Pierce

Pierce is the 20th century brand of Swiss watch manufacturer Léon Lévy Frères of Bienne and Moutier.

The Lévy Family in Switzerland

The Lévy family came from Hegenheim, and it is there that Gaspard Lévy (1814-1860) married Henriette Barbe-Schmoll (1820-1895) in 1849. Henriette was the daughter of a laborer, Salomon Schmoll, and it is likely that Gaspard was a simple peddler or craftsman. The family included eight children, three girls and five boys, one of whom died as an infant. Henri was the oldest son, born in 1851, followed by Moïse in 1853, Léon in 1856, and Théodore in 1859. Gaspard died in 1860, just as anti-semitism was rising again in the region. The Lévy sons saw Switzerland as an opportunity to establish a new life away from the pogroms. Moïse emigrated to Starrkirch in Solothurn in 1874 to escape conscription, followed by Léon and Théodore, who settled in Aegerten, close to Basel.

Léon Lévy Frères

It is unknown how Léon Lévy became involved in watchmaking, but the city of Bienne/Biel was actively seeking to expand this industry in the 1880s and set in place tax incentives to bring watchmakers to town. It is likely that Lévy entered an apprenticeship to a watchmaker before establishing his own workshop, since this is how most entered the trade at the time.

Léon Lévy and his brother founded a watch company in Bienne Switzerland in 1883 under the name Léon Lévy et Frère. The company was located at Rue Neuve 22. Another firm known Lévy Frères already existed in the city at Place de Moulin 7 and had been in operation since at least 1867. By 1890 Léon Lévy's firm was known as Léon Lévy et Frères and had moved to Quartier-Neuf 29. It moved to Rue Centrale 6 by 1893, just as the continuing firm of Lévy Frères moved a short distance down that same street.

Léon and his brothers sent for their mother to join them in Bienne in 1884, and she remained there with them until her death in 1895. By 1886, the Lévy workshop was said to employ 700 workers, manufacturing a wide range of watches. Léon married Léonie Grumbach that same year, an Alsatian from Colmar. They soon had two children, Margot (1887) and Pierre (1894).

By 1894, Léon Lévy et Frères had grown again and had returned to Rue Neuve 20.

Lévy moved to a new office at Faubourg du Lac 103a in Bienne by 1902 and became a Société Anonyme the following year. Located in the "Rockhall" complex opposite the main post office, it was situated on a rocky outcrop known as Jägerstein. This villa complex is on the hills above the city and is a short distance from Aegler's Rolex factory but is not suited for large-scale production. This office would be the official office of the company through 1965, at which time the company (known called Pierce) moved to a modern office building at Quai du Bas 92.

In Moutier

In spring 1896, Léon Lévy et Frères established an operation in Moutier, and this would grow to become the focus of the company. Lévy Fréres purchased 23 acres of land in Moutier from a Bernese banker in the 1890s for 21, 420 francs. Although the company's official address remained in Bienne for another decade at least, the "Usine a Moutier, G. V." (Moutier steam-powered factory) was increasingly important to the company and the large factory was even featured in advertisements in the 1940s. The factory remained the center of production for Lévy and Pierce through at least 1958.

Operations initially commenced in the existing Fabrique du Nord, but Lévy quickly outgrew this space. On December 29, 1896, the company filed plans for a new annex to be constructed, giving the firm more space.

The Moutier operation was overseen by brothers Léon Lévy, Théodore Lévy, and Moïse Lévy, with assistance from Jules Rein. The latter would become commercial director for the factory, and worked for the firm for 46 years until his death in 1942.

The Moutier factory was not friendly to the union movement of the 1890s through 1910s, and the workers' federation announced in 1904 that its members were forbidden to work there. They blamed this on the unwillingness of the factory to accept a standard wage rate and on the fact they they would not accept the apprenticeship of any worker who had trained there.

Lévy initially used the existing Fabrique du Nord, but soon sought to build its own workshop. The Moutier government granted 6,000 francs in 1905 to bring water and electricity to the site so the firm could construct a large new factory there. This would become the landmark Pierce factory, which opened for business on May 26, 1906.

In 1908, Léon's daughter Marguerite-Rose ("Margot") married Geneva silk merchant Lucien Flegenheimer. His mother, Clara née Nordmann, was also from Hegenheim and his father was a ribbon peddler like Gaspard Lévy. Their son Jean Flegenheimer (1909-1968) would join the firm, becoming a manager in 1936, a director 10 years later, and ultimately replacing Henri Lévy as chairman of the board in 1966 until his death in 1968.

