Fabriques d'Assortiments Réunies
- See Also: Nivarox-FAR, the successor company established in 1984
Fabriques d'Assortiments Réunies (commonly abbreviated FAR) was a holding company for makers of assortments established in 1932 within ASUAG. It was merged with Fabriques de Balanciers Réunies, Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies, and Nivarox to become Nivarox-FAR in 1984.
Formation
The Fabriques d'Assortiments Réunies (FAR) Société Anonyme was established officially on September 5, 1932. It was located in Neuchâtel on Rue Girardet 60, which remains the headquarters of the successor company Nivarox-FAR within the Swatch Group. It was a holding company established with initial share capital of 6 million francs and was entirely funded and owned by ASUAG.
FAR was headquartered in Le Locle, which was home to the majority of balance and escapement makers and assortiment houses at the time. The initial components represented most of the industry: G. Perrenoud, La Concorde, Stella, and Pierrehumbert Frères of Le Locle, Meier & Giroud and A. von Weissenfluh of Bienne, Gallay of Le Sentier, and Egger & Girod of Reconvilier. Representatives from each company, major watchmaking companies La Champagne and Election, as well as a banker and ASUAG, made up the initial Board of Directors:
- Ernest Strahm, ASUAG (president)
- Alfred Perrenoud, La Champagne
- René Didisheim, Election
- Louis-Paul Monnet, FIDHOR
- Sydney de Coulon, FHF (signing member)
- Louis Huguenin, La Concorde (vice-president)
- Georges Perrenoud, G. Perrenoud and Dixi (signing member)
- Robert Egger, Egger & Girod
- Adhémar Giroud, Meier & Giroud
Initial FAR Branches
The first action of FAR was to take over each of the companies as official branches. Le Sentier and Bienne were established on November 16, 1933 and each also listed 6 million francs of capital, though it is likely that this is the same amount as the primary FAR branch in Neuchâtel and was also held by ASUAG.
- "Branch A" in Le Locle took over the operations of G. Perrenoud at Rue du Marais 19-21, the same block as Branch C
- "Branch B" in Le Locle took over the operations of La Concorde at Rue de la Concorde 29, the current headquarters of Metalem
- "Branch C" in Le Locle consolidated the companies Stella and Pierrehumbert Frères at Avenue Collège 10, which is still in use by Nivarox-FAR and is located on the same block as Branch B
- "Branch D" in Le Sentier was created to take over the Gallay manufacture of assortments there. The board of directors for Branch D in Le Sentier consisted of Ernest Strahm (president), Alfred Perrenoud, René Didisheim, Louis-Paul Monnet, Louis Huguenin (vice-president), Georges Perrenoud (signing), Robert Egger, Adhémar Giroud, and Sydney de Coulon (signing). Authorized representatives in Le Sentier were Georges Gallay and Marguerite Gallay, who ran the factory there.
- "Branch E" in Bienne took over the Meier & Giroud factory there. The Board of Directors consisted of Ernest Strahm (president), Louis Huguenin (vice-president), Sydney de Coulon, Georges Perrenoud, Alfred Perrenoud, René Didisheim, Louis-Paul Monnet, Robert Egger, and Adhémar Giroud (also branch manager). Eugèue Gonseth was also given signing authority and management of the branch, which was located at Dammweg 3.
Later Expansion of FAR
FAR was expanded in later years to incorporate more makers of assortiments, as well as gauges and associated tools which were often produced by the same factories.
Jauges Cary was a brand of precise pin, ring, and block gauges used especially by makers of assortiments, pinions, and ebauches. The origins of the company and brand are unclear, with both G. Perrenoud/Dixi (in Le Locle) and Gallay (in Le Sentier) using the name in advertisements in the 1920s prior to the creation of FAR. But "Branch J" of FAR was established in Le Locle at Rue de la Concorde 31, adjacent to Branch B, Branch G, and Branch M.
FAR Branches
Fabriques d'Assortiments Réunies was a holding company for a large number of smaller firms. Unlike FSR, which named these branches after the town in which they were located, FAR gave a unique letter for each branch. This lead to a proliferation of lettered branches and filings, even in their home town of Le Locle.
