5 ligne tonneau - Calibres 55, 58, 59
- 8.75 ligne - Calibres 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 72, 76, 77, 81, 85, 86, 87, 93, 96, 102, 104, 107, 108
- 10.5 ligne - Calibres 75, 78, 79, 83, 84, 88, 89, 94, 97, 98, 103, 105, 106, 129, 148
- 8.75 by 12 ligne tonneau - Calibres 130, 131, 146 (also Calibre 131 CHR)
- 10.5 or 11.5 ligne - Calibres 180, 181, 182, 202, 203, 204, 208, 214, 216
- 10.5 or 11.5 ligne - Calibres 220, 221, 222, 223, 225, 226, 227
- 12.5 ligne alarm - Calibres 230, 231, 232
- 10.5 or 11.5 ligne - Calibres 240, 245, 246, 247
- Chronographs
- tonneau cam switched - Calibre 131 CHR
- 12.5 ligne pillar wheel/oscillating pinion (1940-1952) - Calibre 170
- 13 ligne pillar wheel - Calibres 150, 151, 152, 186, 187, 191
- 14 ligne pillar wheel (1940-) - Calibres 175, 176, 178, 183, 184
- 14 ligne pillar wheel rattrapante - Calibres 179, 185, 190
- 14 ligne cam switched (1948-1966) - Calibres 188, 200, 210, 211