It is widely reported in modern times that Lévy employed 1,500 people by 1910, and this is often compared to the 23,000 inhabitants of Bienne at that time. But this number likely also included the Moutier workers, which made up the majority of it. Moutier was said to employe a thousand workers there around this time, producing two thousand movements a day. Many of these were cased by the company into inexpensive watches for export.

A large addition was announced in 1914 to house 500 workers, in addition to the 600 already employed. Following World War I, Charles Wolfensberger took over as technical director of the factory.

After World War I, Lévy expanded rapidly with the export boom but suffered quickly after 1920 amid cutthroat competition. It is said that the company reduced its workforce by half at this time, and was approached by Ebauches SA later in the decade to sell their movement operation. But Lévy refused, becoming one of the dissident watchmakers that resisted the strict export controls of the 1930s.

From Lévy to Pierce

Léon Lévy himself died in Paris in 1934 at the age of 78. He was buried in the Jewish section of the Montparnasse cemetery, leaving control of the company to the sons of Moïse, Henri and Adrien, to take over the company. Adrien was commercial manager while Henri focused on manufacturing.

The younger Lévy brothers were interested in expanding the company as an export brand. They initiated the Pierce brand in the 1930s, registering it on April 29, 1931, and established an office in New York on Beekman Street. While Léon Lévy focused on the Eclipse brand, they used the Rocail and Darius names, along with Pierce for mass produced products.

Léon Lévy was one of the pioneers of automatic watches, registering Swiss patent 172,127 in 1933 for a movement that shifted longitudinally inside the case to wind. This was quite different from the later rotary approaches but was somewhat similar to the contemporary designs. The movement was widely produced through the following decades. Another innovation of the company was a waterproof case. It featured a back held in place with screws, which was quite different from the snap or screwed back cases manufactured by others.

The 4 in 1 Watch

But it was patent 195,382 of 1935 that truly established Pierce on the international stage. This was a chronograph with a vertical clutch, the first such mechanism ever produced. Pierce was forced to develop it entirely in-house since Ebauches SA and UBAH refused to trade with the dissident firm.

This inexpensive chronograph was launched in time for the Berlin olympics in 1936 and was very popular with the athletes there. It was widely exported, becoming particularly attractive to the Italian and American athletes. Japanese marathon winner K. Son noted that "it is of the greatest use and indispensable for athletic performance and training work." A 1936 article in the New York Times notes that the Siber-Hegner Company was advertising the Pierce chronograph in Shanghai, Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama, where interest in athletics was on the rise in anticipation of the Olympics, which were to be held in Tokyo in 1940 before they were ultimately cancelled due to World War II.

A 1937 article in Journal Suisse d'Horlogerie describes the so-called "The 4 in 1 Watch" as being the first chronograph marketed to the general public. Because of the simplified construction, it was offered with an "advantageous price" and was thus "accessible to all." It was marketed specifically to "young sportsmen" and "for work control" as well as in the military. It was shipped in an attractive box bearing the names of sports champions and including a leaflet describing its use in sports and industry. The unusual arrangement of sub-dials at 6 and 12 gave it a distinctive appearance.

Pierce SA

The Pierce chronograph was so successful that the Lévy brothers adopted that name exclusively in 1938, renaming the firm Manufacture des Montres et Chronographes Pierce." Although the early models were mono-pusher, a two-pusher model appeared in 1939, which remains famous today because the function of these pushers is reversed from other brands.

From the 1930s Pierce produced in series the first self-developed calibre. The Royal Air Force awarded the contract for the development and construction of the pilot's watch Flight Calendar. In 1956 Pierce presents the mechanical alarm wristwatch Duofon. The name refers to its ability to deliver the alarm signal in two volumes, loud or silent. A window in the dial indicates the selected setting.

Like many Swiss watchmakers, Pierce experienced a boom in international sales after World War II, and their success was especially acute since they produced their watches entirely in-house in Moutier and were thus able to undercut the cartel on price. Other models included a compact watch with a full calendar and moon phase, introduced in 1952, and a new automatic model called the Correctomatic in 1955. The company also adopted the pi symbol on their watch dials by 1953. Another unusual model was an alarm watch called the Duofon which featured two different settings, in 1956.

The only new model in the 1960s was the Intercosmos of 1964, with day and date. But the company was then in decline, and ceased producing movements entirely in the 1970s. The Moutier factory was closed and later sold to ETA.

Even during the quartz crisis in 1970, the company remains faithful to the principle of the purely mechanical watch and sees no need for a change.

