Grovana

Grovana is a historic Swiss manufacturer brand dating to 1924.

History

Hans and Walter Gröflin established H. and W. Gröflin Uhrenfabrik AG in Tenniken in 1924 as a producer of mass-market Roskopf watch movements.

Werner Bitterli took over Gröflin in 1970, establishing the Grovana brand and changing the name of the company to Grovana Uhrenfabrik AG. Grovana abandoned pin lever watches in 1972 as it became clear that electronic watches would overtake them in the mass market. After focusing on anchor lever mechanical and LCD electronic watches for a decade, Grovana switched to quartz movements in 1982.

The Bitterli family re-invested in the company in the 1980s, expanding production and focusing on under-served world markets, building distribution in South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. In 2000, Grovana established a watch factory in Tessin in southeast Switzerland to reduce the cost of production but remain "Swiss Made".

Grovana acquired the rights to the Revue Thommen name in 2001 and began work on an in-house movement. The resulting Grovana Tenniken (GT) movement was launched in 2006. In 2012, the rights to the Revue Thommen name passed to GTWAG, but Grovana has retained the rights to sell existing stock of Revue Thommen watches.

As of 2020, Grovana remains focused on mass-market Swiss watches under the Grovana and Swiss Alpine Military brands.