Sydney de Coulon

Sydney de Coulon (1889-1976) was called the "Grand Patron" of Swiss watchmaking. He ran Ebauches SA from 1933 through 1964, giving him indirect control over most Swiss watch manufacturers through ASUAG and the cartel.

Early Life

Sydney de Coulon was born on March 24, 1889 and raised on the family estate known as Treytel along the shore of Lac de Neuchâtel near Bevaix. His father Alfred de Coulon and mother Léonie had 13 children (three of whom did not survive) and Sydney was the youngest. His father was a banker in England, and young Sydney did a 24 month internship there where he learned about the stock market. He was later known to smoke a pipe, a habit he claims to have picked up in England at this time.

Returning to Switzerland, de Coulon helped establish a new bank in Lausanne. Although not a watch industry insider but was asked to help manage the Fabrique d'Horlogerie de Fontainemelon in 1918. Taking an interest in watchmaking, de Coulon took on a technical apprenticeship to learn more about the construction of watch movements. It was from Fontainemelon that he would join the consolidation of the watch industry in the 1920s and 1930s: On December 27, 1926, FHF was a founding member of Ebauches SA, which de Coulon would soon lead. But he was not yet a manager of the ebauche cartel.

When Ebauches SA banded together with watchmakers, FSR, and the Swiss banks to form ASUAG in 1931, Sydney de Coulon was selected as the first secretary. This gave him the opportunity to leverage his banking and watchmaking connections and to prove his value as an administrator and industry leader. His leadership was championed by Hermann Obrecht, called the father of Ebauches SA due to his involvement in government and the watch industry. Obrecht took a chance on the young man, whom he saw as a protege.

Sydney de Coulon lead Ebauches SA to become one of the most popular forces in Swiss industry. Although part of ASUAG, Ebauches SA was at the center of the fight over dissidence, quotas, and export controls. de Coulon also pushed for the establishment of a Swiss research laboratory, which would give rise to the quartz watch among other innovations, as well as a pension fund for watchmakers.

de Coulon was also a member of Swiss parliament from 1941 through 1954, a national councillor from 1947 through 1949, and served in the cantonal government for 14 years. He chaired the Liberal Democratic Association nationally. He was also the captain of the Fontainemelon firefighting corps and served on the local council.

In April 1964, Sydney de Coulon resigned as CEO of Ebauches SA. Although he and his wife intended to travel and enjoy life, she died three years later. Sydney de Coulon died on August 17, 1976 and was remembered as "the grandfather of Swiss watchmaking."