The temporarily shut brand has been revived in 2005. The current models can be described as low-priced. They are named Arabesque, Observer, Commander, Air Command, Calendar Flight and Ocean Drive. Their design is inspired by the well-known historical models of the brand. Today still Swiss movements are used, while the final assembly and regulation of the watches takes place in Germany.

Address

Pierce 1883 Repräsentanzkontor Europe
Demminer Str. 23
D-17159 Dargun
Tel. (+49) 039959-173-00

Timeline

• 1883, May 16 - The firm of Léon Lévy & Frère is established in Bienne by brothers Léon Lévy and Theodor Lévy, both of Argerten but living in Bienne. The watchmaking company was located at Obergasse 37.
• 1886, July 1 - The company changes its name to Léon Lévy & Freres as Moïse Lévy from Starrkirch joins his brothers. It is now located at Neuengasse 22.
• 1896, June 1 - A branch of Léon Lévy & Frères is established in Moutier. The watch factory is managed by brothers Léon Lévy, Théodore Lévy, and Moïse Lévy.
• 1904, May 22 - The Bienne company is re-formed as Aktiengesellschaft Léon Lévy & Frères; share capital is 1.4 million francs; Léon Lévy, Théodore Lévy, and Moïse Lévy are directors; the company is located at Seevorstadt 103
• 1920, July - Moïse's son Adrien Lévy of Starrkirch (living in Bienne) is given signature for the Moutier branch
• 1922, July - The board of directors for the Moutier branch is reorganized: Moïse Lévy is president, Léon Lévy is vice president, and Théodore Lévy is board member
• 1925, May - Two members are added to the board of the main firm in Bienne: Manufacturer Adrien Lévy and engineer Henri Lévy, both sons of Moïse Lévy from Starrkirch living in Bienne
• 1931, September - Following the death of his father Moïse Lévy, Adrien Lévy becomes president
• 1932, August 30 - Léon and Theodor Lévy have moved to Paris and resigned from the board of directors for both the main company in Bienne and the Moutier branch; Adrien Lévy remains president and Henri Lévy remains a board member; Eugene Goetsehel from Renan and accountant Alfred Hotz from Wetzikon are given authority
• 1933, November 3 - The company re-purchases shares worth 500,000 francs, likely payment to the founders Léon and Theodor Lévy
• 1936, July - Jean Flegenheimer of Geneva, grandson of Léon Lévy, joins management
• 1938, December 19 - The company is officially renamed Manufacture des Montres & Chronographes Pierce S. A. (Pierce Chronograph & Watch Factories Ltd.)
• 1941, July - Hugo Kocher of Aegerten is given management authority for the Moutier factory
• 1941, October 10 - The Fondation de la Manufacture des Montres et Chronographes Pierce SA is established in Moutier with the purpose of helping employees and workers of the company in the event of old age or disability, and additionally to help their children in the event of death; the management consists of two directors of the company and one representing the workers; the initial board consists of Alfred Hotz, Joseph Strahl, and Arnold Banz
• 1942, April - Arthur Lovioz of Basel joins the board of directors in Bienne and Moutier
• 1943 - Théodore Lévy dies
• 1943, August 30 - At an extraordinary General Assembly the company changes its purpose to "the manufacture of time measuring devices, all components and all related products, of turning, milling and punching articles, of consumer goods made of various materials, of electrical apparatus, of machines and tools as well as trade in these articles"
• 1944, May - Eugène Goetschel is removed from management in Bienne and Moutier
• 1944, December 20 - At the General Assembly the company changes its purpose to "the manufacture of time measuring devices, their components and all related products, of turning, milling and punching articles, of everyday articles of various materials, of electrical apparatus, of machines and tools, as well as the trade in these articles"
• 1946, May - Jean Flegenheimer, grandson of Léon Lévy, is elevated to director
• 1950, December 6 - German is added as an official language of the firm, with the name "Pierce A.G. Uhren- & Chronographenfabrik"
• 1953, March - Following his death, Arthur Lovioz is removed from the board
• 1955, March - Jean Jobin from Saignelégier and Willi Anderes from St. Gallen are added to management
• 1955, June 29 - Following the general meeting, Willy Schaad-Holenstein from Biberist is appointed director while Maurice Gabus from Le Locle becomes administrative director of the Moutier factory
• 1956, April - Alfred Hotz is removed from management