- Headquarters - Le Locle - Girardet 57 (Nivarox-FAR)
- Branch A - Le Locle - Formerly G. Perrenoud, Rue du Marais 19-21
- Branch B - Le Locle - Formerly La Concorde, Rue de la Concorde 29 (Metalem)
- Branch C - Le Locle - Formerly Stella and Pierrehumbert Frères, Avenue Collège 10 (Nivarox-FAR)
- Branch D - Le Sentier - Formerly Gallay
- Branch E - Bienne - Formerly Meier & Giroud and A. von Weissenfluh, Dammweg 3
- Branch G - Le Locle - Georges Davoine, Rue de la Concorde 31 (Metalem)
- Branch J - Le Locle - "Jauges Cary", Concorde 31
- Branch L - Reconvilier - Formerly Egger & Girod
- Branch M - Le Locle, Concorde 31
- Branch R - Le Locle, Girardet 55 (Nivarox-FAR)
Detailed Timeline
- 1932 - September 5 - Les Fabriques d'Assortiments Réunies (FAR) is established as a public limited company to buy out the assortiment factories of the watchmaking region, manufacture, and sell these components; share capital was 6,000,000 francs, though this was entirely held within ASUAG; the board of directors was made up of Ernest Strahm (chairman), Louis Huguenin (vice-chairman), Sydney de Coulon and Georges Perrenoud (members), Alfred Perrenoud, René Didisheim, Louis-Paul Monnet, Robert Egger, and Adhémar Giroud; the office is Rue Girardet 60 in Le Locle
- 1933 - November 16 - FAR Branch A is established in Le Locle; Georges Perrenoud is manager, along with Paul Davoine, Charles Perret, and Henri Chabloz; the office is Rue du Marais 19-21 in Le Locle
- 1933 - November 16 - FAR Branch B is established in Le Sentier; Louis Huguenin is manager along with his sons, Louis Huguenin and William Huguenin; the office is Rue de la Concorde 29 in Le Locle
- 1933 - November 16 - FAR Branch C is established in Le Sentier; Bernhard Pierrehumbert is manager along with Georges Chabloz and Elisabeth Schumacher; the office is Rue du College 10 in Le Locle
- 1933 - November 16 - FAR Branch D is established in Le Sentier; the board of directors is Ernest Strahm (chairman), Louis Huguenin (vice-chairman), Sydney de Coulon and Georges Perrenoud (members), Alfred Perrenoud, René Didisheim, Louis-Paul Monnet, Robert Egger, and Adhémar Giroud; management consists of Georges Gallay and Marguerite Gallay
- 1933 - November 16 - FAR Branch E is established in Biel; the board of directors is Ernest Strahm (chairman), Louis Huguenin (vice-chairman), Sydney de Coulon and Georges Perrenoud (members), Alfred Perrenoud, René Didisheim, Louis-Paul Monnet, Robert Egger, and Adhémar Giroud; the branch is managed by Adhémar Giroud with Eugèue Gonseth; the office is Dammweg 3
- 1933 - December 22 - Edgar Nicolet joins the board of FAR while Charles Meylan is given power of attorney
- 1933 - December 22 - FAR Branch L is established in Reconvilier; the board of directors is Ernest Strahm (chairman), Louis Huguenin (vice-chairman), Sydney de Coulon and Georges Perrenoud (members), Alfred Perrenoud, René Didisheim, Louis-Paul Monnet, Robert Egger, and Adhémar Giroud; the branch is managed by Robert Egger with Virgile Girod
- 1934 - November 2 - Charles Perret is named central technical director for all of FAR
- 1935 - July 15 - FAR Branch A removes Charles Perret as director
- 1936 - April 28 - Louis-Paul Monnet retires from FAR as well as Branches A, B, and C and is replaced by Hans Soldan of the Banque Cantonale de Berne
- 1938 - April 12 - FAR Branch C removes Elisabeth Schumacher from management
- 1938 - May 12 - FAR Branch D removes Marguerite Gallay from management
- 1938 - December 15 - Following his death, Ernest Strahm is replaced by Paul Renggli on the board of FAR
- 1940 - April 4 - FAR Branch A removes Paul Davoine from management
- 1941 - July 23 - Following his death, Louis Huguenin senior is replaced as FAR vice-chairman by Georges Perrenoud, with Louis Huguenin junior joining the board; he is also removed from management of FAR Branch B
- 1941 - July 25 - FAR Branch L is reorganized, removing the deceased Ernest Strahm and Louis Huguenin as well as Georges Perrenoud and Sydney de Coulon from the board, with Robert Egger and Virgile Girod becoming directors
- 1941 - July 26 - FAR Branch D is reorganized, removing the deceased Ernest Strahm and Louis Huguenin as well as Georges Perrenoud and Sydney de Coulon from the board, with Charles-William Aubert becoming director and manager along with Georges Gallay
- 1943 - May 29 - FAR Branch C removes Paul-Bernard Pierrehumbert from management
- 1945 - April 18 - Albert-Paul Tuetey joins the board of FAR; he is replaced as director of FAR Branch A by Willy-Edouard Giroud and Jean Monard
- 1946 - February 13 - FAR removes Charles Perret from management
- 1947 - June 17 - FAR Branch C adds Pierre Chabloz and Hermann Meier to management
- 1947 - June 23 - FAR Branch E adds Alfred von Weissenfluh to management
- 1949 - February 14 - FAR Branch D adds Claude-Maurice Aubert to management
- 1949 - December 22 - The central office of FAR is moved to Rue Girardet 57 in Le Locle
- 1950 - May 20 - FAR removes Adhémar Giroud from the board and adds Georges Gallay and Georges-Edouard Chabloz
- 1952 - May 10 - FAR promotes Georges-Edouard Chabloz to vice-chairman, replacing Georges Perrenoud who has died; he is replaced as manager of FAR Branch A by Henri Chabloz