Buser Frères

From Grail Watch Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Buser Frères, maker of Frenca brand watches, was a watchmaker in Canton Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland, founded in 1891.

Buser Frères & Berger

On September 8, 1891, Albert Buser-Weber, Fritz Buser-Bider, and Johannes ("Hans") Buser of Waldenburg joined with Albert Berger-Haas, also of Waldenburg, to form a new watchmaking company. Called Gebrüder Buser & Berger (Buser Frères et Berger), the company was initially located in Waldenburg.

A. Buser in Alsace

Around 1895, Albert Buser founded an ebauche factory in Gros-Hüningen (Alsace) to produce ebauches for the German market. Called A. Buser & Co., the firm produced clones of existing Swiss watch movements both on-site and using Swiss components. Workers were recruited from Waldenburg and Grenchen to man the factory, which was funded using an investment by a Mr. Baur of Basel.

On October 7, 1898 a criminal court there found that Buser was illegally copying Swiss movements to avoid import duties. The company was also producing watches using a cheaper, lower-quality silver alloy with copper plating and stamping this with the hallmark of a higher-quality material.

It was noted that "Hans Buser" had split from his brother Albert at this time, despite being initial manager of the Hüningen factory. It is likely that the Buser factory in Alsace was closed as a result of this verdict.

Buser Frères & Lohner

As noted above, Johannes "Hans" Buser-Tièche left the company in 1894, with Albert Berger-Haas perhaps also leaving the partnership. The remaining brothers, Albert Buser-Weber and Fritz Buser-Bieder, brought Arnold Lohner-Leuenberger of Grindelwald in as a new partner. The company was renamed Gebrüder Buser & Lohner (Buser Frères & Lohner) from this point.

In 1902, Buser Frères & Lohner was dissolved as Arnold Lohner left. He formed a new factory in Hölstein that would be the predecessor to Oris.

Buser Frères

Albert Buser-Weber and Fritz Buser-Bieder formed a new company in 1904 called simply Gebrüder Buser (Buser Frères) in Niederdorf on January 1, 1902. This firm took over the assets and liabilities of the dissolved company "Buser Frères & Lohner". Emil Heger of La Chaux-de-Fonds was granted power of attorney at this time, but it was revoked the following February.

In July 1913 Gebrüder Buser (Buser Frères) of Niederdorf was taken over by a new company called "Albert Buser". The owner of the company was Albert Buser, with Ernst Zimmermann, from Kempfhof-Würenlos taking on power of attorney. Zimmermann was removed in 1916.

In 1914, Berger, Buser & Co. presented a plan to the municipality of Oberdorf for the construction of a new watch factory. The firm sought funding from the town to contribute to the cost of the new building, and the municipal assembly approved a contribution of 4000 francs.

Albert Buser's own company was dissolved into Buser & Cie in February 1916. This new company was owned by Hans Buser from Waldenburg (unlimited partner) and his ex-wife Valentine Buser-Bouguet (limited to 75,000 francs), Albert Buser-Weber (limited to 40,000 francs), Gottlieb Tschudin from Waldenburg (limited to 10,000 francs), Hermann Buser, and Robert Rinderknecht from Gross-Hüningen (limited to 10,000 francs). The new company was located in Niederdorf. In 1918, Albert Buser's son, also named Albert Buser, joined the firm.

In January 1920 the company changed its name to Buser & Co., Uhrenfabrik "Nidor" (Buser & Co., Fabrique d'Horlogerie "Nidor" or Buser &. Co. «Nidor» Watch Co.), reflecting the value of this new brand.

Buser Frères & Cie SA

The company was dissolved in June 1928, with assets and liabilities transferred to a new company called Gebrüder Buser & Cie. Aktiengesellschaft (Buser Frères & Cie. Société Anonyme) (Buser Brothers & Co. Limited) with headquarters in Niederdorf. This new firm was capitalized to 200,000 francs, divided into 400 registered shares. The company's assets were 490,600.85 francs, with liabilities of 290,600.85 francs, with 200,000 francs paid to existing shareholders: Hans Buser-Bouguet received 52,500 francs, Albert Busser-Müller received 43,500 francs, John Buser-Feuton received 40,500 francs, Hans Dettwiler-Sehneider received 35,500 francs, and Karl Gautschi-Bader received 28,000 francs. The initial members of the Board of Directors were Hans Buser-Bouget, John Buser-Feuton, and Dr. Louis Niquille, lawyer. Hans Buser-Bouget and John Buser-Feuton were administrators of the factory, along with Albert Buser-Müller and Karl Gautschi-Bader. Share capital was increased to 300,000 francs on May 28, 1930 by issuing 200 new registered shares. Hermann Buser from Waldenburg was granted a proxy at this time. In April 1932, following the death of Hans Buser-Bouguet and John Buser-Feuton, Albert Buser-Müller and Hermann Buser-Hackelsperger were promoted to the board.

Albert Buser, the head of Buser Frères & Cie S.A., died on March 8, 1953, at the age of 58. Buser was a skilled worker for the watchmaking industry and played an important role in setting prices for economic watches. He also actively supported the F.H. Group Manufactures and participated in various organizations of this group.

MSR

On September 6, 1961 four watchmaking firms joined forces to become "Manufactures d'Horlogerie Suisses Réunies, S.A." (MSR). This company was designed to consolidate manufacturing and operations and increase profitability of the member firms. It was formed with 4.5 million francs share capital and produced 600,000 watches per year with 760 employees.

The following companies were founding members of MSR:

Retrieved from "https://wiki.grail-watch.com/index.php?title=Buser_Frères&oldid=11152"