• 1957, June 22 - Yvonne-Marie-Sophie Lévy marries Gérard Burren of Geneva
• 1958, October - The workers' foundation is managed by Hugo Kocher, president, Gérard Burren from Rüeggisberg, and Marthe Bélat née Lüthy from Charmoille; Willi Anderes and Madeleine Sauvain have resigned
• 1958, November - Willi Anderes and Maurice Gabus are removed from management
• 1959, July - Willy Schaad-Hollenstein is removed as director; Gérard Burren is given power of two directors
• 1961, March - Jean Jobin is removed from management
• 1966, March 30 - The company is reorganized as Pierce SA; share capital is reduced from 900,000 francs to 100,000 francs; Adrien Lévy and Henri Lévy resigned and are replaced by Jean Flegenheimer, grandson of Léon Lévy, and Gérard Burren; Hugo Kocher remains manager
• 1967, April - Henri Lévy dies at 75
• 1967, December - The workers' foundation board consists of Hugo Kocher, president, Gérard Burren, and Albert Montavon from Courgenay; Marthe Bélat resigned
• 1968, December 1 - Board chairman Jean Flegenheimer, grandson of Léon Lévy, dies after a long illness
• 1969, December - The workers' foundation board consists of Francis Allemand of Evilard, president, Gérard Burren, secretary, and Claude Schindelholz of Marbach; Hugo Kocher and Albert Montavon have resigned
• 1973, October - The workers' foundation board consists of Georges-André Stucker, president, Gérard Burren, and Jacqueline Bütikofer of Kernenried; Francis Allemand and Claude Schindelholz have resigned
• 1973, October - The workers' foundation is moved from Moutier to Bienne
• 1973, October 25 - The workers' foundation is renamed to Pierce Foundation SA in Bienne; the board is composed of Georges-André Stucker, president, Gérard Burren, secretary, and Jacqueline Bütikofer
• 1974, March - Richard Dauphin is removed from management
• 1974, December 5 - Following the general meeting, Gérard Burren is no longer a member of the board of directors; Josef Scherrer of Gams is a new administrator; the new address of the company is rue Ernst-Schüler 5
• 1975, March - Jacqueline Bütikofer has resigned from the workers' foundation
• 1975, July - Following his death, Josef Scherrer is removed from the board of directors; Klaus Hunziker of Staffelbach AG joins the board; Richard Dauphin of Francs is given signing authority for two
• 1975, September 18 - Share capital is increased from 400,000 to 680,000 francs by issuing 560 shares of 500 francs; Klaus Hunziker has resigned; he is replaced by Jean-Claude Racine from Lamboing
• 1977, May 25 - Following an extraordinary general meeting, share capital is increased from 680,000 to 1,190,000 francs by the issuance of 1020 shares of 500 francs
• 1982, August 30 - Following the general meeting, share capital is reduced from 1,700,000 to 0 by the cancellation of the 3,400 shares; new share capital of 625,000 francs was constituted, divided into 625 registered shares of 1000 francs, released at the rate of 20% (125,000 francs) by compensation of claims against the company
• 1985, January 10 - The workers' foundation is dissolved
• 1988, February - The share capital is fully subscribed
• 1993, March 19 - Share capital is reduced from 625,000 to 140,000 francs by amortization to zero and cancellation of 485 registered shares of 1000 francs; the new director with individual signature is Sereno Rompato from Vicenza, Italy
• 1995, November - Jean-Claude Racine resigns from the board of directors and the signature of Sereno Rompato is removed; Jean-Paul Corbaz from Mont-sur-Lausanne becomes the sole director; new address is rue des Prés 135, c/o Fiduco, Fiduciaire pour l'industrie et le commerce SA
• 1998, November - Jean-Paul Corbaz is removed; Jean-Luc Bourquin from Diesse takes over as sole director; new address: rue de l'Argent 6, c/o Catena SA
• 2000, January - Jean-Luc Bourquin is removed; Paul Mürner from Reichenbach im Kandertal takes over as sole director; New address: c/o Paul Mürner, Eisengasse 10, 2502 Biel/Bienne
• 2009, April 8 - Pierce SA is reorganized; the company aims "to manufacture and trade in watches, perfumes, leather goods, beauty products, glasses and optical devices"; Paul Mürner from Reichenbach im Kandertal, of Biel/Bienne, is sole administrator

Weblinks

• Pierce
• De Gaspard LÉVY aux montres de la marque PIERCE

References

• "La Maison Léon Lévy & Frères SA", Revue Internationale d'Horlogerie, 1936, p.210
• Journal Suisse d'Horlogerie, 1955, 1-2
• From Colportage à l'edition, Catherine Lawton-Lévy, Métropolis edition, 2004